From:
mjanke@miamiferret.org
Date: 2003-03-05 18:13:24 UTC
Subject: Acupuncture
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <22457972.1046888004010.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Does anyone out there have any experience with acupuncture? I'm considering it as a possible treatment for a hind leg problem in Spaz. I know nothing about it and don't even know if it's a good choice, though at present, it's either try that or do nothing.
Here's the scoop. Spaz had a routine dental cleaning about two months ago. When I brought him home at the end of the day (many hours after Iso anesthesia), his hind legs wouldn't support him and he just about fell over. At first we thought this was just a temporary weakness due to the anesthetic and took a wait and see approach.
When he didn't improve much over the next couple days, I took him in and several radiographs were done of his spine and legs, hips, etc. There was nothing abnormal in the skeletal views, though it appeared he has a slightly enlarged heart. In my experience, every single older ferret I have had has had a "slightly enlarged heart" on x-ray and it has never resulted in any problems. Still, we did an ECG and sent the results to Cardio-pet (I think) who proclaimed Spaz as not needing any sort of supportive treatment. The end result was that the trio of vets at my clinic seemed to agree that it was possible he threw a clot while he was under.
Spaz gets around pretty good actually, but he has an obvious limp and weakness in the hind legs, mostly the right. My primary vet is a certified actupuncturist and I've been considering talking to her about the usefulness in Spaz's case, but thought I'd first see what experiences others have had.
mike