From:
ginseng@neo.rr.com
Date: 2003-05-13 19:55:56 UTC
Subject: insulinoma - HELP
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-Id: <5.1.1.5.0.20030513150615.00ba4258@pop-server>
In Feb, 4 yr old ferret started with chewing, foaming, mouth pawing, fits.
Was taken to a ferret knowledgeable vet an hour away. BG was 72, weight
1.8#. CBC with chemistry panel didn't show any other problems. Recheck Apr
10, BG was 50. Was given a higher concentration pred. (They compound there,
current is prednisone 20 mg - 15 tab, thats all label says). Apr 4, weight
was 1.84#, pred dose .06cc x2 daily. Just weighed him, he is at 2.83#, all
belly/butt. Dose is up to .1cc 3x daily. He has had his fits 3 times so far
today. When he has his fits, I usually give him straight chicken baby food.
Vet says next dose use .11cc.
He isn't eating ferret food any longer. A spoon of chicken baby food and
1/2 to 1 cube of Church's Chicken Gravy 6x daily. I don't know if I'm
giving him too much food, or not enough. The pred dose seems to need upped
every 6-10 days. I've only seen him play 3 times since Feb. He just eats,
sleeps and goes potty. He usually gets a wet belly when peeing because his
belly is so big. Makes little noises when picked up, not sure how to
describe those.
I'm at my wits end. I want to get him stabilized. Hubby says he doesn't
have a quality of life, how long am I going to make him suffer. Should I
try a non-ferret knowledgeable vet? I'm not sure I'm up to driving much
farther. But then I didn't think I'd drive this far either.
Also, I'll be needing to make chicken gravy again soon. I don't have any
extra chicken fat left. Is a meat or vegetable fat better to use? Or a
combination of fats?