From:
sunni_321@yahoo.com
Date: 2003-05-24 02:18:56 UTC
Subject: Swollen Lymph Nodes, etc.
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <3099985.1053742736638.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
I wrote earlier today asking some questions about post op care for my 22mo =
ferret Maddie. She had two lymph nodes removed to be biopsied as they were=
swollen. This afternoon, I took her back to the vet due to redness around=
her incision. Actually, I took her to a new vet, recommended by Petco, as=
he treats their ferrets. The whole visit was quite shocking. I'm going t=
o try to explain it, as I have several questions. =
First of all, Maddie has a bacterial infection. Her temp is 104.4, and she=
has blood, yeast, and bacteria in her stools. =
** She had a CBC on Wednesday, assuming this infection didn't just start ye=
sterday or today, wouldn't there been a sign in the CBC? (I was told the C=
BC results were "all in acceptable range")
Secondly, her spleen seems to be enlarged. I really don't know what that s=
ignifies?
Thirdly, Dr. New Vet says he will "be surprised" if the biospy comes back l=
ymphoma, as her lymph nodes are probably swollen due to infection, and that=
other ferrets he's treated with lymphoma have distinct symptoms (other tha=
n swollen nodes), and that the nodes themselves are usually much larger tha=
n what Maddie's are. =
Fourth, Maddie had a fever of 103 the day she had the biospy surgery, Dr. N=
ew Vet says that she shouldn't have been operated on with a fever and that =
her incisions being infected is most likely due to that. =
Fifth, I explained to him that she had her annual vaccinations April 14th, =
May 1st, when she had her micrchip put in is when they first discovered the=
swollen lymph nodes. Dr. New Vet suspects that ... oh, I don't remember e=
xactly how he said it, but basically, ferret distemper is a "live" vaccine,=
instead of a "dead" vaccine, assuming that Dr. Old Vet uses the same brand=
of vaccine that Dr. New Vet uses, and that THAT is likely to be where all =
the problems started. Not that she HAS distemper, just that she got sick f=
rom the shot.
**Does that actually happen? Is it common?
About his course of treatment: I am to give her amoxicilin for five days a=
nd take her temp every day, to see if it starts bringing the fever down. A=
fter five days, he wants another stool sample to do a smear and culture to =
check for blood and bacteria, and then may add another antibiotic if needed=
. =
**Does this all sound like a good game plan? Btw, I can NOT get a temp on =
Maddie. Even with someone else holding her down, she fights too much, and =
I'm afraid I'll hurt her or her incisions. Anyone know a good way to do it=
? I finally stopped trying when she would flinch and jerk around every tim=
e I tried to lift her tail. =
Finally, I'm really upset and confused about the Old Vet and New Vet thing.=
I could list many reservations/instances I've had with Dr. Old Vet, but, =
this is getting long. Dr. New Vet didn't criticize Dr. Old Vet, but with t=
he "I wouldn't have"'s and the "Did she do this/that/etc" to which I would =
answer no... I kind of feel like Dr. Old Vet screwed up on this whole thing=
. I'm confused because they both are supposed to be experts, Dr. Old Vet i=
s a small pet specialist, and Dr. New Vet is an exotic pet specialist. I w=
ill say, I read somewhere that when finding a vet for your ferret, you shou=
ld ask them questions like "how many ferrets do you treat a month?" and "Ho=
w do you usually treat <common ailment>?". Dr. Old Vet told me at the time=
of the biospy that she didn't know what chemo protocol one uses for a ferr=
et, as she has never treated a ferret for lymphoma. Also, let's talk physi=
cal exam, an analogy, sort of... Dr Old Vet seems like the turn your head a=
nd cough.. yup, you're alright, doctor, whereas Dr New Vet would be the int=
ernist. He checked MANY things that Dr Old Vet never did (ie felt her live=
r and spleen through her tummy, checked her mouth, eyes, ears, listened to =
their heart and lungs... Dr Old Vet checked their vulva, their lymph nodes =
and proclaimed them fit). The only reservation I have with giving my full =
trust to Dr Old Vet is, I just met him today. He's only looked at the ferr=
ets once, and I put my faith in another vet and seemed to have maybe done s=
o wrongly. =
I know this is long, and I apologize, but, if anyone actually reads this fa=
r down.... Do you have any advise? I had planned on finding a new vet to d=
o chemo if necessary since Dr. Old Vet doesn't know what to use, but... it =
was going to be just for that situation, I was going to stay with Dr. Old V=
et for regular things. Now, I'm almost positive I'll be switching all the =
way, and have half a mind to tell Dr. Old Vet the stuff Dr. New Vet discove=
red today. The end. (finally, huh?)
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