From:
cyprus4211@aol.com
Date: 2003-07-10 18:47:40 UTC
Subject: Fasting Blood Glucose Levels
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <4150105.1057862861000.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
This is a long post but there are a lot of things going on here. My 5 year =
old ferret went to the vets (for a vaccine) and they said his spleen was en=
larged more than usual (he has a large spleen anyway). It has been hot here=
and he just got a new bag of cat food. He has food issues, some bags he wo=
n't eat for some reason. Anyway there are a lot of factors here that could =
be making him sick. He has always had bouts of stomach problems that went a=
way in a week or so. He had been slowing down a little for a few months. Bu=
t he won't play unless played with and the dog and cat won't have anything =
to do with him anymore and he won't play with me. He hadn't been eating muc=
h of anything for about two weeks, seemed like right before the vet visit h=
e slowed down more. He would move a little then lay down and rest. He had a=
n ex-ray and the vet said there was fluid wround his spleen and it was enla=
rged. Later she said there wasn't much fluid around his spleen, frankly I'm=
tired of her and don't believe a word she says anymore! Well he had full b=
loodwork done but someone screwed it up somewhere along the line so it was =
inconclusive (the lab said his BG was 2!). We did an at home blood sugar wi=
th a glucometer and it was 41 a few days ago and the vet said add 20 which =
would make it 61. Today we did another fasting BG and it was 46 which means=
its 66. Somewhere I read 65-165 was normal, somewhere I read 80, which is =
right? The vet insists he has insulinoma. We feel his spleen everyday and i=
t has been slowly getting smaller. He has been on amoxicillian for three da=
ys. We have has two ferrets that died from insulinoma, we know the symptoms=
, he has none of them! He gets tired and lethargic while playing, he rests =
for a while gets back up and plays again. He stays out of his cage for 5 ho=
urs sometimes without food and he's fine. he fasted for 3 hours before we t=
ook his blood sugar and he really put up a fight when we did it. Can a ferr=
et have a normally low blood sugar and not have insulinoma? Sorry for the l=
ong post!
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