From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2003-07-31 04:13:36 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Insulinoma Blood Test Results
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Cc: cyprus4211@aol.com
Message-Id: <20030731001336.685ea4d6.whiteweasel@earthlink.net>
On Thu, 24 Jul 2003 23:20:40 +0100 (BST)
cyprus4211@aol.com wrote:
> Hi, I just wanted people's input on Tib's blood values.
> Glucose 69 (LOW) norm 80-120 mg/dl
> Our vet said he has insulinoma and it can be treated with prednisone
> but she doesn't recommend surgery. We are not at all happy with that
> suggestion. He is a perfectly healthy ferret in every other way and
> has never shown any symptoms of insulinoma. He however has a very
> large spleen, it always has been large but now is really large.
Hi, Angelica,
A blood glucose of 69 does mean insulinoma.
Some vets are aggressive about insulinoma surgery, and you=B4ll see a lot
of that if you go through the archives. Some are more conservative and
wait until the prednisone doesn=B4t work at a low to moderate dosage. Our
vet is in the latter category and he has about 30 years experience with
ferrets. He believes that surgery isn=B4t ever curative and that doing
surgery early increases the time between surgeries but not overall
lifespan. We=B4ve treated Lady Ayeka for 19 months since diagnosis with
nothing but pediapred, and just .08ml per day keeps her blood glucose at
a normal level. Ayeka is five.
OTOH, other vets, good experienced ferret vets, believe that early
surgery CAN be curative. Just understand that there are always risks
with surgery. =
What I would want to know is WHY your vet doesn=B4t recommend surgery. Is
she saying never do surgery, or just do it later? If she is saying =
=B4never=B4 then I would be uncomfortable with that and might seek a second=
opinion.
Also, some ferrets just don=B4t respond to prednisone. Ker Avon was like
that, and we ended up rushing him in with a blood glucose of 27. Our
vet decided early surgery was the best answer for him. Ker Avon had
insulinoma surgery at age four. He=B4s gone well over a year with nice
normal blood glucose and no meds. Is he cured? I don=B4t know, but he
sure is better off.
Podo was diagnosed with insulinoma at age seven and a half (or so). =
Within a few months we had to increase his dosage and he had an unwanted
side effect: persistent diarrhea. Our vet opted for surgery even
though he was almost eight. What we got back was a rejuvenated ferret: =
happy, playful, and bouncy. He needed a low dosage of prednisone after
10 months, but he=B4s still doing wonderfully well at almost nine years
old. Our vet calls him =B4amazing=B4.
Kodo was diagnosed at age eight and, like Avon, did not respond to
prednisone even at a high dosage. Our vet reluctantly recommended
surgery when we simply could not get his blood glucose over 42 no matter
what. Surgery did him a world of good. He is on prednisone again, but
he has a markedly improved quality of life and his last blood glucose
level was 117. Next month will be one year since surgery.
That=B4s our experience with four ferrets. Is surgery the way to go? I
honestly still don=B4t know. Our vet=B4s judgement (three surgeries, one n=
o
surgery) seems to have been very, very good.
All the best,
Caity and the non-stop nine