From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2003-10-17 16:56:02 UTC
Subject: RE: HELP -- Chocolate Moose
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <246181.1066409762786.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
> OK, how do you know when a ferret is maxed out on prednisolone?
If the individual is getting really huge amounts or if the individual is having strong effects like ulcers.
Chocolate Moose weighs around 3 lbs. and he was last getting .75 ml twice a day of 3 mg/ml prednisolone.
That is 1.5 mg of Prednisolone per day. The ferret we had who was most tolerant of that med was one who wasn't a surgical candidate (since surgery is usually the preferred approach for insulinoma but she was elderly and also some other life-threatening medical poroblems including lymphoma) weighed half what Chcoloate Moose weighs and for some reason she actually tolerated up to 5 mg of Pred per day which is a very unusually high amount.
What Chocolate Moose is getting is not high, though.
Ashling weighs about 2 pounds (and we hope will be a surgical candidate when her pancreal and liver inflamation go down) and she is getting a full mg more than Chocolate Moose per day (3 doses per day for her-- every 8 hours) and had been on more (3 mg per day which certainly is a high dose for her weight) at first but her need reduced perhaps because of her pancreas already having some reduction in inflamation. Her level is still on the high side for her weight and she has her next set of blood tests due in a bit over 2 weeks. (In her case she might have lymphoma but so far nothing says that she obviously does so far so we are breathing a bit easier but still worried either way, just not as worried.)
> He does seem to be much quieter -- breathing more quietly and not whimpering -- since we started him on diazoxide. Any ideas why?
It sounds like he might be among those for whom Diazoxide is an effective medication. Blood testing would tell. Some ferrets have almost no effect from it, some have some effect, and some do very well with it. Sevie was in the last group and for her it was a marvelous drug. With better control there also comes greater comfort.