From:
Pam Sessoms
Date: 2003-11-13 17:37:04 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Cardiomyopathy and kidney diease
To: SPED103@aol.com
cc: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <Pine.A41.4.44+UNC.0311131232180.56360-100000@login7.isis.unc.edu>
Dianna,
I'm managing a kidney failure/cardiomyopathy guy right now too. I had a
post in the archives that was very much like yours, asking if anyone had
dealt with this, but there was a glitch that would have made that message
hard to find (it was showing up under a different subject line). Since
I'm the person that manages the archives, I've now fixed the glitch.
That post was from September and is here:
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=SG6087
So, the above gives the picture in September, just after the cardio was
diagnosed. In October, his creatinine had jumped up to around 2.5 or so,
which was the highest it's ever been, and I was somewhat discouraged. He
was still very active and playful, but he was starting to show problems
like an oral ulcer and tooth grinding, so we put him on Pepcid and cut his
Lotensin dose in half.
Now it's November, and I do have good news to report with Pumpkin. We had
a vet visit on Tuesday, and he's active, playful, and his creatinine was
lower than it's been in a while at 1.2. His BUN was in the normal range.
These November kidney numbers are similar to the values he had before the
cardiomyopathy was diagnosed. I'm encouraged that he's been on the heart
meds, including lasix, for a couple of months now and his kidneys are
doing OK.
We're mostly managing his kidney failure with lots of very watery chicken
gravy. This is a bit of a tricky balancing act; in my guy's case, extra
fluid goes to his lungs since his heart is primarily failing on the left
side. So, I have to be careful not to drown him. Subcutaneous fluids
would work too, but he loves that gravy and I can hide his oral meds in
it.
We're managing his heart with Lasix, Lotensin, taurine, hawthorn, and
CoQ10. We also use nitroglycerin paste when needed. We use the nitro
paste (plus a little extra lasix) if he gets fluid in his lungs and starts
to wheeze; this has only been needed about once every two weeks lately.
About the Lotensin - it is an ACE Inhibitor (like Enacard) and we put him
on it for his heart. Lotensin is also used sometimes for chronic kidney
failure, especially in Europe where it is called Fortekor. Its use for
kidney failure is a little controversial, but we're hoping that it might
help both the kidneys and the heart in Pumpkin's case.
Here is Pumpkin's regimine:
First thing in the morning:
60 cc's of very watery Bob's chicken gravy
CoQ10, Taurine, Hawthorn
Lotensin
Pred (he also has insulinoma but that's been stable for a long time)
1 mg lasix, injected subcu
When I get home from work:
60 cc's of very watery Bob's chicken gravy
CoQ10, Taurine, Hawthorn
Pred
1 mg lasix, injected subcu
Just before I go to bed:
60 cc's of very watery Bob's chicken gravy
CoQ10, Taurine, Hawthorn
Pepcid if needed (right now it's not needed)
So, that's a total of 180 cc's of the watery gravy a day. It is really a
lot like chicken broth, it's so watered down. He gets the lasix shots
while he's drinking gravy, and he never flinches.
I know that both of these conditions are terminal, so we just are happy to
have each day. So far, he's doing great and is still my most active
ferret. I hope you can find a balance with your guy. These are tough
diseases to manage together; my vet calls it a rock and a hard place.
Keep the list updated - as you can tell, it would be good to get more on
this in the archives.
Best wishes,
-Pam S.