From:
tansyhl@yahoo.com
Date: 2003-12-22 03:54:17 UTC
Subject: Sniffles anemia continued
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <2611629.1072065257843.JavaMail.root@indium.smartgroups.com>
Well, the path came back and Sniffs had adenoma of the left adrenal. He's doing quite well, though was starting to look a bit pale 10 days post op, so we gave him 2 100mcg shots of Lupron. He got "double dosed" because the Lupron had been in a regular freezer for about a month, and probably was not as potent as if freshly reconstiuted. It's amazing to see how he "pinks" right up within 24 hours of getting his shot. Needing the Lupron was not unexpected, since anyone who has had a ferret with adrenal surgery knows, it takes several weeks for the symptoms to resolve. If it continues, then we'll have to worry. One good thing about the path, was the funny "bruised" area was not exta-abdominal adrenal tissue as we had feared it might.
THis whole thing is making me wonder more and more how many "auto immune" cases of anemia in ferrets are really misdiagnosis of estrogen driven anemia. Frankly, I don't think even my vet was convinced until she saw his response to the Lupron, and the path came back positive for adenoma.
If you are an owner (or even a vet) the critical thing to ask is when you are looking at the PCV whether there are immature and/or malformed RBC's. If not, and you just have a low count of RBC's, then it could very well be estrogen driven. We all know how common adrenal tumors unfortunately are. And the good news is that if it is estrogen driven the fix may be fairly simple: bone marrow transplant, adrenalectomy, and Lupron until the estrogen levels are reduced. Though Sniffles had 3 transfusions, I doubt they were really necessary. I believe that if we had given him Lupron on a weekly basis after his bone marrow transplant they would have been unneccessary.
I can't tell you what a joy it is to see an animal that was so weak he couldnt eat or stand by himself, and was panting to try and get enough oxygen, to be running around the house and giving me he.. like a normal ferret. It's the only present I need for Christmas!
tansy