From:
"Lynn Mac Farlane"
Date: 2004-08-24 02:31:03 UTC
Subject: Vet needed advice so this little girl can get treatment before she dies. I need something to take to a new vet.
To: "Ferret Health List" <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <19397138.1093315378046.JavaMail.nobody@chromium.smartgroups.com>
I brought Peppersprout to a vet because she was very lethargic. It took 2
tries before he would listen to me & examined her. He didn't think anything
was wrong with her at first. He listened to her heart & lungs & told me
they were both normal, just fine. I kept insisting there was something
wrong so he took her in & took x-rays. When he came out he showed me that
her heart was abnormal. There was something around, on or in her heart that
he didn't know what it was so sent the x-rays to a specialist to read.
Below is what was in the report that came back on her. That day he examined
her & said her heart & lungs were ok, after the x-ray he put her on Lasix
twice a day, 0,01cc, he said it was for her congestion. I don't know how
she went one minute from being ok to the next being congested.
When he got the report back he called me & told me she had an enlarged heart
& asthma. I have never seen her show any signs of asthma in all the time
she has been here, she is a Utah kid. So I never believed that from when he
told me. I was talking to another vet about Peppersprout & she asked me if
I would fax a copy of the report to her, so I called the office & asked them
to fax one to me. Today was the first time I saw it. I was astonished when
I came to the part about her stomach. The first vet had never said word one
about it. Didn't tell me to bring her back in, never called to see if she
was ok. It is like he either didn't read that far down or ignored it.
Peppersprout is still lethargic, when she walks around she keeps her tummy
close to the floor, doesn't hold it up like a normal ferret. This was also
mentioned to the first vet. Actually the first time I took her there was
because when I took her out of the cage for play time & put her on the
floor, she just collapsed, it was like a fur coat falling off a hanger, she
just laid there. I picked her up & set her down & she took a wobbly step &
fell over sideways. I did this a few times & she did the same thing. I was
thinking Insulinoma. Rushed her to the vet. They took her back to do a
blood test & put her on the floor & she was running around back there. The
doctor came out with her, said she was running around & there wasn't
anything wrong with her, to take her home. They never did do a BG. When
she stayed lethargic I brought her back to the vet & that was when I
insisted there was something wrong & he finally took x-rays.
She shows no sign of pain, she is just lethargic. I am more likely to
believe she has pneumonia than asthma. Ultrasounds here are around $300 &
up, I cannot afford it. I would like to know what treatment would be
advised for pneumonia & what to do for her stomach & possible peritonitis.
What kind of antibiotics should she be on? Report is as follows:
Thank you for referring the radiographs On Peppersprout....
female Ferret presented with the history of decreased activity level.
Lateral and
dorsoventral XXXXXX DVM whole body images dated 07/06/04 were
available
for interpretation.
The cardiac silhouette is mildly enlarged. The pulmonary vasculature is
difficult to discern.
There is a mixture of bronchial, peribronchial, and interstitial changes in
the lungs.
There is poor serosal detail. In addition, the abdomen has a patchy
appearance. There is
granular material within the stomach as well as the small intestine and
colon. The small
intestine is atypically distributed. Some segments are on the upper limits
of normal for
diameter. On the lateral projection, there is an oval soft tissue opacity
ventral to the 1st,
2nd and 3rd lumbar segments. This is felt to represent the head of the
spleen and is thought
to appear this way due to slight patient obliquity. The spleen is prominent,
however I feel
it is normal for a ferret. The urinary system is within normal limits. There
are no osseous
abnormalities.
In summary, Peppersprout has cardiomegaly. The pulmonary parenchymal changes
are mosl consistent
with asthma as well as concurrent interstitial pneumonia. I am concerned
about the appearance
of Peppersprout's abdomen.. Consideration should be given to enteritis or
peritonitis, or a small
amount of peritoneal effusion. An echocardiogram as well as an abdominal
ultrasound are suggested
to complete your evaluation.
End of ferrethealth Digest
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