From:
sannh349@aol.com
Date: 2004-12-11 04:32:46 UTC
Subject: possible encephalitis
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <7635156.1102739566100.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
My 4 yr old female has adrenal disease which is in need of surgery and also=
ultrasound evidence of a mass of some sort in the pancreas. She is also ex=
hibiting symptoms of a medical condition that is separate from the above. S=
he at first presented with hind end weakness a few weeks ago. I posted abou=
t her condition at that time. But, further exam on Monday indicates another=
problem. She had a 103+temp on Monday, she exhibited other neurological ch=
anges ie: she was turning her head to the right from the shoulders back tow=
ards her trunk. This isn't constant however, comes and goes. Her toes were =
turning under when they were pressed against a surface. She has alternately=
been unable to move about except with assistence from me and other times s=
he has been on all fours and walking but for short distance and her back to=
es were turned under. Her right front leg tends to give out on her when she=
is walking causing her to fall forward. When she is walking her head has a=
slight tilt towards the ground on the left and her head is pointed slightl=
y to the left as well. My vet said she suspects either encephalitis or a br=
ain lesion. She is treating as if for encephalitis with Clindamycin and Met=
acam. My ferret was on pediapred prior to this for possible insulinoma and =
the vet left her on the pediapred but cut the dosage in half to .4 ml 1xd. =
The vet has also considered that the head tilt and head pointing may possib=
ly indicate dizziness so she has her also on meds to treat that. My vet has=
said that the only definitive way to diagnose this is MRI, CAT scan and/or=
lumbar puncture but the tests aren't available in my city and she hasn't h=
ad a call back from the hospital she has contacted, she has said that she w=
ould be more comfortable with a specialist doing the lumbar puncture becaus=
e it has been a while since she has done one. Of note, the temp was 100.8 o=
n Tues and back to 103+ Thurs. Test results today are WBC normal, PVC is sl=
ightly low and glucose is 64. That has been 70 2x this past month. I didn't=
get the other values. Any thoughts and input to this would be appreciated.=
Ann Hehl for Rosie =
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