From:
jennifer-galarneau@idexx.com
Date: 2004-12-21 23:41:30 UTC
Subject: diabetes treatment
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <3839602.1103672490055.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
With ferret health being so sensitive and with changes occuring so fast, I worry about how my ferret's diabetes is being treated.
She was diagnosed 2 weeks ago after coming down with symptoms that came out of no where. She was hospitalized for 4 days to get her ketoacidosis managed. My vet is somewhat ferret knowledgable but her experience with diabetes in ferrets is limited to the two pages in a particular book. She started her on .5 unit of NPH BID with 25 cc sub-q fluids daily as well. A suspected UTI was also treated. I have read here that PZI insulin works best but the vet's opinion was that she would try what she had on hand and what was recommended in her book and if that wasn't working we could try the PZI. After about one week, I increased it to 1 unit BID because her urine was showing large amounts of keytones and glucose and she still seemed to be feeling quite ill.
With "forced feedings" and more fluids than she had recommended (about 50cc every day) she seems to be a little better but still has significant glucose and keytones in the urine. As of 4 days ago her BUN was just slightly above normal (gone down) but her creatinine was quite elevated above the normal range (increased). I worry that we aren't being aggressive enough. How long must we wait to see if she responds to increased insulin dosage? How much fluid is recommended in situations such as this? She is about 2lbs now after losing almost a pound since this started. Also, is it safe to add "Ferretvite" (high calorie vitamin supplement/appetite stimulant) to her food? The ingredients seem to read high in sugar.
Suggestions would be greatly appreciated!