From:
kbreeden@cfl.rr.com
Date: 2004-03-14 03:55:57 UTC
Subject: does this sound like lymphoma (long post)
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <5443318.1079236557913.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
I need advice concerning Harley, a neutered male, 3 years old. My vet thin=
ks he has intestinal cancer (she has never actually said lymphoma), yet alt=
hough she keeps saying we may need to put him on "pred", she hasn't done th=
at yet. I've researched here on the forum, but I don't see anything that q=
uite resembles his symptoms, or the treatment my vet currently has him on. =
I want to include as much info as possible, but I'll try to be concise, pa=
rticularly on past history.
Diet is Shepherd & Greene Super Premium Adult formula.
Vet is, I believe, ferret-knowledgeable, I have been led to believe that sh=
e vets for a rescue shelter here, but I don't know that for a fact.
August 2002, had a bout of vomiting, diarhea (liquid), took him to an emerg=
ency clinic (it was after hours), can't remember and can't tell from the re=
ceipt whether they gave him an antibiotic or not, they gave him a shot of T=
agamet at the clinic.
November 2002, I had noticed that he was spending very little active time, =
was sleeping (or laying quietly) most of the time, took him to vet, treatme=
nt was 10 day course of amoxi (0.3cc). Was back to his old self (at his no=
rmal, if you are in the kitchen and he is awake, his is trying to climb you=
r leg to see what is on the counter, although he doesn't like any treats ex=
cept ice cream and soda which I know are bad for him, so he only rarely got=
and now never gets)
March 3003, same symptoms, vet visit, this time treatment was 10 days of cl=
avamox (sorry don't have dosage), back to normal self
June 3003, same symptoms, clavamox again, back to normal self
December 3003, same symptoms, vet visit, vet says overgrowth of bacteria in=
stool, feels enlarged spleen, 10 days of amoxi (0.3cc), seems back to norm=
al before med in finished, but within a week of ending the amoxi he is sick=
again, vet says lets try a six week course of amoxi, and add probiocin onc=
e a day. Since we usually get amoxi in the 15ml bottle which lasts about t=
wo weeks and is supposedly only good in the frig for two weeks, we picked u=
p more when the two week course was up, but this time they gave us a 30ml b=
ottle. I thought I was supposed to use it until it was gone (which would h=
ave been about 4 weeks, completing the 6-week course), but after about 23 d=
ays Harley started refusing to take it (and he had previously loved it, tak=
ing it right off the syringe) and at the same time started acting lethargic=
all over again. I also noticed he was grinding his teeth.
mid-January 2004, back to the Vet, bacterial overgrowth again, but she took=
blood this time, saying possible insulinoma. Basically all I got out of t=
he bloodwork results was that his glucose was good, but globulin was high a=
nd something about immune media inflammatory? (she is not very communicativ=
e or else I just don't comprehend). She says start new 4-week course of amo=
xi, and add Pepcid AC because the teeth grinding may indicate ulcers. She a=
lso prescribed some feline a/d because he wasn't eating. I must have hear=
d wrong on the pepcid because I thought she said mix 1ml water with one reg=
ular strength Pepcid tablet and give 0.1 ml with each meal (about every 4 h=
ours), which is exactly what I did. Harley and his stools got much worse.
3 February 2004, By this time I'd also become a stool watcher. Previously t=
hey alternated between jelly-like and bird-seedy, sometimes rather dark but=
always formed, not mushy. Now, with the addition of the Pepcid (in an inco=
rrect dose I now believe), they are very infrequent (but he is only eating =
6-9cc feline a/d at each feeding), and they are black jelly blobs. Back to =
Vet, she feels a lump of some sort, not enlarged spleen, and I don't think=
she said anything about enlarged lymph nodes, but in his mid section. She =
takes X-rays, says there is thickening in the intestines. Harley is misera=
ble, just sits in his carrier in the Vet's office, has no energy. We sched=
ule an exploratory for 10 February, although I have reservations about him =
being strong enough, and she says if it is bad she would recommend not revi=
ving him. Having done some research on this forum I ask if we could try su=
cralfate instead of pepcid which he really hates and I felt was not helping=
and was stressing him out to administer. She agrees to the sucralfate. S=
ix days later, the day before the surgery was scheduled, Harley was so impr=
oved that I called the Vet, explained that he was playing normally, eating =
kibble again (like a horse), and that I was postponing the exploratory (I w=
as still thinking that if it was bad she would help him cross the bridge, a=
nd his quality of life had greatly improved and I wasn't ready for that).
At this point, I'm giving 0.2cc sucralfate every 8 hours (I know it should =
be before every meal or at least every 6 hours, but I work and can't manage=
that, he seems to do fine on every 8 hours) and 10 minutes later 0.3cc amo=
xi mixed with a little feline a/d (he won't take it without force otherwise=
). Harley seemed greatly improved except for stools that were a well-shape=
d, a little mucuosy though not jelly-like, but bird-seedy. BUT as soon as=
the amoxi course was complete, he stopped eating on his own. So we start =
amoxi again. Toward the end of this 2-week course, I noticed that he appea=
rs to be grinding teeth a little (although he seems to do this when he eats=
anyway), so I called the Vet to ask if maybe we should increase the sucral=
fate, and if we should now reschedule the exploratory. She says she doesn'=
t think there is any point in doing one, she believes it is intestinal canc=
er. But she says I should be giving the amoxi 1/2 hour before the sucralfa=
te. I tried this, Harley quit eating on his own again, and went down hill =
fast. So we are back to sulcralfate first, amoxi 10 minutes later, and he =
is improving again.
Throughout all this Harley has lost about 1/2 pound (started at 2.9 lbs, is=
now 2.5 lbs.) =
Sorry for such a long post, please help. I can keep him on sucralfate and =
amoxi indefinitely, but if it is lymphoma, shouldn't we have him on "pred"?=
And since the sucralfate/amoxi combo seems to keep things under control, =
does this even sound like lymphoma. Should I be trying a different chicken=
-free diet? Vet wants him on Totally Ferret (still chicken-based), and I'm =
doing the gradual switch, but he still prefers his Super Premium. By the w=
ay my other ferret has mild diarhea now too, but that may be because his pr=
eferred food is dry dog food (right out of the dog's bowl!), but I raised t=
he bowl to force him to eat more of his own kibble.
Thanks so much for listening. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Kim
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