From:
iar2@cornell.edu
Date: 2004-05-07 22:14:13 UTC
Subject: IBD questions and frustrations
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <5516216.1083968053981.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Hello all,
I have a ferret diagnosed (by symptoms, not by biopsy) with IBD. He's approximately 3.5 to 4 years old and we've been treating him for IBD for about a year now. First we removed the corn products from his diet and he seemed to do better for a while. Then the vet started him on Amforol twice a day and he's been on that for approximately 9 months now and doing OK.
This week he took another turn for the worse. He hasn't had very regular stool in a long time so a mucousy one once in a while doesn't usually make me worry. Last weekend they started to be almost complete mucous and slightly green and then by Wednesday they were still very loose and he had vomited so off to the vet. They did a cytology and found an overgrowth of clostridium, likely due to the daily Amforol that he needs (we tried to take him off of it once, but the symptoms returned worse than before). The vet also thinks his food allergies are progressing and wants to remove all chicken and turkey from his diet. He sent me home with a green pea and duck IVD formula diet and Metronidazole.
It's now Friday. He vomited three times yesterday and at least once so far today. We've been consulting with the vet multiple times a day. I've been monitoring him for dehydration but he seems to be keeping fluids down OK, it's the solids that bother him. The only thing that seems to make it all the way through his system is the baby food. The vet prescribed Reglan today to stop the vomiting and wants to try him on Pediapred (1 mg, twice daily). I'm about at my wits end here. My vet seems very knowledgeable about ferrets, but it pains me to see this ferret having such difficulty and not feel like I'm doing enough for him. Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Ingrid