From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2005-03-31 04:21:51 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Post Operative Adrenal Ferret Not Eating
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <5629279.1112246892000.JavaMail.nobody@chromium.smartgroups.com>
Hi, Renee, and everyone else,
My concern is that Molly's symptoms (unwilling to eat
or drink) could be caused by surgically induced
Addison's Disease. If her electrolyte levels haven't
been checked since Saturday it's time to check them
again. This needs to be done ASAP to insure she
doesn't go into a full blown Addisonian Crisis. It is
common to have to adjust the medication levels (in
Molly's case we're talking about the percoten and
prednisone) several times to bring the electrolytes in
balance. Until that happens Molly will be miserable.
Don't give up on her, though. If these are Addisonian
symptoms once your vet gets her levels of sodium and
potassium back to normal she will start recovering
very, very quickly and her appetite will return.
You really, really need to watch for signs of
dehydration and get her in for sub-Q fluids if they
appear.
If Molly shows further Addisonian symptoms, such as
uncontrolled and constant shivering, she is moving
towards an Addisonian Crisis and that becomes life
threatening VERY quickly. In that case you need to do
two things: 1) Keep her warm. The shivering is
because she can't control her body temp., and 2) Get
her to the vet or the nearest off hours animal
emergency clinic immediately. I don't care if it's 2
AM. An Addisonian Crisis CANNOT wait for morning.
A full blown Addisonian Crisis is impossible to miss.
If Molly gets there (and that is what we are trying to
avoid) she will collapse and be completely
unresponsive. If that happens the clock is really
ticking. Immediate care is needed. However, if you
keep after the electrolyte issue that should never
happen.
The key point in all of this is that you really need
to get her back to the vet ASAP unless she starts
eating on her own.
One more thought: talk to your vet about switching
from injected percoten to oral florinef
(fludrocortisone) once the current percotin injection
wears off. Our vet in NC prefers that because it is
shorter lasting (given twice daily) and can be
adjusted more quickly as needed.
The silver lining in all of this is if the problem
really is an electrolyte imbalance once you find the
right medicine dosages for Molly she can live a full,
happy, normal life. Our Pertwee survived a full blown
Addisonian Crisis (something I hope Molly never has)
and we did get his electrolytes right quickly after
that. He had four more very good years with us.
The usual disclaimer applies: I am not a vet, just a
ferret owner who has been where you are twice before,
once with Pertwee and once again with Ryo-Ohki.
Good luck to you and to Molly.
All the best,
Caity and the fantastic five