From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2005-04-15 02:05:20 UTC
Subject: RE: cardiomyopathy/adrenal disease
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <6435546.1113530720226.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
> I read a lengthy posting by Bob Churh on adrenal, and it was saying if the ferret is >4 yrs (Harry will be 4 next month) that surgery only adds a little bit of time for >them.
That is just plain wrong. There are so very many ferrets whose experience has disproven it.
I suspect that post was perhaps done a long time ago when Bob was still pretty new to ferrets, or maybe he had a vet who wasn't a very good surgeon so he judt didn't know. Whatever. It is wrong.
Surgery with cardiomyopathy is usually NOT a good idea, though, so you really need that help from the cardiologist and in the meantime use meds since some types of adrenal growths can be either stabilized or even reduced with meds.
There is a possible risk that some growths which are not removed may alter enough to become malignant over time.
> Then the articles on cardiomyopathy were saying by the time it is detectable it is >advanced, and they don't live long.
The longest we have personally acheived was over a year but that ferret had a very bad type and she was years ago (when even Enacard was new) and there have ben a LOT of advances since then.
See the FILES section in
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
and then build on the compilation with the more recent posts in
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org
I know that both my notes and Bruce's in Miamiferret on cardiomyopathy are very old now.
>I always also added Timmy's Tonic until I asked on here about it and was told it >could cause heart problems. :-(
Yes, the licorice root in it is dangerous that way.
>Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. Mare
Definitely check out that compilation and the more recent posts. There have been a lot of real advances.
Thinking of you and hoping I said this well enough on caffeine...