From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2005-04-27 14:22:07 UTC
Subject: Depot medrol vs. vetalog in late stage lymphoma treatment
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <421988.1114612244384.JavaMail.nobody@magnesium.smartgroups.com>
Hi, everyone,
For those who haven't read my past posts here is a
summary:
Nyssa is a spayed female ferret who turns seven on
Monday. We have a working diagnosis of lymphoma
though a needle aspirate last November was
inconclusive. She had very swollen lymph nodes which
responded to pediapred (prednisolone) and which
swelled again when the pred dosage was reduced. She
responded well to pred at first but can't tolerate
more than .27ml (1mg/ml) twice daily without severe
stomach problems (as in ulcers).
When the pred alone wasn't enough our vet in OH added
a monthly vetalog injection and torbugesic (.05ml as
needed up to twice a day) for pain management. That,
up until now, has worked and Nyssa has held her own.
Nyssa and the other little weasels are back in NC
while I'm traveling on business. (I can't wait to get
back to them on Friday.) In the meanwhile she went to
our former backup (now primary) vet there who has
never used vetalog with ferrets and had never heard of
using it in the treatment of lymphoma. She prefers
depot medrol. She explained that both are cortisols
and that the depot medrol will last longer. She also
has experience using it successfully.
While I trust this vet completely I was just wondering
what the differences between vetalog and depot medrol
are and why one or the other might be a better choice
to use in addition to pediapred to mitigate the
symptoms of lymphoma and/or slow the progress of the
disease. Obviously my goal at this point is to keep
Nyssa comfy and maintain her quality of life for as
long as possible.
Thanks,
Caity and the fearsome fivesome