From:
rezgrrl@netzero.com
Date: 2005-06-09 02:28:01 UTC
Subject: snuffling, grunting, gagging--megaesophagus?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <2310883.1118284081157.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Sorry to be posting so many problems lately. Cookie--who recently went blind and is being treated for glaucoma--has started making funny noises when she eats her AD. Kind of grunting in her throat and snuffling like a pig, and also gagging like maybe she's starting to aspirate and then hawking it back up. I know that it sounds something like MegaE, but in most of the posts on this list about megaE, the ferret was also grinding the teeth and had had recent surgery--which she hasn't had in years. The Miami page indicated that there would also be vomiting involved, and that the food wouldn't get in. Her food stays down, and her appetite is pretty good. There is also no loud gurgling noise in her tummy. The only other noise was is some slight, occasional whimpering when she's sleeping and when I first wake her up. This has gotten almost completely better as the Trusopt has taken down the swelling in her eyes.
Does anyone have an idea about what else this could be? She has lost some weight, but they all have recently, with the coming of summer. More worrisome--she's taken to sleeping alone. But I just figured that was because her eye was still a little tender and she didn't want anybody to bang it accidentally. Also, I thought she might be adjusting to the loss of her sight (she's always been deaf). She's 7+ but until recently has been completely healthy except for an adrenal operation years ago. The vet also put her on pred in case the problem with her eyes was really some kind of retro-ocular tumor, and not glaucoma. Maybe these noises a reaction to the pred itself, or to aspirating a bit of it at some point?
She will see a vet, but I'd like to know what to tell my vet to look for. She doesn't know much about ferrets, but is willing to learn, and happy to consult with other vets. (The ones she usually consults with are probably the best in the state, but there are a lot of things regularly discussed on this board that they simply aren't trained and/or equipped to do. Like operating on Yogi's pancreas.)