From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2005-07-20 21:03:56 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Not Doing Well on Pediapred
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <20050720210357.27372.qmail@web30606.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Hi, Heather, and everyone else,
>
> Basically, my 8 yr old ferret, Regan, was recently
> diagnosed with insulinoma. She has started a
> pediapred regimen of .75-6.7 mg/5ml 2x day. The
> first few weeks went well, but lately she really
> HATES getting her doses, and has started "clicking"
> her toungue alot.
You may be able to mix it with food or ferretone.
Please check with your vet before doing this.
Your vet may be able to give Regan an injection to
boost her appetite. We used Thiamine (I think) for
Nyssa this way. Pertwee also had some vitamin shots
(B12?) as an appetite booster. Both seemed to work.
Again, please check with your vet.
Is pred really not working? Has Regan's blood
glucose been checked again? If Regan's blood sugar is
still low with a high dose of pred you may be looking
at surgery as your only resort. Podo was eight when
he had insulinoma surgery. He lived for almost two
more years and the surgery really helped him.
The catch: At this age surgery really is a very last
resort. Regan has to be otherwise a very strong and
healthy eight year old. Make sure your vet does all
pre-surgery testing to insure she doesn't have a heart
condition or anything else that might simply make the
risks way too high. If you are forced to conside this
option make sure your vet uses sevoflourine (sp?) for
the anaesthesia rather than isoflourine (sp?) on a
ferret this old. (Yes, it is definitely more
expensive but far less risky.)
The point here is that you aren't anywhere near the
point where you have to give up. First determine if
the pred is working. See if you can hide the taste
for Regan. See if you can boost her appetite. There
may still be a lot you can do.
All the best,
Caity and the fantastic five
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