From:
rezgrrl@netzero.com
Date: 2005-09-16 04:07:43 UTC
Subject: Cookie's sinuses--need new antibiotic
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <6998576.1126843663849.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
I just realized the question is buried in the text--What other antibiotics/=
other meds can I recommend that my vet order for this? Secondary question--=
how does her quality of life sound to you?
Cookie has been having troubles for some time now. This spring, she got wha=
t sounded like a cross between a cough and a sneeze--um, sort of a gak that=
got worse and worse. The vet here put her on--I can't remember the name ri=
ght now because I'm so sleepy, but it's the standard default antibiotic--it=
was described to me as broader-spectrum version of amoxi. She was on it fo=
r a couple of weeks and the gak came back. I tried hairball medication, and=
then finally brought her back to the vet. She saw an intern (which burned =
me up, especially since he obviously didn't know anything about ferrets and=
seemed to want to get experience on my old sick one). =
Cookie got the same thing again, and this time I used up the bottle, so she=
was on it for over a month. The gakking finally went away, but came back s=
hortly after she went off the meds. A few weeks ago, I took her back in, an=
d she was in pretty bad shape. The gak had resolved into a sneeze (but a de=
ep one) which kept her up nights and blew her backwards across the floor. S=
he'd also suddenly gotten a thin scab across her nose. While there, I saw o=
n her chart that the intern had intended her second prescription to be for =
10 days, but hadn't told me that. =
By the time I got to the vet, Cookie's nose was pretty snotty, so the vet s=
aid it had to be some sort of respiratory infection--but not a contagious o=
ne, since her cagemates didn't have the same thing. This time, one of the r=
egular vets told me that they only have three types of antibiotic--amoxi, t=
he one we'd tried (which is somehow related to amoxi, and therefore wouldn'=
t work for her), and something she wasn't sure she could give to ferrets. S=
he looked it up--it's something that's abbreviated Smz-Tmp. She had me give=
it for 15 days, and after about a week it finally got the sneeze down, and=
it was gone after 15 days. Again, it came back almost immediately. She's b=
ack on the Smz-Tmp for now, so I can keep the symptoms down.
Poor Cookie often seems to have trouble breathing, especially after taking =
her soup, oil, or meds--anything in between water and kibble in consistancy=
. (She has to have these things, though, because she's on other meds and I =
don't want to syringe feed them twice a day.) =
I live in the middle of the reservation, so my vet doesn't have much experi=
ence with ferrets. And she's already told me that she's out of antibiotics =
to try. But maybe there's something I can suggest we order? =
Some background, in case it matters in recommending an antibiotic: Cookie i=
s 7, and generally alert and strong, though she seems to be in discomfort--=
probably not outright pain. That's just the feeling I get. It could be wors=
e than I'm admitting--sometimes she just lies in bed with her eyes open, an=
d sometimes she tries to isolate herself. But the open eye thing could actu=
ally be sleep--the eyes don't always close all the way (I'll talk about tha=
t below). It could also be depression--sudden blindness can be a real downe=
r, especially since she's already deaf. She seems to have a great sense of =
direction, and never needed scent maps. She does seek out the other oldies =
to sleep with about half the time. And she still explores a couple of times=
a day and seems to enjoy treats and socializing. Still squirms to get down=
. Her weight and musculature seem quite good to me, and she eats well. She =
doesn't really play, but then she's usually been a contented loner, except =
for sleeping. The sleeping alone part bothers me more. Side question--Does =
it sound like she's in too much pain, or just discomfort, as I believe?
She's had glaucoma for about six months, probably with tumors involved. She=
's been on pred for about six months for the assumed tumors, and eyedrops--=
the kind given to humans for glaucoma, for the same amount of time. She's g=
otten hard and round in her upper abdomen--fluid retention from the pred, I=
'm told, but no palpable masses. =
=
=