From:
"US7A6"
Date: 2006-03-16 09:38:32 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] please ferret needs help
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
I learned about adrenal disease and prostate problems the hard way, and I l=
ost my boy Smokey. The vet should know what kind of medications to give you=
r ferret at this point, Julie, although I couldn't tell you which one. I'm =
sure that maybe someone with a lot more medical knowledge than me can help =
you out if your vet doesn't know.
My main point, however, is to start treating your ferret with melatonin rig=
ht at the onset of adrenal disease. Some people feel that with the symptoms=
gone (mostly hair loss), it's harder to visually tell how the disease is p=
rogressing. But you can date the time of onset. You will always have to get=
with your vet to decide when to do surgery. Most of the time, a vet will n=
ot want to do surgery upon onset of the disease, simply because the tumor m=
ight be so small that he won't be able to spot it and remove it (that's the=
opinion of my vet, anyways, and I trust him very much). Your vet will give=
you a time frame, and knowing the date of onset will help your vet to do t=
hat.
Melatonin won't stop the tumor from growing, and it is not a cure for the d=
isease once it has occurred. There are thoughts that melatonin might preven=
t adrenal disease, but I have yet to see any studies which positively prove=
that it does. Lupron also works to relieve the symptoms; again, it's not a=
cure. But it would be important to get this kind of treatment started righ=
t at onset, in case one or the other didn't work for your ferret. Then you =
could switch medications, if needed, without unnecessary delay in alleviati=
ng the symptoms.
But the main thing is that you need not let your ferret suffer under the sy=
mptoms of adrenal disease while you wait to have surgery. Prostate problems=
are one of the worst complications of adrenal disease, and can kill your f=
erret if left unchecked. Also, think about how your ferrets must feel physi=
cally as the excess of hormones makes them unnaturally aggressive. Why have=
your ferret go through that needlessly, when you can do oral melatonin or =
implants so cheaply?
As I first learned about adrenal disease as a rookie ferret owner, I though=
t, "So what? A little hair loss, a little bad behavior, not a big problem."=
I didn't look far enough into it. But it can be a big deal. I now understa=
nd the importance of alleviating the symptoms. I think it's a common enough=
mistake to mention here.
Roary
Albuquerque, NM
blog - http://ferretphilosophy.blogspot.com/
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