From:
Linda Phillips
Date: 2006-03-25 06:56:41 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Insulinoma questions
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Dooks...
I need some help and/or information dealing with Insulinoma since Kodo is
my first ferret to have it. I am somewhat new at what to expect or what to
look for. I have read various material on Insulinoma and have asked
questions of others in the past so I do
understand Insulinoma. My questions and concerns are somewhat more
complicated and I cannot find it in general information so I thought I
would ask you who have had Insulinomic ferrets and have more experience
with it. I appreciate any input because I want to do what is best for my
Kodo. Here is his history. Kodo is a 5 1/2 year old male who was
diagnosed with Insulinoma in September of 2005. He was put on 0.5 ml
Prednisolone 6.7mg/5ML once a day and has done well on it until
recently. This past February he had a blood glucose reading of 52 but had
no low glucose symptoms. My vet increased his Pred to 0.75ml per day; dose
was to be split into 0.375 ml twice a day. (Also would like to mention
that at this same time Kodo was put on 0.5 ml Melatonin). Is is true that
Melatonin causes drops in blood glucose? A week later Kodo's BG was
checked and it was 74 which I considered good, so he remained on same dose
with recheck in another week. At next recheck(BG was always done same day,
same time for consistency purposes), his BG was 56. Because of the low
glucose reading, it was rechecked at the mid-point of the doses of Pred
with a reading at that time of 58, therefore his Pred was increased to 0.5
ml/2 times per day by my vet. We continued to check his blood glucose on a
weekly basis and he is now on 0.75 ml twice a day with his latest reading
staying around 70 at this point. My questions to you are these: Is a
blood glucose of 70 good while on this amount of Pred? At what time of day
is it best to have BG tested, keeping in mind that his Pred is given at
10:00 am and 10:00pm, to get a true glucose reading of how his Pred is
working? Would it be more beneficial to split up his Prednisolone doses
into 3 evenly spread out doses rather than the 2 doses, 12 hours
apart? Also, at what point does the Pred become no longer useful for the
treatment of insulinoma and the need for pancreatic surgery become a
necessity? I do not really want to go any higher with the Prednisolone
dose since I know that 2 ml is the limit at which point the Pred no longer
has any benefit on glucose plus I know it can cause stomach
irritation. It's also been noted that he has consistently lost between
10-40 grams per week in his weight over the last couple of months with only
a few increases(weight always checked same time of day every Sunday). His
weight was 1012 grams February 20 and his weight a month later was 928
grams. I would think that he should gain weight on the Pred. I'm just
worried about my sweet Kodo. Any help or advice is greatly
appreciated. Thank you so much in advance. You can feel free to message
me privately with any input or information at pinkyferret@hideyhole.org
Dooks,
Linda and my weasels 4 in Central PA
******************************************************************************************************
Dooks from me & my ferrets--Tacoma , Kodo & rescue ferrets Dakota &
Cheyenne who now have a forever home
Ferret grandma to Loki and Vivi ...missing
Jamocha, Fria and Duke at Rainbow Bridge
"Ferrets leave tiny
little paw prints on our hearts"
Ratties--Jacy, Topher, Dundee, Austin , Geo, Tobe and Bo...missing Ash at
Rainbow Bridge
******************************************************************************************************
Visit my daughter & her fiance's ferret web site at http://www.hideyhole.org
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