From:
ferrethealer@aol.com
Date: 2007-03-23 00:09:45 UTC
Subject: Re Difficulty Urinating Re: [ferrethealth] Digest Number 171
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
In a message dated 03/22/07 6:59:30 AM Eastern Standard Time,
ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com writes:
1) I would really like to try Lupron and see if that helps before I
move on to or add melatonin. Am I doing the right thing or can
melatonin help his urination problems? I've been told by a few people
that melatonin by itself will shrink the prostate.
**I have not seen that, but I tend to be pretty aggressive in treating a male
ferret and have not used just melatonin in any of my male ferrets with
adrenal disease. Lupron and melatonin together are often more effective than either
along, by the way.**
2) Can anyone tell me how long it takes before one would know if the
Lupron's working? I told the vet that I would like to try a 1 month
depot and see if that helps him.
**Some respond very rapidly, some take a bit longer - so really can't say
just how fast you would see a response.**
3) Are there any risks involved with suddenly stopping Lupron if I
decide that I can't do it because of costs?
**Yes! If the Lupron is keeping his prostate under control, stopping it will
cause the prostate to enlarge again and cause the urinary blockage symptoms
again - a complete blockage of the urinary tract will kill him.**
4) If we do use the Lupron and it shrinks his prostate, can I just
use the melatonin to maintain his prostate or will it enlarge again?
**I can't answer this one.**
I'm just really nervous about all of this and do not want to
overmedicate him. I just really want to make him comfortable until/if
I can find a vet who I feel comfortable with doing surgery on him.
**My best advice is to work on this - the sooner the problem is definitively
addressed, the better.
And as far as a small sample causing erroneous test results on the Tennessee
Panel - nope. If the sample was insufficient, the lab would have reported
insufficient sample rather than actual numbers.**
Dr. Ruth
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