From:
"M.Michaela Maurice, DVM"
Date: 2007-08-26 21:28:46 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Cardiomyopathy
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, standingoak@sympatico.ca
Hi. I just read your original post and the replies by Dr.s Williams and Murray. Great advice - as always :). I have two additional thoughts/suggestions to consider as adjunctive (additional) therapy. In my own experience, when oral furosemide stops working so well, changing to IM (intramuscular) will often be more effective ("rejuvenate" the effect). If you can handle the IM injections, which, if your vet shows you how, aren't really so bad, it might be worth considering. Most animals, with a trained "injector", notice very little - and, you know what happens if you feed a ferret linatone lol - they notice NOTHING! hehe. (linatone, furball remedies, peanut butter?? lol -whatever works :))
Also, have you had an imaging of the heart, such as an echo or ultrasound? I wonder if there might not be pleural effusion as well. That's when fluid builds up inside the double-lining around the lungs (should be empty). When this happens, it makes it difficult for the lungs to expand and contract properly, and causes all sorts of problems for the heart and lungs: breathing becomes shallow, labored, faster, cardiorespiratory sounds become muffled, etc. If and when this happens, if you have the resources (trained or willing ultrasonographer/clinician(s)), you can tap (withdraw with a needle) the fluid off as it builds. I actually did this with one of my own ferrets years back. Granted, I was in vet school and had the resources, and was not easy - simple, but not easy!. It took three to four of us. The Ultrasonographer (radiologist) monitoring the fluid and the needle, myself scruffing (Bugsy), another Clinician tapping the fluid, and a fourth
person (sometimes myself while scruffing) providing a nonstop supply of either linatone or furball remedy (to keep Bugsy distracted and stil). LOL. Yes, it was quite the sight, and quite the team effort! That being said - once we had the routine down, it took all of a few minutes max.! And what a difference it made.
(please note: in this case, Bugsy was already on the majority of the meds mentioned by Drs. Murray and Williams - enalapril, spironolactone, and digoxin - and IM furosemide, and this was an adjunctive therapy with a specific goal the meds could not address - alone or adequately).
If there is indeed pleural effusion, and your clinic or another would do this for you, perhaps at a reduced rate, since it would be ongoing, that might be a possibility to improve his quality of life, and even extend it a little. In the beginning I only had to do it every couple of months, but over the course of 9 months, it slowly moved to every couple of weeks, As the heart fails, the "heart failure" (back-up of blood flow leading to fluid leaking into body) worsens, and therefore, the fluid leaking everywhere builds up more quickly, and drugs need to be increased in number/type, dosage, and frequency, and procedures like tapping (off the effusion) become necessary more often.
Again, these thoughts are about adjunctive therapies. Changing to IM furosemide, even if helpful, doesn't change the fact that the other medications will be needed and helpful in ways neither IM furosemide, or tapping pleural effusion, will help. Drugs such as Enalapril, Spironolactone, and/or digoxin have strong and unique effects on both heart failure and a failing heart, and have been standards in treatment for some time. Tapping off pleural effusion will only alleviate some of the cardiorespiratory compromise caused by fluid within the pleural space (specific area/tissue around the lungs) -if there is indeed fluid there. It won't address the fluid building up elsewhere in the body (lungs and abdomen). My only prayer is that some combination of these drugs and therapies will work for you, your ferret, and your vet, and that you are given the precious gift of more time with your fuzzy little gift of god :).
My prayers are with both of you,
Dr. Meesh
a.k.a. meesh, meeshmeesh, M. Michaela Maurice, D.V.M.
If one advances confidently in the direction of their dreams,
and endeavors to lead a life which they have imagined,
They will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
Henry David Thoreau
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:ferrethealth-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:ferrethealth-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ferrethealth-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/