From:
"starkannon"
Date: 2007-02-21 16:35:40 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Adrenal and Cardiomyopathy
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hello, I need some advice...
Initial Vital Stats:
--Female Marshall Ferret, 6.5 yrs old., 2 pounds, on no meds
--Adrenal Surgery for the right adrenal 2 yrs ago(left adrenal was
unaffected and is still intact).
--Insulinoma Surgery 1.5 yrs ago--tumor identified and removed, cured
although glucose at 70 now for the past year but holding steady and
showing no symptons of the disease.
--She is acting fine and activity level is a ferrety as ever:), she was
just losing hair
The problem:
I took my ferret in for a consulatation for what I thought was going to
be a straight forward diagnosis of adrenal disease and to schedule an
appt for surgery. Everything looked up to par and set to go. I did
mention that she seemed to be coughing lately so we took an x-ray just
in case although her heart sounded perfect--she has had check-ups in
December, January, and now--at all time hers heart sounded good.
The x-ray showed that her heart is three sizes too big and she has some
fluid. Of course this meant that she is not a great candidate for
surgery--although the vet didn't completely let go of the idea for the
future. We just need to get the heart under control. No other
diagnostic testing happened yesterday than the x-ray. The vet sent me
home with the following meds:
1. For the heart:
Enalapril (2.5 mg per tab): Give 1/8 tablet by mouth every other day
Furosemide susp per oz(no strength): Give one drop by mouth twice daily
for two days, then one drip once daily and call Dr.
2.Adrenal: The vet wanted to try the oral melatonin, .5 mg twice a day.
Questions:
1. My vet said that the timing of the melatonin did not matter, but
when I read the mailing lists, this doesn't seem to be the feeling?
2. Shouldn't we do lupron definately? What is the best way to
non-surgically treat the adreanl--cost not an issue.
3. Are there other medical tests that are MUSTS? Is it really
important to figure out what type of cardiomyopathy she has? While cost
is not an issue, I do not want to put her through a bunch of tests that
will tell us more about the disease but won't garner any more productive
treatments or increase the quality of her life significantly.
4. The vet said we would not have to do the Lasix(furosemide)
everyday...is this reasonable, do we try not to do it everyday because
of kidney issues like in humans?
5. What am I looking at for quality of life and span? I know every
individual is different, but I want to figure out the best strategies
for now and future days and months.
Thank you so much for your time in reading and possibly responding to
this post,
Ashlie
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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/