From:
Andrea
Date: 2007-03-19 16:56:07 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] IBD questions
To: Ferret Health <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
Hi everyone,
I have a few questions regarding IBD. I've read many of the articles and archives about IBD, but I still have a few questions I'm hoping some Vets or others can help me with.
I have a 2 yo female ferret, Diti, suspected for IBD. Her stools are the birdseed seedy looking texture. No diarrhia, just always seedy looking. Talked to her vet about this last summer when she had her annual. She had been on about 6 different types of kibble. Vet suggested it could be food related, and suggested that I try doing a food test with her (try elmininating each type of kibble from her mixture for a period of a good month, to see if that improves the appearance of her stools). Did that, no luck.
Talked to her other vet, he did some blood work. Lipase was very high. He put her on an antibiotic for 10 days for possible helicobacter (sorry, I cant remember the name), and put on sulcrafate for a month. Retested blood. Lipase was still high. He advised doing a biopsy. He says its like a full abdominal surgery as they biopsy her intestines and stomach. They dont do the endoscopy procedure way that I read about as they want to look at everything. Thats where my questions come in...
----He says if they do biopsy, they will be able to tell if it is in fact IBD - and whether its caused by viral or bacterial. I have another ferret, if Diti had some type of viral or bacterial infection - wouldnt my other ferret have caught this by now also?
----If her IBD is a food allergy, we put her on Imuran - would the Imuran 'cure' the damage that has already been done to her intestines, or is it suppossed to 'cure' her food allergy problem? Meaning, if I chose to do a biopsy, after putting Diti thru all that (surgery and Imuran), will I still have to change her food?
I wouldve changed her food by now, to do a trial run, but I cant find any good alternative (high protein etc) out there. She is housed with my other ferret River, who has just been diagnosed with Insulinoma ( yes, currently being treated for it). They both share the same room and food. So changing Diti's food, would mean changing River's, and I cant put him on a lower protein food. I cant seperate them.
Sorry this is long, but I am confused on what to do. I lost a ferret during surgery before, so its always in the back (ok, right up front!) of my mind. Thanks in advance for any help with this.
Andrea
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