From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2008-03-07 20:44:10 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: adrenal -- urinating in small puddles, many places
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Our experience has been different from yours,
but limited for that complication in our 26 years
or so with ferrets in the family.
Now, granted, we don't get a lot of ferrets with a
drenal disease. Over the quarter century plus that
we have had ferrets it's been about a third of them
(and for while ours were almost always -- except
when the vet was way to attached to an individual
-- used for necropsies to teach other vets with
pathology done to be most complete so we knew
for sure how many really had adrenal disease for
many of those years including the rare cases where
it was hidden). We have had only 2 ferrets block
from prostate disease, I think. One had lymphoma
in the affected adrenal and blocked only at the end.
He was well into his 8th year then and if my memory
serves decently past the half way mark to 9. BTW,
he got extra time from a surgery done earlier in his
8th year because he was tough enough for it despite
being in his final illness. He also was one of the first
ferrets in the world to use Fludrocort. We didn't know
that Dr. Bock was researching it in CO at the same time.
What happened was that the Lysodren (no longer used
because it often doesn't work and when it does it can
cause atrophy of the good adrenal) had atrophied his
normal adrenal gland so when the bad one came out finally
-- and this was long ago -- he went Addisonian. The
only option left was Fludrocort (then only available as
Florinef) but he was actively dying, anyway. Within several
hours after medication he was back to normal.
The other ferret was one of those who had no adrenal
disease signs but then one day could not urinate so
was emptied by syringe with emergency surgery
scheduled the next day. In his case the surgery was
curative. That was Scooter, actually. He didn't have a
long life, though. He died early at 6 years of age due
to an UNrelated massive deformity that became too bad.
I mentioned him in a different post earlier today.
(We have also had two ferrets block from cystine uroliths,
but that is a very different situation.)
Oh, and twice we have had ferrets have adrenals out for
reasons other than standard adrenal diseases. One of
the ones had entirely different problems which had resulted
in hydronephrosis. His swollen kidneys had so badly irritated
his nearby adrenals from rubbing that they were prophylactically
removed when urinary tract repairs were done. Another one
had a huge number of blood vessels serving his left (Yes, i wrote
"left" adrenal gland.) and they turned out to be at risk of rupture,
but the adrenal itself turned out to be healthy even though he
absolutely needed that surgery to live.
I do think that it is important that people look at the various
methods as being ALTERNATIVES -- each with good points and
bad points -- and suit their choices according to the vet's abilities
(remembering how many don't even had exotics vets), the vet's
preferences, the health and particulars of the ferret and case, how
easily they can get to the vet, and what they can afford best of the
options that work well enough. We currently have one for whom
Lupron Depot and Melatonin Depot MIGHT be the best option due
to surgical complications in the past despite the difficulty reaching
our vet's location IF the vet doesn't think that the ways of avoiding
the complication will be sufficient (vet opinions vary on that score
so far since the cause likely won't repeat but the complication was
so severe in her case).
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
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