From:
"Jeff"
Date: 2008-07-08 03:14:54 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Re: Insulinoma symptoms don't seem typical
To: <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
I would take her to the vet ASAP. Every time she has a seizure you risk brain damage and potentially a major seizure that could take her life. That's no way for a ferret to live, especially when it's something that Prednisolone 3 times a day might help significantly. Insulinoma is a progressive disease and will only get worse. With a BG level of 41 it's no wonder she can barely muster up the energy to eat. At this point she may need a fairly high dose of the Pred, and since it metabolizes out of their system in about 8-9 hours, it's best given 3 times a day, 8 hours apart. Otherwise, you leave windows of time during which she is not protected by the Pred.
The other concern is that the stress of ailments like insulinoma can also lead to ulcers, which only make things twice as hard to treat. We went thru this and it is difficult to manage when you have the two problems together.
Here are a couple of the best links to learn more about insulinoma. Your best place to start for info is this article by Dr. Bruce Williams:
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/PDF/insulinoma.pdf
And then here, from Mike Janke's site:
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/treatment.htm
And here is a quote from a study by Dr. Williams that concludes that the most effective treatment is surgery to get rid of visible nodules AND part of the pancreas. (This of course would assume that the ferret is a viable candidate for surgery):
BEGIN QUOTE
J Am Anim Hosp Assoc. 1998 Nov-Dec;34(6):471-5. Links
Insulinoma in the ferret: clinical findings and treatment
comparison of 66 cases.
Weiss CA,
Williams BH,
Scott MV.
Potomac Animal Hospital, Maryland 20854, USA.
The clinical signs and surgical findings were reported for 66
ferrets with insulinomas confirmed histologically. All of the
ferrets were treated with one of three modalities, and
disease-free intervals and survival times were gathered to
determine the most effective treatment. The three treatment
groups included 10 ferrets treated medically, 27 ferrets treated
with pancreatic nodulectomy, and 29 ferrets treated with
pancreatic nodulectomy combined with a partial pancreatectomy.
The mean disease-free intervals for each group were 22, 234,
and 365 days, respectively. The mean survival times for each
group were 186, 456, and 668 days, respectively. Based upon
the data, recommendations were made for treating insulinoma
in the ferret.
PMID: 9826281 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
END QUOTE
There is also much other info online, but these were, in my opinion, the best places to start.
Jeff
In Memory of Neo
Caring for Trinny, Morphy, Baby Girl, and Luna
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