From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2009-11-17 22:03:34 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Wullie Update
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hi, Lance, and everyone else,
Thank you for updating us on Wullie's condition. My ferrets have seen
three vets I really like and trust over the years, all with years and
years of very successful practice treating ferrets. I thought I'd
share my experiences with insulinoma in the hope it might be helpful
to you in reaching a decision with your vet. My apologies in advance
for how long this post is.
There are two distinct theories on the treatment of insulinoma: Our
current and immediately previous vet believe in doing surgery ASAP.
They believe that the earlier the surgery is done the better the
chance of a good long-term outcome. Our original vet (now retired)
believed in treating with prednisolone (pediapred) for as long as a
low dosage was sufficient to control symptoms. If and when that no
longer worked he would opt for surgery.
Our original vet treated four of our ferrets for insulinoma. One,
Lady Ayeka, went three years on pediapred. The dosage gradually went
up but still remained relatively low. If you search on "Ayeka" and
"insulinoma" in the archives you'll find all the details. When she
showed adrenal symptoms as well at the age of six our vet opted to do
insulinoma and adrenal surgery all at once. The surgery went well but
he also found enlarged lymph nodes. A biopsy showed lymphosarcoma and
that is what eventually killed her.
The other three didn't respond much at all to pediapred and he did
surgery quickly. In two of the cases these were older ferrets (over
seven years old) and he only did the surgery reluctantly after sending
us for a second opinion and being convinced by the other vet that
surgery was a life-or-death matter. Ker Avon had surgery at age three
and it was curative. He never had insulinoma symptoms again. The two
older ferrets, Podo and Kodo, were symptom free for ten and four
months respectively. After that a low dosage of pediapred did the
trick, something which was not true before surgery. Both lived for
more than two years after their surgeries so, considering their age, I
consider that a huge success.
Vet #3, our current vet, did insulinoma and adrenal surgery (both at
once) in April on Chin Soon, who turned six in June. So far she is
doing brilliantly.
The cost of surgery really depends on what happens during and after.
In Chin Soon's case there were complications and she was in the animal
hospital for four days. She had post-surgical diabetes that lasted
long enough and was severe enough that our vet put her on insulin,
something that didn't happen with the previous four ferrets. Her
pancreas did start producing insulin again and maybe 10 days after
surgery she no longer needed medication at all. Due to all the
problems her bill was in the neighborhood of $1500. Had everything
gone smoothly it could have been half of that. Our vet isn't the
cheapest around by any stretch of the imagination but she's worth
every penny.
I have yet to lose a ferret to insulinoma so I'm of the opinion that
either approach can work. It depends on the individual case. If you
trust your vet you may want to go with whatever he or she is most
comfortable with. If in doubt it never hurts to go for a second
opinion. The vets I've dealt with actually encourage that.
In any case you probably should start saving for Wullie's care. If
you and your vet choose to treat with medication Wullie might still
face a surgery eventually. You also have to be ready for the
possibility that Wullie may not respond to medication which will leave
surgery as the only decent option. The good news here is that
insulinoma can be controlled or treated and if all goes well you can
still look forward to more good years with Wullie.
The usual disclaimer applies: I am not a vet. I'm just a moderately
experienced ferret owner who has dealt with insulinoma in five ferrets
(out of 13) over the past 12 years.
All the best,
Caity and the terrific trio
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