From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2009-12-09 18:08:57 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Mornie and Hilbert: Tripronin or Policitra-K or both as a precaution?
To: fhl <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
We are picking our own vets' brains, *of course*, but I also want to
pick
the brains of others who have experience specifically with cystine
uroliths.
Both are needing some supplemental baby food with their Prednisolone
since Mornie began insulinoma just shy of 6 years of age and Hilbert
began it just days from turning 7 years old, but both have a history
of cystine uroliths having to be removed.
Might it make sense at some point to add meds? The problem is that
some of the meds for this can have risk factors. If it might make
sense would it pay to do some more testing beforehand such as heart
checks since I seem to recall that one can have heart risks in some
individuals.
They maintained great from their early years to now on no more than
35% protein diets to prevent stones, but now the balancing job has
changed.
In
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/YG13030
Amy and Dave talk about using a med combo successfully for one who
could not be maintained by diet, including:
> She was put on 1.0 ml of Tiopronin 2x/day and 0.5 ml of
> Policitra-K once a day. She had one more surgery several
> months after that to remove a number of stones, and then never
> had another problem with them her whole life. She had periodic
> bloodwork run to make sure the medications did not harm her,
> and she lived to be almost 8. (She ended up with a whole host
> of other things -- cardio, adrenal, abscessed tooth -- at one
> point she was on 5 or 6 meds a day.)
Would either of these or some other alternative make sense, and
when?
This is an unusual time for us. Normally, through the last almost 3
decades with ferrets we have not had more than 20% of ours with
any pancreatic problems of any type. Now in short order we've
had three (though Whizbang then suddenly became severely
diabetic and passed).
If a bit of precaution would safely prevent them again needing
bladder surgeries that would be a huge win.
Cystine uroliths are very different from struvite uroliths (that
have traditionally been more common in ferrets) but these two
ARE known to have the cystine tendency.
I guess one thing I could do that just hit me is I could get urine pH
sticks and monitor that. Once their urine gets too acidic they will
be in potential trouble. Maybe we could pick up some on the next
vet appointment in abut 3 weeks.
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/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
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