From:
"Tressie"
Date: 2009-02-24 22:07:35 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] When is pred belly not a pred belly?
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
I have a 5 1/2 year-old who was diagnosed in August 2007 with EGE,
through biopsies taken during exploratory surgery. She has been managed
quite well through diet until her 5th birthday in October when she
started going down hill rapidly. It was like a switch, one day she was
healthy and happy and the next day she started getting sickly. I tried
a few more dietary changes over several weeks and they worked for a
short while but inevitably she slid back. I assumed the EGE was
catching up with her.
Symptoms were general malaise; hind-end weakness; increasingly sloppy,
little ploppy, stools; squinty eyes; weight loss; hair thinning; and
sleeping more than normal. I started her on oral melatonin and after 2
weeks her fur came in thick and lush. However, not much else improved.
After much discussion with my vet at the end of November, it was decided
to put her on low dose prednisolone to see if she might improve - 0.18mL
BID (5mg.ml). I also suspected adrenal disease because the oral
melatonin had worked so well but she did not have any other clinical
symptoms of adrenal disease except for the thinning hair.
Well her appetite increased considerably after starting on the pred -
and for a while she was doing very well. It is now 3 months since she's
been on the prednisolone and she looks like a furry zeppelin with paws.
She can barely move she is so bloated. I have to wipe her bottom
because her belly is so big that when she scoots after going to the
bathroom it doesn't get wiped clean.
She has prominent fad pads on her neck and over the leg joints, although
not sure if they might be swollen lymph nodes. Thing is she still has a
small face and you can feel her back bone and hips but she has this
hugely distended abdomen and puffy neck pads. My poor sweet little old
lady looks horribly deformed. And recently she has squinty eyes again,
the stools are more frequent and just mush plops.
My vet has been away at a conference and she finally has an appointment
tomorrow to see him.
I have never had a ferret with pred belly. My question is how long does
it take to develop 'pred belly'? I always thought it happened after
long-term pred use not just a few short months. And do they look
deformed when they get it or just look overall plump? In other words -
do they become happy buddhas or malcontent humpty dumptys?
I am concerned of course that its something more serious than pred belly
because I have very recently lost two to lymphoma who also developed
horribly bloated abdomens near the end.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Tressie
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