From:
Chelsey Baker-Hauck
Date: 2009-05-21 21:58:52 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Budesonide for IBD
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
My 6-year-old female ferret Zuzy has had inflammatory bowel disease
for @18 months. We've been treating it primarily with diet and pro-
biotics, with some limited improvement. Symptoms become much worse
when she is stressed out. She has regular examinations and blood work
and all are perfectly normal. Her weight is good.
Her vet has suggested prednisolone as the typical long-term treatment
for this condition, but we're both uncomfortable with the serious
potential side effects from long-term systemic steroid use.
He mentioned that Budesonide is now being used to treat IBD in cats
and dogs with great effectiveness and few to no side effects. (It is a
human drug used to treat Crohn's disease, among other things.) He says
it is much safer than prednisolone, but treating Zuzy with it would be
purely experimental. His research into whether or not it has been used
in ferrets turned up nothing. My vet contacted the exotics expert at
our state vet school but he was not aware of the drug being used for
ferrets yet either.
Has anyone here tried Budesonide to treat IBD in ferrets? Given that
her symptoms are fairly well managed, I'm not eager to experiment. But
if there are some good anecdotal experiences w/ferrets out there,
perhaps the new drug is something to consider?
Chelsey
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