From:
"Amanda"
Date: 2009-07-02 03:34:34 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Bilirubin Levels Very Elevated
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
I had a ferret named Cody that had this exact same problem. The only difference was his problem seemed to bit slower in onset. Cody's liver looked suspect by ultrasound. We tried to ease the burden on his liver with S-Adenosyl methionine (also known as SAM-E) and milk thistle. Eventually (about 4 days after seeing elevated bilirubin levels and the orange urine, which is from bilirubin actually in the urine) Cody had to be euthanized....he was miserable and refused to eat. He was in total liver failure....his skin was yellow (Jaundice). He was too weak to put through an exploratory. We thought he had some sort of liver cancer. Necrosopy revealed he had cholangiohepatitis. I don't know a ton about this in ferrets, but I know there is not real treatment for it in dogs...only supportive care like SAM-E and milk thistle. Eventually they go into liver failure, which is what happened to my Cody Angel.
I really hope this is not the problem with your little one. I would get him on milk thistle and SAM-E as soon as possible. Someone posted on the FHL recently of the potential pitfalls with milk thistle, but in your situation I think it is worth it. When I was going through this with Cody, I learned from someone on the FHL that a ferret with an obstructed gall bladder had similar symptoms (at least I think that was the problem), and treatment with Actigal cleared it up. The following is from an email I received from Dr. [an FHL member vet] back in 2005 when my Cody was going through this...I hope it is ok for me to post this....
[Moderator's Note: If the post was sent to the FHL then it is okay
to mention her name and to REshare the info, but if not, then it
is a personal communication and a consultation and she fully owns
her words, so there would also be a copyright problem. That means
it really helps if a poster says if it appeared here before or not.
Okay, it does NOT come up in a search of the full FHL Archives, so I
have remove it for the most part but can work in paraphrases of a
few key points and people will have to write this poster directly for
the info.]
actigal: 1 capsule w 5cc of water. Don't use Ferretone or any oils. May flavor. Makes concentration of 60mg/ml. For body weight of 2.2lb use 10-15mg or 0.16 to 0.25cc once daily.
SAMe: cut then crush it into moist food 20mg per lb so it is fine
alcohol free extract of Milk Thistle. tastes bad so put in moist food
maintenance dose of amoxicillin
originally treated with Biaxin and amoxi in case of helobactor (implicated in some cases)
[End moderator paraphrasing]
I may rub some people the wrong way when I say this, but your treatment options are pretty limited given the potential diagnoses....if money is tight, spend on trying out treatment options rather than running test after test to see exactly what is wrong. It's either cancer or something else. Cancer, as you said, mean euthanasia. So, if you assume it is not cancer, you are left with treating with the following meds I have described. Try it.
Please know that I am not a vet....My credentials though (if you want to call them that) are that I worked at an animal hospital for 10 years, have been a ferret owner for 8 years, and an FHL member for 5 years.
Best of luck to you....I will keep you and Possum in my thoughts and prayers.
~ Amanda and Izzy B
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