From:
"joclynatuo"
Date: 2009-08-12 17:16:55 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] melatonin and blood glucose levels
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
how does melatonin affect the bg levels??? does it increase it, decrease it or have no effect??
reason for asking is that a friends vet doesn't want to give the melatonin implant to the ferret because there is also has insulinoma along with adrenal disease. the vet said that the melatonin would lower the bg and to a point that would be dangerous (cause death).
i can't find anything, ferret related or human related, that says that melatonin lowers bg (did not search the archives here, just did a couple quick googles on top of looking at what's in my favs folder). i did find an article that said it seems to increase it in humans (which would be an issue for diabetics). i've found nothing in relation to higher bg in ferrets when using melatonin.
i did find articles that mention extreme lethargy. one article does not mention if the ferret was insulinomic or not and just says that the dose may have been too high for that particular ferret. the other article mentions that lethargy was noted for the first few days only.
dr. murray's article specifically states that it is safe to use in ferrets with insulinoma. not sure how old that article is, though, so, wondering if there is more recent info??
or, rather, ANY info on how melatonin affects the bg levels??
thanks!!
[You will find multiple posts on this question in
the easily searched FHL Archives. One of the most
recent is
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/FHL7880
There was a study in which a ferret given an
INJECTED anesthesia had pronounced
lethargy when given a melatonin implant.
She had insulinoma. The effects of the
anesthesia could not be separated from
other effects.
If worried a person can always try ORAL
melatonin first because it wears off much
faster. Just try 1 mg at about the time of
dusk in the Winter. From that you and your
vet can see how the individual responds,
but there should not be a problem typically.
(There is always room for individual variations...)
--Moderator]
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