From:
"ayelet_erlich"
Date: 2010-02-25 17:02:48 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] More answers and more questions.... important
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
WOW! Thank you for the little research you've made on vets in Israel:)
When Venus lost a lot of weight 2 years ago, we went to Dr. [removed]. She suspected ECE or Adrenal because Venus was loosing weight very quickly. But Venus never had the symptoms for either disease. She suggested to do a surgery and take a biopsy from liver, lymph glads and some other places. We decided to go to another opinion because I'm not a big fan of biopsy surgeries. We went to the doctor which I talked about here (Who said that it's a cosmetic disease etc).
Anyways, I did a little research of my own. Apparently we have the implants in Israel! This is very new here and probably never or almost never been done on ferrets here. My vet (I went back to the original one, not an expert on exotic pets officially, but he knows a lot and researches a lot and I trust him more than anyone else here) says it's the best way to go and most likely it will help Venus.
We talked for almost 30 mins on phone 2day and I asked him alot of questions.
Like I said before I don't have a lot of money. So we will do this:
1. Take blood test or ultrasound check and see what's going on inside Venus with the adrenals and also see if the liver and kidneys and everything is OK
2. If we suspect that it's the adrenal and not cancer or anything else, we will give her Lupron for 6 months and see if it works for her and that she's gaining weight (she now lost weight in 3 weeks from 630 grams to 578 grams)
3. If we have good results with the Lupron shots, we will go ahead and do the implant
Does this sound like a good plan to you?
Now the problem is that I don't have money for blood test (450 NIS= 120$) and for ultrasound (about 700 NIS= 190$) and I don't want to delay it anymore, so I have to choose between both options. What do you think is best?
And for those of you who suggested giving Venus away - I will never do that. I know I'm not the ideal owner money wise, but I think I'm still a good home for her and a lot of ferrets are abandoned and neglected for no reason. I know money is important but I think a loving and caring home is better than no home. Even if I could give her to a shelter (There's no such thing as a shelter for ferrets in Israel. They are not so common here), no one would take her because she is very aggressive, always have been this way, only with the disease it because much worse. And also she is old (4 yrs) and most people look for baby ferrets.
[Moderator's comments:
Just starting with the Suprelorlin implant may be cheaper than
using multiple Lupron Depot shots first.
(Remember that the Lupron must be the depot, not the daily,
and the deslorelin must be the implant form of Suprelorlin rather
than the daily or it could actually worsen things.)
If a person is not used to viewing ferret adrenals (about
the size of a lentil) using ultrasound then false readings
can be pretty common in either direction.
There is a hormonal test and you may be able to arrange to
have a specimen sent to the U.S. for the TN FERRET Panel:
http://www.vet.utk.edu/diagnostic/endocrinology/index.php
In the U.S. it is becoming a somewhat common process to use
just a Lupron Depot or Suprelorlin implant and if the ferret
responds take that as diagnostic of adrenal disease being
present instead of using ultrasound or hormonal tests. Of course,
if something else may be going on do a CBC and Chem Panel
and then the vet should use this interpretation information:
http://www.afip.org/consultation/vetpath/ferrets/Clin_Path/ClinPath.html
and for some cases also:
http://www.afip.org/consultation/vetpath/ferrets/PDF/Ferret_GI_path_reports.pdf
In a post that discusses an actual case we don't allow
vet or hospital names. That is a rule which vets asked
for for three reasons early on:
1. Some treating vets wanted privacy
2. Commenting vets felt that they could be more frank
without knowing who was treating
3. We had a list member who was not a vet who harassed
a treating vet (who was using the RIGHT approaches)
because the non-vet decided without reason or logic that
she/he knew better.
So, we allow vet recommendations without cases discussed
in the same post (and encourage that those vets be submitted
to be added to the FHL Vets List which can be reached through
the Files section and also the Links section of the FHL by following
the direction at the Vets List website), and we allow vet names in
relation to things like the vet's own published resources, but we
do not let treating vets be named in relation to cases.]
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