From:
Heather Williams
Date: 2010-03-16 20:58:52 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Blood tests say Adrenal, Help please
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
It has been my experience that doing and ultrasound for adrenal disease is =
a waste of time and money.=C2=A0 Adrenal disease is such a visually diagnos=
able (did I make that word up?) disease nothing more is needed than an owne=
r and a=C2=A0vet with a good eye.=C2=A0 That being said, there are vets out=
there who won't=C2=A0do anything to treat the disease until an ultrasound =
is done.=C2=A0=C2=A0To each his/her own...
=C2=A0
As to the best course of treatment for Slinky, that is=C2=A0between you and=
your=C2=A0vet.=C2=A0 I will assume you will get many responses=C2=A0each w=
ith differing opinions and outcomes.=C2=A0 Out of the 8 ferrets I have owne=
d the past=C2=A0four years, 4 of them became adrenal between the ages of 1 =
and 3 1/2.=C2=A0 I opted for surgery=C2=A0for each of them as my vet(s) dec=
lared them "happy and healthy" otherwise.=C2=A0 2 of the 4 did not make it =
after surgery.=C2=A0=C2=A0Both were little girls (gender is probably unrela=
ted) who's adrenal disease had progressed to the point of being cancerous.=
=C2=A0=C2=A0The treating vets were=C2=A0different for the girls.=C2=A0 The=
=C2=A0first vet was "ferret knowledgeble" but liked to experiment.=C2=A0 Hi=
s attempts at removing the right adrenal=C2=A0gland were too much for my li=
ttle girl to take.=C2=A0 She passed 3 days after surgery.=C2=A0 The second =
vet is very ferret knowlegeble and=C2=A0does not=C2=A0make any attempts to =
remove the right adrenal gland but uses cryogenics to freeze it with the th=
oughts
that,=C2=A0once frozen, the gland will not get any larger.=C2=A0 Unfortuna=
tely my second little girl's left adrenal=C2=A0gland was so large and conta=
ined so much=C2=A0necrotic tissue that after removal, the body no longer ha=
d the cancerous tumor to=C2=A0attack and=C2=A0it started attacking itself.=
=C2=A0 She passed 15 hours after surgery.
=C2=A0
The other 2 adrenal=C2=A0ferrets, both boys, have done very well after surg=
ery.=C2=A0=C2=A0Both have grown back beautiful=C2=A0fur coats.=C2=A0=C2=A0A=
drenal disease was at different stages for both of them but the second vet =
mentioned above was the=C2=A0one to do the surgery.=C2=A0=C2=A0In both ferr=
ets the left adrenal was completely removed and the right frozen.=C2=A0 A s=
hot of Percortin (sp?) was given to both after surgery to stimulate the pro=
duction of=C2=A0hormones and prevent Addison's disease from setting in.=C2=
=A0 3 months and 6 months, respectively,=C2=A0after surgery both are none t=
he worse for wear.
=C2=A0
There are many ferret owners here who swear by surgery and just as many who=
swear by medications to treat=C2=A0Adrenal disease.=C2=A0=C2=A0I had a har=
d time deciding between the treatment options myself and even though I've l=
ost 2 ferrets in the process, I am not ashamed of my decision.=C2=A0 Medica=
tions will help but no vet can predict for how long.=C2=A0 Eventually their=
effectiveness wears off=C2=A0when the disease progresses too far and the o=
nly choice is surgery.=C2=A0 Surgery from the beginning is a risk for the o=
bvious reasons.=C2=A0 Even if=C2=A0the vet can successfully remove both adr=
enal=C2=A0glands and the ferret is put on=C2=A0hormone=C2=A0medication for =
the rest of it's life, is that really any different from being on Desloreli=
n, Lupron, or Melatonin for the same length of time?
=C2=A0
Only you and=C2=A0your vet can decide=C2=A0what's right for Slinky and what=
kind of a candidate he is for surgery or medications.=C2=A0 I wish you bot=
h a lot of luck!
=C2=A0
Heather=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=
=C2=A0
------------------------------------
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