From:
"sukiedaviscrandall"
Date: 2010-04-17 17:11:26 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: New member; Rufus & Insulinoma
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Your question about purposely destroying the pancreatic
beta cells:
Wow. Your question are going to get a lot of mail!
(If you did not set yourself to digest mode when you joined
you may want to go to "My Groups" on the upper right of
the homepage of the FHL and adjust your settings.)
I am sure that this question set will bring vet and non-vet
replies in hefty numbers.
Diabetes is usually incredibly harder to treat in ferrets than insulinoma.
I'm sure you will get mails on that. We are among those who lost a ferret
to diabetes almost as soon as she developed it because it was too extreme
to control, and we recently had another on IV in critical care for 3 days
partly due to post surgical diabetes which luckily resolved but not before
it had him on the precipice of kidney failure.
Some ferrets can deal with very high levels of Prednisolone and diazoxide
can be added as a med. We've actually had a small female near the end on
as high as about 5 mg total per day, divided among three doses, so at 1 mg
per ml (the same as 5 mg per 5 ml) so about 1.7 mls three times a day. Of
course, she did not begin at that dose, but built up to it over time.
It is very common to find that giving Prednisolone every 8 hours is optimal
for ferrets with insulinoma.
Alphatrak is a home meter you can use. See past posts on that in the
FHL Archives which can be linked to from the FHL homepage in at
least two places (the introductory paragraphs, and the essential
URLs and email addresses near the bottom of that page).
You will find a lot on both diabetes and insulinoma in the archives,
too, including a lot of vet posts on each and on these medications.
Here are typical doses of these meds from two ferret veterinary
texts (the kg is kilograms of body weight, and PO is oral, h is hours):
_Essentials of Ferrets, a guide for practitioners, second edition_
diazoxide
5 - 30 mg/kg q 12h PO
prednisolone
0.10 - 2.5 mg/kg q 12 - 24h PO
_Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents, clinical medicine and surgery,
second edition_
diazoxide
10 - 20 mg/kg PO q 12h
prednisolone
0.5 - 2 mg/kg PO q 12 - 24h
and here is a pounds to kg converter for you:
http://www.metric-conversions.org/weight/pounds-to-kilograms.htm
and an ounces to kilograms converter:
http://www.metric-conversions.org/weight/ounces-to-kilograms.htm
Compounding pharmacies are the way to get
diazoxide. It is pricy and does not work for all
but for those it helps it tends to make a huge
difference. We find that it especially helps ferrets
who don't eat very frequently. In the FHL Files
section you will find a link to compounding
pharmacies recommended by FHL members.
Your vet can always call a prescription in or
give you a script and then you can pick up the
med or have it delivered to you. (Unless you are
in a nation outside the U.S. which does not allow
that.)
Try to make sure that the ferret is eating small
meals about every 4 hours until the medications
are adjusted right.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
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