From:
"Jeff"
Date: 2011-04-27 19:14:02 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Adrenal Ferret Help- Suprelorin implant 12+ months ago swollen belly
To: <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
The =E2=80=98hugely distended belly=E2=80=99 may or may not be related t=
o the adrenal disease and timing of the deslorelin implant, but either way,=
it=E2=80=99s not a good thing. If it were me, I=E2=80=99d get an ultrasou=
nd right away of the entire abdominal and adrenal area to determine what ki=
nd and size of tumors are present.=20
[ It would not hurt to ultrasound the chest at the same time, given the asc=
ites.
-- Moderator]
That=E2=80=99s really the best way to figure out what=E2=80=99s going on, a=
nd what options might be available. At this stage, time is of the essence,=
so you should do it immediately.
As far as how long the deslorelin implants remain effective, I recall t=
hat initial =E2=80=98best guess=E2=80=99 estimates a few years ago were 12 =
months or more, but over the last year, I think that a number of posters he=
re, myself included, have supplied enough =E2=80=98case study=E2=80=99 to r=
educe that estimate from 6 to 12 months. The more severe or advanced the a=
drenal tumor or tumors, the sooner you need to re-implant. The difficult p=
art is that visible signs are NOT always reliable. Hair loss or enlarged v=
ulva or prostate are certainly things to look for, but their absence does n=
ot mean that it is not time to re-implant. This is VERY IMPORTANT to unders=
tand.=20=20
My boy Pop went 10 months between implants, and if I knew then what I k=
now now, I would have done it at 6 months instead, and he might have gotten=
a few more months of quality life. His coat remained full and healthy, hi=
s prostate problems (which were severe initially) never returned, yet he ha=
d a huge right adrenal tumor that was continuing to grow, and eventually be=
came inoperable. The =E2=80=98lack of physical signs=E2=80=99 gave me a fa=
lse sense of security that he was doing okay on the original implant, when =
in fact that right adrenal tumor was growing and growing all the time. It=
wasn=E2=80=99t until I had an ultrasound done that I knew how big that tum=
or was (golf ball sized), and that it was on the right adrenal gland, where=
it was too involved with the vena cava to operate on. Near the end, despi=
te getting that second deslorelin implant, and another melatonin implant, h=
is abdomen became very distended and I eventually had to put him to sleep a=
s his signs of distress increased.=20
My gut feeling tells me that you may be dealing with something similar.=
Going from Dec of 2009 until now may have been asking too much of the ini=
tial deslorelin implant, and a lack of sufficient medicine to the adrenal t=
umor in the last few months may have allowed it to grow faster than you rea=
lize. But we do the best we can with the knowledge that we have, relying o=
n the recommendations of vets as well, and they are just people like us doi=
ng the best that they can with what experience and knowledge they have. =
Get an ultrasound as soon as possible. Hopefully you may still have som=
e treatment options left, but you need to know what you are dealing with be=
fore you can look at those options.=20
Jeff
In Loving Memory of Neo, Trinity, Morphy, Possum, Pip, Pop, Hunny, Sabrina,=
Minnie Mouse, Misty, Frodo, Baggins, and Mr. Parker
Caring for Luna, Baby Girl, and Dozer
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
ferrethealth-digest@yahoogroups.com
ferrethealth-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ferrethealth-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/