|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2013 16:43:41 GMT -5
As some people probably know, from my other thread, Chia has Juvenile Lymphoma. She is 9 months old, and has been fed raw ever since I adopted her at about 4 months old.
Multiple vets were able to look at her x-rays and agreed that it was JL. **What makes me so nervous is that her lymph nodes all over her body were quite swollen. Normally JL presents itself without any swelling of the lymph nodes, does it not?** They said I could do a biopsy but that they were very confident with their diagnoses. I'm very undecided on if I should bother with it or not.
I am looking for some holistic methods to help give me as much time as possible with Chia. She is on 1ml of Prednisolone every 12 hours, from the 5mg/ml concentration. Would Reishi help? I am willing to do anything I can for her.
I would really appreciate some ideas/ opinions from everyone on anything I can do to help her. I will also post the pictures of her x-rays right away.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2013 17:18:10 GMT -5
These are the X-rays we got of Chias chest. The 'R' means that is her right side. This is her chest, sitting on her stomach, last month (15 May 2013)  This is her chest again in the same position this month (9 June 2013),except that the picture is flipped  You can kind of see how the area just above her heart, the mediastinum (sp?) has swollen up quite a bit in this last month. It is much wider this month, than it was before. |
|
|
|
Post by bitbyter on Jun 10, 2013 18:06:52 GMT -5
Here is one of Sneakers x-rays. Same position as yours. You can see her's was much more progressed (lungs are very compressed and heart is pushed out of position:  |
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Jun 10, 2013 18:25:15 GMT -5
Send miamiferret2 a pm. While not JL, her ferrets have had lymphoma and some supplements seemed to help a bit. I think one was CoQ10, SamE, and something else.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2013 19:04:18 GMT -5
Thank you for posting that, I can see some similarities with the xrays. When Sneakers was diagnosed, did she present with swollen lymph nodes? I was doing some research and read that JL normally does not show up with swollen lymph nodes. With Chia, most of her lymph nodes are swollen, which makes me worried. The vet said that doing an aspiration would be difficult with the amount of fat around the nodes, and that the result would likely come back as fat. No blood work or biopsies has been done, only xrays and palpations, and taking her temperature.
Thank you so much! I just sent her a PM. I think I will also post on the FML and see if they have any advice. I really want to fight for Chia and do everything I possibly can to help her.
|
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Jun 10, 2013 19:52:23 GMT -5
Good luck. I will light a healing candle for your wee one. I've heard that CoQ10 can help. I've dealt with JL once and the adult version three times. I hope you find something that can help your little one.
ciao
|
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Jun 10, 2013 21:56:48 GMT -5
Instead of the FML, post on the FHL.
|
|
|
|
Post by bitbyter on Jun 10, 2013 23:03:38 GMT -5
This x-ray was taken the day I chose to send her across the bridge. She was in really bad shape and the vet said she probably wouldn't live out the week.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2013 9:25:18 GMT -5
I don't think I'm even subscribed to the FHL! I will have to look into that, thank you.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Jun 11, 2013 9:54:36 GMT -5
It's pretty good for medical issues.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2013 13:23:09 GMT -5
Silly question, and I apologize for going a bit off topic..but what is the FHL?  |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2013 13:44:37 GMT -5
So I am extremely confused! I have been doing a lot of research on the subject of JL, and some things do not match up.
1. Chia has had her cough for over 2 months now, and it hasn't seemed to get any worse
2. The x-rays from last month showed nothing, but this month there was a small widening of the mediastinum in one view , and nothing else in the other x-ray views.
3. She has swelling of the lymph nodes (apparently) in all of them except the ones under her chin.
4. She has no other symptoms, like trouble breathing, losing weight, lethargy, or lack of appetite
5. She actually GAINED weight over this past month, a lot of weight (1LB)
Now, JL is a very aggressive form of lymphoma, with death occurring normally within 2 weeks after symptoms have been noticed. Also, JL does not present itself with swollen lymph nodes until very late in the disease.
My horrible concern: Shouldn't my Chia already have passed away, based on the stages of JL? She has the swollen lymph nodes, and the cough has been present for months. Normal JL cases say that she should already have died?!
I am super worried because she is on a high dose of pred, and I don't want it to hurt her if she actually does not have JL. Could it be something like heartworm, heart disease, or an infection (maybe thoracic)??
|
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Jun 11, 2013 15:31:30 GMT -5
I can't imagine where she would get the heartworm from (she's 9 months right...there's no way). She's never seen a summer. It's definitely not that. Heart disease maybe....if you're concerned ask your vets. Tell them about the concerns. That's what they're there for. Get another opinion. Truthfully, there is no one on this board or the ferret health board who can help you better than the vets that can put their hands on your ferret. Normally JL is very aggressive, Porthos passed about 3 months after the first symptoms. Thor 2 days. Porthos didn't loose any weight, ate like a trooper, stools remained good until the end....when things stopped up. I shouldn't have fought near as long as I did for him, but it broke my heart that he'd had such a horrible life and had just started to enjoy life and then it was over. That weight gain would really bother me. One pound on a Sprite is horrific. From her xrays...that's fluid build up weight and it appears all in the abdomen. Eventually, that fluid starts to push against the organs, shifting them and pushing them into the chest cavity....often with JL they drown in their own bodily fluids. Pred can help stop the swelling. If you're concerned get another opinion...a vet's opinion. Ours doesn't count  ciao |
|
|
|
Post by bitbyter on Jun 11, 2013 16:06:54 GMT -5
Yep, when it reached emergency status with Sneakers her back legs stopped working so I took her up to the university exotic vet. That is when they took the x-rays. Up until that point she had been a little lethargic and had the cough but was otherwise normal. A vet is really the only person that can definitively answer those questions for you. JL is normally very aggressive and does not give them a decent quality of life if you were to hang onto them. That being said, there are always exceptions where medical conditions are concerned.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2013 17:07:00 GMT -5
Well I called the vet, and was able to talk to her about my concerns. She said that even if it isn't Juvenile Lymphoma, they would treat her the same if she had a different type of Lymphoma. Also I was worried about the high Pred without a backup medication to protect her tummy, so they agreed to fax me a prescription for some Ranitidine to prevent ulcers. Chia has a re-check in two weeks, and I considered lowering her pred dosage to 0.6 (the vet said it would be alright) but I think I want to keep it at 1ml just in case it really is Juvenile Lymphoma.
I am also planning on giving her some Reishi and CoQ10, but I am worried that the ranitidine may stop the supplements from being absorbed? I don't think so, but second opinions are always good.
Does this all sound okay? Or do I sound like a crazy person?
Edited to add: All in all I have spoken to 3 different vets about Chia, and they all agree on the same thing. Lymphoma.
|
|
