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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2014 15:03:49 GMT -5
Well I need some expert advice here ladies and gents....
I took Bella's BG and it is at 40, just 6 days ago at the vet she was at 30...is this going up at a good pace??? Should I call the vet and get her prednisone increased?
I did some research and she is supposed to get 1mg for each lb of weight....she weighs in at 1.7 lbs at home on the kitchen scale. Which means she should be on 1.7 mg and she is taking 1.25.
What should I do???
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2014 15:16:16 GMT -5
Yes it's good that it's going up, ferrets can adjust to a low BG, so don't necessarily go by BG, go by how she acts and her symptoms. 10 points is good yes, my Neichei lived 1 yr 6 mo with her BG never going above 35. If she is still showing symptoms, lethargy, leg weakness, etc, then you can call and ask how much to increase it, you know your ferret best.
You mean 0.17 ml, 1.7 ml is a lot, my Juliet weighed the same as your girl and her max dose was 1.8 ml, she started out at 0.1 ml, it was very small amount so after a few days I increased it to 0.2 ml, so she could have had it increased a lot, but the more you increase it now the less you can increase it later when her disease is more progressed. So we try and keep it at the lowest dose we can, while still having our ferts improve.
I would try and find a new Vet, if you aren't happy with yours, some Vets just aren't the right fit for us and our fuzzies. You mentioned they had the wrong weight I think, if they do that affects dosage. Give them a call and see what weight they have, you may have to bring her back in for them to re-weigh her, but your Vet can tell you over the phone how much to increase her Pred. She's on tablets right? It can be hard to get the correct dose in that form also.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2014 15:27:35 GMT -5
Bella is on tablets, so it's in milligrams (mg) Maybe I will leave it and wait another week and see where she is at then. I don't like the fact that they took a little 5mg tablet and cut it in 8 pieces. I want the pedipred liquid, much better I'm sure.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2014 15:31:59 GMT -5
I've never used tablets of Pred, but cutting it into 8 doesn't seem to be an accurate measurement every time, I am using tablets of Pepsid for my boy and I couldn't cut it into 8 so I dissolved it with a certain amount of water to get the correct dose. But I agree liquid is best.
Give it another 4 days and see where she is, if it hasn't gone up and her symptoms are still there, I would call and have them tell you what amount to increase.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2014 16:51:14 GMT -5
She's not as lethargic as she was that's for sure...I used to be able to hold her in my arms and she wouldn't move, now it doesn't take her long she wants down and runs around a little.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2014 8:59:11 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2014 8:59:59 GMT -5
Looks like it's not working, stating I deleted it which I didn't. I'll play around with it again later.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2014 9:03:42 GMT -5
Well I spoke with my sister last night, she has been a Vet Tech for years in Ottawa Ontario Canada. Unfortunately she is 9 hours away. She has asked me to take Bella's BG before every feeding and 1 hour after feedings today and send her the report by 5pm. She is working with a vet that is ferret friendly. So she will try and get me some answers. So I checked it this morning...both tests came out at 25
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2014 9:53:00 GMT -5
In the video yes she seems to be having an episode, near seizure. When she acts like this, make up some soupy and feed it to her as much as she will eat. 25 is very low, think its time to call your Vet and get her dose increased. Poor Bella, let's hope she feels better soon. Merry Christmas Eve
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2014 12:20:03 GMT -5
Thank you. I'm hoping my sister can do something for me today after I send her my report. I checked Bella's BG at 10:30 and it was at 21.6 I fed her and it was like force feeding her all over again. I have to check her blood again in 10 minutes. I don't understand how I have not changed anything that I'm doing, yet it's gone from 40 to 21.6 in one day!! This can't be good. I'm hoping the Vet my sister works for will tell me what I could do, better than what I got here.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2014 12:44:53 GMT -5
It could be a bad day for her, keep feeding her every 2 hours or so, we really don't want her to crash. I know it's hard, you can re blend her soup and make it more watery of that makes it easier.
I'm sorry you're having to go through this, trust me I know how hard it is. Have you called your Vets office? You can call and tell them its an emergency and you need to speak with your vet, and you can ask her how much to increase it, I did this with my Juliet.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2014 17:21:09 GMT -5
Thank you Julesalot. It breaks my heart to see Bella going through this. I just want her to be better. I've just emailed my sister today's report so far...I just checked her BG and it has gone back down to 1.4. I'm hoping that my sister's Vet could help me out.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2014 23:09:53 GMT -5
1.4? What? I don't think it can be that low, do you mean 14? Poor baby, hopefully your sister can help.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2014 2:26:12 GMT -5
Oh I forgot it's 1.4 metric which is 25.2, sorry about that. I heard back from my sister and this is what the vet she works with recommended.... "Hi sue - so glad you sent me that stuff and I wish I could have gotten to it earlier. I consulted with a vet at my work who has some experience with this and had him review the info too. Here are the points ....." 1- likely her dose will have to be raised - at least until you have better control - see the vet for a new dose 2- she is not eating enough amounts or often enough. Double the amounts and feed every two hours. A ferrets metabolism is so fast already that they process things very quickly. Food recommendations include "Carnivore Care" (a special food meant for chronic illness) he also recommends some of the molasses treats for the extra boost. 3 expect the sugars to stay in the middle single digits ultimately (4-7) once you have control. I'm not going for the molasses treat...I'm sticking to RAW only. Tonight Bella surprised me. At 1am I fed her 0.6oz, which is double what I was giving her and she took it all in very well. By 1:30 she was eating out of Mia's dish. And at 1:45 she was back there eating again!! I was sooo excited!!! She also ran around some after I fed her. Mia and her were both under the Christmas tree climbing all over the presents, and Mia was trying to knock them! lol So I will call my vet after Christmas, once she is opened and get her to increase the dose and prescribe pediapred. I'm going to have long nights, but anything for my baby! Merry Christmas!! :christmastree: :wreath:
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2014 2:49:47 GMT -5
Ah okay, sorry we had some confusion there lol. I have used Carnivore Care several times. Its expensive but it is a good product and great for weight gain. I used it every day 2-3 times a day for my Neichei for 6 mo and she gained 10 ounces in 3 month on it. Didn't notice it doing anything for her BG though, just her weight. Raw will be best for her BG as you already know. Never heard of molasses treats, but I assume it has sugar? If so, I don't know why so many vets insist on sugary crap for Insulinomics, a low BG is dealt with properly by a dose increase and frequent feedings of a proper food, pumping them full of sugar causes a sudden raise and a sudden drop, making the pancreas work harder to produce insulin and therefore making the insulinoma worse. Agh just hate when Vets recommend such stuff. That's awesome Bella is eating good, you may look to get her some Carafate for any nausea or ulcers the insulinoma or pred may cause, if she has bouts where she doesn't really want to eat, grinds her teeth, paws at her mouth, chews, has diarrhea or black/tarry stools. I know it's rough but once she's on liquid and her dose is increased she should feel much better, try and get some sleep in between feedings tonight, every 3 hours or so will be fine.
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