Reishi mushroom doesn't seem to be helping

[Deleted]

I started Remus on reishi mushroom (.25 capsule every night) about two-three weeks ago to help with mast cell tumors and itching. When I started him on it he had one scabby spot, and now he has three. It's strange because he doesn't really seem to be scratching an unusual amount but they keep popping up.
He is overdue for Revolution but I'm afraid to give him a monthly dose because the spots are on his back and I don't want it to get into a wound. I also haven't seen any signs of parasites (which would be fairly obvious on a white ferret, lol).
In addition the reishi he's getting plenty of tone (6-7 drops with his reishi/pumpkin mix and as treats throughout the day), so I wouldn't think dry skin would be the issue.
Am I not giving the Reishi enough time to work? Should I up the dosage? Or should I schedule a vet appointment to see if they can tell me what's going on?

[Sherry]

I just messaged Jennifer for you as she'd be the best one to answer this.

[Deleted]

Reishi usually works very quickly on mast cell tumors if it is going to work. The reason why reishi usually works and does so quickly is because mast cell tumors are aggravated by elevated histamine levels. Reishi is a natural antihistmine that has anti-inflammatory properties.

It has been my experience that the mast cell tumors respond to reishi as follows:
* they may disappear and never return
* they may disappear, but you may see an occasional low-grade recurrence
* they may get small and become very insignificant and stay that way (no longer inflammatory)
* the tendency to develop mast cell tumors is either greatly diminished, o no more mas cell tumor occur.
* the ferret improves with mast cell tumor issues, but one or two mast cell tumors fail to respond to the reishi. (I have these removed)

I have never sen a ferret NOT respond favorably to reishi to at least SOME degree for mast cell tumors, but anything is possible.

Possible reasons why reishi may fail cold include the following:
* the Reishi is of poor quality and/or expired/very old
* the ferret's immune system/inflammatory responses are already affected by mething else - such as disease and/or another treatment (such as pred./dex./azathioprine)
* the mast cell tumors are malignant (this is rare)
* the tumors are not mast cell tumors.
* the ferret is not getting the nutritional benefit from the treatment (inability to digest/absorb the reishi)

Anything is possible, so I recommend a trip to the vet if the mast cell tumor activity and/or tumors are not improving with reishi within a couple of weeks of treatment.

The only caveat to that would be if you are using an "unknown brand" of reishi, the reishi is very old (a year past expiration)- specifically, the reishi may be of poor quality.
The brands I havealways used include:
* New Chapter( Life shield) Reishi
* Host Defense Reishi

There might be one other thing you can try with our vet's approval. .An anti-histamine, such as benadryl should let you known if the tumor is being aggravated by a histamine response. While reishi is a naturally occurring antihistamine/anti-inflammatory, your ferret may not be processing/absorbing the reishi. Trying benadyl my let you know if the mast cell activity is "controllable" with antihistamines. While I recommend against long-term administration of something like benadryl, a short-erm treatment might "knock down" the histamine response for a while, and short term administration of benadryl on an occasional basis may be enough to "manage" mast cell activity. Again, this is something I would do under vet supervision.

There's a good chance that the vet will recommend removing any sizable tumors. That's fine, but if these tumors continue popping up all over, you'll want to try to determine if this activity/tendency can be "toned down". SOme ferrets seem to be prone to developing a LOT of these tumors all the time. Many have been helped a lot by reishi, which is mostly beneficial because it has antihistamine properties.

Again, I recommend a trip to the vet. Reishi is usually fairly reliable for helping mast cell tumors on ferrets.

-jennifer

[Deleted]

The brand I have is Solaray and he's been getting about 150mg/night. The expiration date isn't until 2016 so it looks like we're good there...
Away to the vet we go.
.58*/ <- Remus just walked over the keyboard, I think he was trying to give you a piece of his mind for telling me to take him.