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Post by katt on Jan 15, 2015 13:03:20 GMT -5
Oh Portland should have all sorts of stuff! (dance)
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Post by katt on Jan 18, 2015 23:16:00 GMT -5
Keeping in my feed
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2015 15:49:02 GMT -5
I still didn't get to the asian food market in Portland. I'm a bit stressed, because Bea has decided she doesn't like to eat liver anymore. She like the heart okay. Mixing the liver with the heart, just makes her not want to eat either. I tried scruff and stuff and she fought me all the way. Even putting fish oil on the liver slivers didn't help. Any suggestions? The only I think of is that I can try beef liver, the health food store carries if from the local organic farm.
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Post by katt on Jan 28, 2015 2:41:17 GMT -5
Uh oh, being a trouble maker is she? How are you offering the liver? Have you tried blending it up? Sometimes it's the combo of taste and texture that gets them. Also, are you doing full liver meals or mixed meals (like a little liver in each meal)? Normally we don't recommend feeding mixed meals (where each meal is balanced) because with people who have multiple ferrets it's impossible to ensure each ferret is eating things in appropriate balance. You only have one though, so you know exactly who is eating what or who isn't. lol If you think she might eat the liver better if it was mixed in with other meats, you could break her organs up across the week instead of having organ only meals.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 17:33:33 GMT -5
I might have to do that. She REALLY hates it though, if I mix the liver with other things she just won't eat any of it, the brat Not sure why she all of a sudden doesn't like it. The only thing I can think of is that it's the particular package, I don't know So I'm making a deer/chicken/liver/heart smoothie that I'm going to mix with some lamb slivers. I really want to make sure she is getting everything she needs. I'm also going to call her vet tomorrow to see about the suprelorin implant. If it seems like it's going to be awhile, i'll see about the lupron injection. I remember how energetic she was after she had her implant, now she sleeps all the time.
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Post by katt on Jan 29, 2015 5:19:30 GMT -5
Actually it may well be the particular package if she hasn't had an issue before. Try a different package and see what she does - maybe that one was expired or got a little too warm in the store. Or maybe she just wasn't feeling it that day. LOL Let me know what she thinks of a different batch or some blended liver. For the Des, word is it should be shipping out within the next few weeks, but who knows how long it will take all of the vets to get some even if they do start shipping it again soon. I would definitely consider doing the monthly Lupron in the meanwhile - apparently you may have to double the dose if a regular dose isn't helping. :/
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2015 10:25:45 GMT -5
I've made a vet appointment for Bea, but it isn't until Feb. 13th I'm thinking I might just take off work so I can get her in earlier. I also think it may be insulinoma. She is lethargic, stumbles, has lost her appetite and is doing this weird thing with her mouth, where she acts like something is stuck in there (which there isn't). She was drooling too sometimes. I mentioned all this to my vet and they said that she might need to go on prednisone. Bea is about 6 or 7 now, I adopted her in January of February '10 and they estimated she was 1-2 yrs then. I hope that she can get back to feeling better again. Ugh. Should I just go back to making soupies, so she is definitely getting a balanced diet? She isn't eating enough right now.
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Post by katt on Jan 30, 2015 14:56:35 GMT -5
You've done really good controlling her with diet for this long, it was only a matter of time until she'd need to go on pred. Insulinoma is a progressive disease. There is no stopping it or reversing it, only slowing it down. I would definitely get a BG and get her on an appropriate pred dose. Pred can really make a world of difference. I'd consider trying Lupron while you wait for another Des to come in too. As for diet, why isn't she eating enough? Is she not eating enough overall, or is it the liver you are concerned about? It could well be she is feeling nauseous from the insu. I wouldn't go back to soups unless you really need to. Try feeding her more frequently and do hand fed meals every 3-5 hours. The more often you can manage the better - shoot for small snacks so she doesn't fill up. If she isn't feeling good because of her insu, she may be nauseous and not want to eat enough, which will cause her BG to drop even more, and make her feel more sick....and thus we enter the downward spiral. Keeping her eating every few hours will help keep her BG up and hopefully help her feel a bit better until you can get her in. It does sound like she needs to go on pred though. If she continues not eating enough even being hand fed meals, and you can't get to the vet then you need to do whatever keeps her eating. If soup is what that means then so be it. That said if you do that, I would like to see her still getting some chunk and bone meals so she doesn't "forget" what they are. The liver we can work on easily enough. Try another batch and try blending the liver with a little water. If she still is being stubborn let me know and we can back step even more if we need to. If there is any way to get her into the vet I would recommend it. It does indeed sound very much like her insu is progressing, and getting her on pred as soon as possible could really help her feel a lot better. Poor little Bea. *hugs to you both*
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2015 12:06:58 GMT -5
Bea seems to have rebounded. She is eating more again and her energy level has gone back to what it was before. I made her that liver smoothie with the deer meat and she is eating that along with the slivers. It did seem like insulinoma symptoms. But at least she has balanced out for now. She is also eating again in the middle of the night, which makes me feel better. She still has her appointment for the 13th. I will be getting the Lupron injection for her when I go. I'm still hoping that the suprelorin will be available by that time though...
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Post by katt on Feb 3, 2015 3:29:28 GMT -5
Glad she is doing better! And glad she took to the organ soup well. Let me know how the vet visit goes. How is she doing with bones? I'll be out until Friday, exam coming up and have a lot of required busy-work this week that's cutting into my precious study time. :,(
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2015 11:53:34 GMT -5
Hello, I brought Bea to the emergency vet She has lost too much weight and is debydrated. She also has sores Iin her mouth. The vet is worried about her kidneys, so they are doing a blood test, waiting to see the results... I've even had to give her the nutrical three times a day (bets instructions) to keep her blood sugar up. That has seemed to help keep her appetite up too. Poor little Bea.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2015 12:49:19 GMT -5
It looks like her adrenal disease is getting bad. Her BG is totally normal. The vet said that she's competeing with the cancer for nutrition. They gave her fluids and gave me a fluid regiment for her. And I'm working on tracking down a lupron shot. Also they gave me meds to give her for the sores in her mouth. Whew! Hopefully Bea will be on the mend from now on...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2015 12:50:32 GMT -5
Oh, he did suggest surgery to remove the cancerous adrenal gland, but I don't know...
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Post by katt on Feb 9, 2015 23:13:30 GMT -5
Wow stressful weekend for you, I'm sorry! Poor little Bea. The word is that Des is shipping out again - at least to Canada, but at double the cost. I would have your vet check and see if he can get any implants now. If not then definitely Lupron. I have mixed feelings about the surgery. The problem is if you take it out you can (sometimes) diminish the excess hormones it's only a matter of time until the other gland becomes super diseased and you are right back to square one. Even with surgery, Des or Lupron still need to be given to keep the remaining gland suppressed. Basically the surgery doesn't work well, is not permanent, and comes with a lot of risks (it's not a low risk surgery, and ANY surgery comes with inherent risk to begin with)/ That said, if you can't get Des, and Lupron doesn't work, then surgery may well be an option to buy some more quality time. When it was looking like Des would be out for a while I began seriously contemplating surgery for my boys - Lupron doesn't work for them and without Des they would eventually die of the adrenal disease. Bea is 5, so she is old but not THAT old. My Koda is 5 and he's full of life still, I certainly don't think of him as old, but 5 is oldER for a ferret. At 5 though she could still have years ahead of her if you can get the adrenal under control. So if Des can't be ordered, contemplating surgery for a 5 year old ferret vs say a 7-8 year old has a different weight. I'd certainly talk to you vet about it and weigh out the different options available.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2015 22:37:48 GMT -5
Hello,
Bea is feeling better and is eating again. The vet gave her fluids because she was very dehydrated. The sores in her mouth were making her not want to eat or drink. The meds immediately made her mouth feel better and she is eating better now. I called my vet and hopefully they'll get the lupron shot soon. I hope it works for her. She is still pretty weak in the hind end. But her fur is still pretty good. I'll ask about the suprelorin being available in Canada too. She is on Clavamox and carafate for her mouth sores.
I adopted Bea in 2010 and at the time they estimated that she was 1 or 2. So she is more like 6 or 7. I don't think that, even if I had the money, I would have the surgery done. It's so frustrating that the suprelorin isn't available. I wonder why they stopped making it for a time, and why it would be more expensive this time? Seems fishy.
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