teddy has weakness in hind legs

[Deleted]

I woke up this morning and teddy can't use his hind legs well. The vet says digoxin because his electrocardiogram shows atrial problems. Any ideas?

[Deleted]

She suspect s dilated cardiomyopathy having episodes So A.V. block.

[Heather]

Has he had his BG done? Insulinoma is always a possibility.
Heart issues always require some considerations and testing so that you can find out which and what you're dealing with. I've got a heartkid right now and we don't use Digoxin at all. It may indeed be the answer if your vet has already figured out what the problem is. I do know getting the correct dosage can be difficult at the beginning
I would be more concerned of something else that's gone south though. Boris only has hind end weakness because he's in the late stages and can no longer support his weight properly. My Captain Jack on the other hand suffered a spinal thrombosis (think of a stroke, similar) which took his legs out. With a bit of work, he got them back again...took about 3 or 4 days but he never got them back properly.
ciao

[Deleted]

BG was 66. They did an x-ray and found nothing wrong with his spine, just some arthritis in his knees-unrelated. He's on the Des implant as preventative. There was some possible thickening of the atrial walls (educated guess without echocardiogram) So she did more research and came up with the alternative of Pimobendan 1.25 mg tablets .5 tablet-2 times/day. Pimobendan is for cats she said.

Have you heard anything about Pimobendan?

Teddy is basically scooting around using his front half and his back feet. His tail is up, so it's just that one area.

[Sherry]

Anything below 70 should be considered a confirmed diagnosis of insulinoma. www.ferretuniverse.com/health/insulinoma.asp

Diagnosis
The most accurate test to diagnose confirm Insulinoma is to measure the "FASTING" blood glucose levels by a lab, which is accomplished by a blood test. The normal range for a ferret is 80-120 mg/dl, with anything under 70 (by lab test) strongly indicating the possible presence of one or more tumors, and surgery should be scheduled as quickly as possible providing your ferret has no other health concerns.

Your veterinarian might request several tests to obtain a mean average, as the the values can fluctuate. Prior to each test you will need to fast your ferret between 4 - 6 hours. Once Insulinoma has been confirmed, the "FASTING" blood glucose test should be repeated every 4-12 weeks. You can also test at home after consulting with your veterinarian.

[Heather]

I agree with Sherry. There is only one other thing that I can think of (over an injury) is possibly a spinal thrombosis.
ciao

[Sherry]

And an injury should not cause that low a BG

[Heather]

I'm leaning toward the spinal thrombosis (pre-existing heart condition), exasperated by insulinoma but definitely insulinoma. This needs to be treated.
ciao

[Deleted]

I'm also thinking insulinoma too. I do find it odd he just woke up and has that much weakness, the disease progresses fast but in my experience not that fast. Definitely possible though.

If it is confirmed to be Insulinoma, I suggest surgery to remove the tumors. I should have done it with my Neichei, it would have bought her several months or longer, and in the end you beg for months. My Neichei's BG was at 17. 17 ... that was right before she passed.. And that was while she was on 4 meds/supplements twice a day. When she was diagnosed it was at 37. Surgery is always best in my opinion, I did surgery for my adrenal girl, it was unsuccesful but I wouldn't do it differently if I had the chance.

Even with surgery they usually do have to be treated with medication sooner or later, my Vet started us out on prednisone, Neichei got .2 mg twice a day every day, and it was slowly increased. To .4, then .5, then .7, then .8, then 1mg, then 1.2, then 1.4, then 1.6, then 1.8, then 2mg, then 2.2, then 2.4 and that was her max. Once she reached her max after a few weeks it stopped working but we couldn't increase it, by then it had been 1 year and the prednisone had done awful things to her body, but the benefits outweighed the sideaffects. She was dying, the insulinoma was killing her, until we ordered a bottle of Diazoxide. She was started on 0.2 mg of diaz, Within 1 week, miracle. She was walking, it was weak, but she was. Then she started trying to run, she was exploring, she was more alert. We increased it to 0.5, she started playing a little bit, she started gaining weight, she was walking better, even more alert, the diazoxide saved her. So of course I recommend that medicine if insulinoma is the case with your little one. Neichei had lost a lot of weight, and in her last few months she was taking prednisone, diazoxide, and carafate every 12 hours plus she had to eat carnivore care with her medicine so she could stay nourished, and that also made her gain weight. The CC was a miracle from heaven, On May 20th Neichei weighed 14.8 oz, that was the day she started eating Carnivore Care. Then on June 20th, one month later, Neichei weighed 22.3 oz. She gained almost half her weight, and she kept gaining because she passed away in August but it wasn't much more. Still she gained so much. I always keep some with me now, just incase. In the last 5 months of her life it was $250 per months for all her meds, but before that, it was only $30 a month, so don't worry too much about money, Prednisone is dirt cheap, and Diazoxide is expensive but at the starting dose it isn't too bad.

Anyway, sorry for the short book I wrote, just wanted you to know that I get the worries and that with the right medical attention your fert can have a good, normal life. It gets rough but it's worth it. And I'm sorry your little one is sick, he's in my prayers.

[Thérèse]

Although my experience of insulinoma is only my one boy, Studdidoo, my experience with surgery is not good. I did have surgery for him and he had to be put to sleep a mere 2 months later. While initial results were good (much better BG) I think the trauma of the surgery and the recovery time was not worth the time he had left. Only 2 months after surgery he got to a point of having multiple full on seizures and meds were unable to stop them.

I would be very hesitant to go the surgery route again although I had taken that route because I figured it would give him more time as it removes tumours and consequently you hopefully are further back in the progression of the disease then you were before, where as meds just slow the advance of it. Naturally I would consider each case individually but my experience has made me leery of taking that road again (consider the impact of the surgery on Studdidoo may have made the disease more aggressive, hence while we backtracked by removing tumours they returned at an increased pace).

Course I am hoping never to have to deal with insulinoma again and that is why my guys get no processed foods.

Best of luck in finding the problem with Teddy and getting him the treatment that best helps him.

[Sherry]

I will never do surgery a second time either. Granted Willow lasted 6 months following, but that was ONLY because we were able to split meds/feedings to 6 times a day.