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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2014 2:01:52 GMT -5
I definitely know it's not bone as my girls are only on soupie right now. It is great to hear all this info because I never know if in the future something does happen, I will know what to do. :thankyou:
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2014 11:54:21 GMT -5
Well I called around this morning and I have a vet tech that I spoke to who seems quite knowledgeable with ferrets. Only problem is that she has to ask the doctor if she could do the BG test on Bella and the doctor is not in yet!! She was supposed to be in before 11 but has not shown up yet!! I'm still fasting Bella so I need to get her in asap! I asked the vet tech to call the doctor, but apparently the doctor does not have a cell phone! I tried to do the test myself with my father in law's glucometer but I couldn't get enough blood. I sure hope this vet hurries up!!!! I will keep you all posted.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2014 12:05:20 GMT -5
When you go, take your (well your father in law's) glucometer with you so you know how much it's off. I don't know the particulars, but I believe the number for a human glucometer is significantly different than the ferret reading ones.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2014 13:18:16 GMT -5
You don't need to fast her, feed her right before you leave and it will be an hour or two or more before you get there, signed in, in a room, and the doctor comes and does the test. Don't let her go more than 3-4 hours without eating, if she isn't on medicine it can cause a crash. Also know, being on Raw will help more than you could imagine, it's amazing how well it does keeping their BG stable. You're doing a good job, don't worry. Testing her BG at home will just tell you what it is, but getting to the Vet is #1 priority because they can give her something to help. Also home BG monitors are always off, either by 1 point or 10 points or more, so you won't know just what it is, you can take YOUR monitor, and have the Vet test her BG with BOTH at the SAME time, lets say yours says 60 and his says 70, you know to ADD 10 points every time you take her BG. She'll be okay, just get her to the Vet as soon as you can, you're doing it right and you're a wonderful ferrent.
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Post by Desiree on Dec 17, 2014 15:08:06 GMT -5
Good luck honey. I have just been right where you are. I adopted Rebel and Riot just at the end of November and within a week or so of having them, Rebel was diagnosed with insulinoma and Riot has adrenal. Both are stable though. Don't underestimate these little guys. They are tough. Getting her on meds and raw will definitely help her. We are here to support you.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2014 15:45:10 GMT -5
Thank you so much ladies! You have no idea how much your support means to me! :thankyou:
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Post by unclejoe on Dec 17, 2014 22:07:03 GMT -5
I read your other thread, after you wnet to the vet. We do our own testing. Our Tru2Go meter ($10 at walgreens, with 10 test strips and $10 mail-in rebate, making it free) checked out within 1 mg/dL of the vet's. Tiny ferrets (Alice) can be hard to get blood from though. Of course a vet has to confirm results anyway, in order to write a script for pred, but once that's done you can recheck periodically to judge if you need to go back in to get a dosage change. If you want to do your own testing, I and others can give you some tips.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2014 22:13:04 GMT -5
unclejoe that is the meter I have, how many points off is yours? Sorry I'm not sure what 1ml/dl is. If your Vets said 80, what would yours say? I haven't had a chance to have mine calibrated.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2014 22:54:29 GMT -5
I tried to get blood from her today as I have a One Touch Ultra 2 machine, however I couldn't get enough blood to test it myself. The vet had a hard time also and they used a syringe on her inner thigh. I brought in the One Touch Ultra 2 for them to test with. I would love to be able to test her blood at home, but not sure I can after my attempt today. The vet did say that her veins were tiny. I followed the steps that were sent to me by another member here with picking her toe, with no luck. I will take all suggestions
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2014 23:11:41 GMT -5
Poking toes never worked for me and stressed out my Juliet a lot. What I do is clip a little hair off the tip of their tail, swab it with alcohol and then poke the tail, they don't even flinch and I get 3x as much blood from the tail as I would the toe. There is blood on my floor from my boys BG reading earlier (it clots really fast though, no worries). Try that and see how it works.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2014 23:33:30 GMT -5
Oh that sounds easier than the toes!! Do you do it right at the tip of the tail or up a little from the tip?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2014 23:41:39 GMT -5
I do it more than halfway up the tail, like 3/4 of the way to the top or right under the very tip, for the most circulation.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2014 0:07:58 GMT -5
Awesome I will try that! How often should I be checking Bella right now?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2014 0:16:44 GMT -5
Sorry- Caillou jumped all over my keyboard when I was gone and seemed to post some stuff, LOL.
Is she on the tablets of pred right now? When first starting I would check every week or so for the first few weeks, then I generally did every month to make sure it wasn't dropping, if it was then I increased the dose.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2014 0:25:22 GMT -5
Yes she is on the tablets of Prednisone now. I gave her the first dose when we got back from the Vet...I have not given her another dose as they would have been too close together as she takes it twice/day, so 12 hours apart.
Should I get a specific BG tester? My father in law has a One Touch 2 Ultra.
Should I be giving her something extra to help bring her sugars up? Right now I'm strictly feeding her the soupie.
Sorry for all the questions...just want to make sure I have everything in place for my Bella.
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