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Post by miamiferret2 on May 21, 2011 16:23:25 GMT -5
a friend of mine has a 3 year old male ferret named Bear. the day before yesterday, Bear had a coughing fit. she took him to the vet and he had an EKG which revealed an arrhythmia (she told me that she is getting me a copy of the ekg) the vet told her that Bear's left upper ventricle is enlarged but only a little. i sent this x ray to heather last night as she has had experience with cardiomyopathy with her Napoleon. she told me that she sees some fluid around the heart. she agreed with me that his spleen is slightly enlarged but nothing to be worried about. Bear is adrenal. Bear is going to see a cardiologist within the next few weeks and hopefully he will have an ultrasound and be put on meds to ease strain on his heart from the arrhythmia. i also recommended that his mom give him taurine and C0Q10 daily as these two supplements DID help my ferret Al tremendously after he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy. so what do you all think of this x-ray? anyone else out there that has had a ferret with an arrhythmia or cardiomyopathy? any suggestions? experiences?  |
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Post by miamiferret2 on May 21, 2011 16:25:49 GMT -5
obviously, we are focusing on the heart here with this x ray. but if you experienced ferrents can find something else that is off, let me know. for some reason when i put this on photobucket it looks smaller.
i have a feeling her vet is not very experienced with ferrets. her vet referred her ferret to a cardiologist.
it looks to me (and heather) that she is catching it early.
with an erratic heartbeat the heart is strained and develops scar tissue, becomes enlarged and can no longer pump effectively. this leads to congestive heart failure and fluid builds up in the lungs and abdomen towards the end. obviously without treatment damage to the heart occurs more rapidly.
so she has to get going on some treatments now before it gets worse. unfortunately i never caught the erratic heartbeat early enough and my poor Al by the time we found out he had cardiomyopathy his heart was already damaged extensively. towards the end, he had to have fluid drawn from his abdomen once per week. his feet were very swollen and he had fluid in his lungs as well.
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Post by Sherry on May 21, 2011 16:32:32 GMT -5
I've no experience with ferret xrays. I'm assuming the slight cloudiness around the heart is what you are referring to?
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Post by miamiferret2 on May 21, 2011 16:42:20 GMT -5
yeah. and the shape.
i keep trying to enlarge it and i can't.
she emailed it to me and it looks alot bigger on the email attachment. its just when i copied it onto photobucket it looks smaller.
heather, i forwarded it to your private email. it is larger in the email attachment.
if anyone wants a better view of this x ray only way i can get it out is if you pm me your private email address and i will just forward her email to you. actually, i think if you click on the image it enlarges a little.
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2011 16:47:32 GMT -5
There's a code in proboards that resizes all images so they don't stretch the page. Can you zoom in on the picture and then post it?
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Post by miamiferret2 on May 21, 2011 16:49:27 GMT -5
how do i do that? are you unable to view the pic at all?
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Post by Sherry on May 21, 2011 16:55:30 GMT -5
Do you think your friend would mind if I stickied the xrays for others?
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Post by miamiferret2 on May 21, 2011 17:33:17 GMT -5
Sherry yes. feel free. i asked her permission first before i posted it on here. she wants as much feedback as she can so she can speak with the cardiologist and her vet to discuss treatment for this.
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Post by miamiferret2 on May 22, 2011 10:03:20 GMT -5
Judging from the MANY responses I take it no one has had this particular health problem in their ferrets! Lol. I guess heather & I have been the only unfortunate ones with her Napoleon and my Al.
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Post by Sherry on May 22, 2011 11:28:39 GMT -5
It would appear so! I'm really hoping we don't have that problem with ours in the future. We did have a cat with an extreme murmer(hole between the chambers) who was on enacard, but that's it.
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Post by miamiferret2 on May 22, 2011 11:44:23 GMT -5
yes, it is a GOOD thing that there are so few of us that have experienced this condition.
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Post by Heather on May 22, 2011 18:05:49 GMT -5
I like those odds. My biggest concern is that it is more prevalent but not recognized. My vet wondered that as well. Often the primary symptoms are masked as others. Lethargy, apathy, poor appetite, weight loss/gain, dry brittle coat, sometimes a dry cough that can sound like a hairball cough. Often people put it down to age or adrenal never looking beyond that. If Mayhem hadn't thrown a spinal thrombosis, I would have thought adrenal and treated it as such. That's the problem with ferret symptoms, cross-over symptoms make them one of the most difficult pet to treat  . ciao |
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Post by miamiferret2 on May 22, 2011 18:20:55 GMT -5
You have a good point. Since I have been one of the unlucky ones that has dealt with cardiomyopathy, I have xrays performed on my ferrets once per year and I have made coq10 & taurine every day supplements. The vets that I use now are pretty good about checking for heart issues but that is only because I harass them about it.  |
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Post by Heather on May 22, 2011 18:46:07 GMT -5
Exactly...you know what you're looking for and you keep on them about it. I knew what I was looking for but still wasn't able to catch it with Napoleon. I thought I had it but my vet wouldn't listen to me. She did all the right things but I can't help but think if I could have got him on anacard, furosemide or metolazone 6 months sooner when I first questioned his squishy, flaccid muscle tone and swollen abdomen that he might not have had to drown or suffocate in his own fluids  If we know what we're doing then what about the ones that don't...who don't know the right questions to ask, the right buttons to push. ciao |
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Post by miamiferret2 on May 22, 2011 20:21:29 GMT -5
yet another reason to post this here.  alot of people would look at bear's x ray and think it is totally normal. we know better though. unfortunately more than a few "ferret" vets will totally miss this and the ferrent will go off on their merry way thinking everything is fine.  from past experience, i have to think beyond "the big 3" with these animals. yes, lymphoma, adrenal and insulinoma are huge concerns that we have to be vigilant about--but those little motors are equally important! while we are on the subject of heart issues, keeping those teeth and GUMS clean and free of tartar (as much as possible) is SO important!! I check their breath (and the insides of their mouths for ulcers) because i have lost ferrets to kidney issues. but you wouldn't know to check for those specific signs unless you have been through it and know what to look for. live and learn. |
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