Homeopathy for support of glucose/insulin regulation..?

[fuzzysmama]

Hi there. So, I have a unique situation and no knowledgeable holistic vet available to refer to. I am looking to include homeopathy that could aid our fuzzy with insulin/glucose regulation. Here’s why...

Apparently our fuzzy was misdiagnosed as insulinomic early last year, and my not knowing better, I trusted the vet’s diagnosis. Despite that vet being an owner of the practice and this being the number one veterinary practice for exotics in our area, he was apparently wrong. Per glucometer test only, blood glucose at 59 (with a flu/cold also concurrently present at the time) received an Insulinoma diagnosis and a Prednisone Rx. Last week (with a different vet, at another of her 3-month check ups), she has a blood glucose of 513. We go back the following day for a second test- blood glucose of 488. So now she’s diabetic. Our current plan is to wean her off the pred, immediately. (It does concern me that this new vet said to stop all Pred immediately, cold turkey. I said no- we have to wean. It’s detrimental and horribly dangerous to just stop Pred.) So we are currently weaning her with 0.25mg reductions every 4 days. Once she’s off the pred, we'll get new bloodwork done to hopefully identify the *real* issue. Vet suspects adrenal due to her rat-tail. We have a Des implant on the agenda too, just in case. For right now though, I’m looking for any help, ideas, suggestions or other knowledge on homeopathy for insulin/glucose regulation. There is the possibility that, once her body is again permitted to release it’s own insulin to regulate her glucose, (via the cessation of the Pred’s actions), she can restore her blood glucose to normal levels on her own. Homeopathy may be able to help her do that, but I don’t even know where to begin to look. I also don’t know if the fast ferret metabolism alters homeopathic actions or not. I also (obviously) have to find her homeopathic pellets that are completely devoid of any sugar or sugar derivatives...if such an item exists. Any help would be *greatly* appreciated.

More details: We changed vets after 3 visits with the diagnosing vet.
The new vet didn’t question the diagnosis, and she was already on pred, so the weird CBC and Chem panel bloodwork was representing the effects of the Pred on her body. That day, (6 months ago), her jugular-drawn blood glucose was 93. Vet was happy enough with that.
3 months ago, blood glucose was 151, while still on pred. (Changed to prednisoLone several months ago).
And now, 513 blood glucose on check up day 1; 488 the next day. Glucose in the urine both days. So, something occurred within the last 3 months that has created a diabetic response. Our entire vet practice and all the exotic vets therein have never encountered a diabetic ferret, and if this condition persists, they'll be treating her based on their "best guesses" rather than a regular protocol. We love our little one so very much...all of this is devastating. Thank you for taking the time to read all of this. Any and all suggestions are more than welcome, and deeply appreciated.

[Heather]

I would not treat homeopathically without a true and experienced homeopath. There could be a number of factors in play and you don't know the root cause. As ferrets are difficult enough to treat medically and I've seen what using homeopathics does if applied in the wrong methods I cannot stress enough if you choose to go this route, to find a proper practitioner. As you don't know if you're treating adrenal as well, I would be very concerned without a true homeopath guiding and making the proper responses. As this is treated by layers (treated as symptoms in information appears) I would be concerned that the this would not occur in a timely enough fashion and may cause physical damage
ciao

[fuzzysmama]

Thank you for your reply. I’m at a loss, really. The available homeopaths admittedly have little to no knowledge of ferrets, specifically; and our vet has literally zero experience with steroid-induced diabetes in ferrets (or any form of diabetes in ferrets, and she’s been an exotic vet for 26 years). I’ve used homeopathy for many years with my dogs, but having no understanding of ferret endocrinology/physiology, I do not want to “try things” (including inexperienced vets or homeopaths).

[unclejoe]

Hi. those numbers are nuts. Could you find out what meter the vets used and the setting? originally our human meter was checked by our former vet and found to be close on one occasion, near the middle of the normal range, but once the BG approaches the normal limits the accuracy gets worse. Your vet needs to use the AlphaTrak II set on DOG for ferrets.

I would stay off the pred for at least 2-3 weeks before another BG test, and of course moitor her behavior.  I've had 30 ferrets, been a mod on 4 forums and a member of a couple dozen in over a dozen years, and never heard of a diabetic ferret either.  It's believed by many in the ferret community that crappy food leads to insulinoma.  So the reverse, good quality/raw food should not cause diabetes.  

What does your ferret eat?  Best wishes and please keep us updated.  

[fuzzysmama]

May 8, 2019 16:51:12 GMT -5 unclejoe said:

Hi. those numbers are nuts. Could you find out what meter the vets used and the setting? originally our human meter was checked by our former vet and found to be close on one occasion, near the middle of the normal range, but once the BG approaches the normal limits the accuracy gets worse. Your vet needs to use the AlphaTrak II set on DOG for ferrets.

I would stay off the pred for at least 2-3 weeks before another BG test, and of course moitor her behavior.  I've had 30 ferrets, been a mod on 4 forums and a member of a couple dozen in over a dozen years, and never heard of a diabetic ferret either.  It's believed by many in the ferret community that crappy food leads to insulinoma.  So the reverse, good quality/raw food should not cause diabetes.  

What does your ferret eat?  Best wishes and please keep us updated.  

Hi there, thank you for your reply. To answer your questions, this vet uses the same machines for glucose tests as the CBC/Chem panel (idexx was printed on her last panel, as the (?) analyzing software, I’m guessing?) -We believe she’s contracted a hopefully reversible steroid-induced diabetes, given the improper Insulinoma diagnosis and that the mechanism of action for steroids is to suppress insulin (over)production. She’s been getting 2.5mg per day for at least 6 months, probably unnecessarily, and we can’t get an accurate blood panel till she’s off the steroid to find out what is *really* going on inside her. (I have read some, but very little, on mildly low blood sugar and adrenal disease, so perhaps it was always that..?)

We feed her Wysong Epigen 90 digestive support, turkey baby food (only the beech nut brand), raw egg yolk and organic, raw, unfiltered coconut oil only on nail-trim or blood draw days (it’s her favorite treat). She doesn’t get any sugary treats and never has since she came to live with us (3.5 years), but she used to get pure canned pumpkin once a week (I stopped it immediately upon hearing Insulinoma, as it’s a starch). The only “sweetener” is the lactose coating on her meds, but that was unavoidable.

I do plan to switch her to raw, but it’d need to be a frankenprey sort of thing- I was raised as a vegetarian and can’t stomach the idea of whole prey. Given all that’s going on with her right now, I don’t want to further complicate things for her system, so I’ve been keeping her on the diet she knows. (Still getting strange poops, but I’ve read that’s a human symptom for cessation of steroids as well).

[unclejoe]

I understand the resistance to whole prey diets. It's not for everyone.
About the pred, it's good that she's being weaned off, for sure. Sudden withdrawal can cause other problems she would be able to tell you about, like headaches. So, yes, it's likely her glucose was down because she was fighting something else. AND, a response like that in 24 hrs is also unheard of.

We've had a couple ferrets test in the low 50s, and started on low dose prednisolone, about 1.5 mL/day, or .75 mL BID. One of them Abita, has been on .1 mL bid for nearly 2 years. She'll be 7 this summer, and is doing great. I just thought the original dosage was a bit high. You should start low and recheck in a couple weeks and adjust. Just FYI. Also, we had one fuzzy female that was on pred for the last 2 years of her life (she lived to be 7) and her BG stayed below 60, tho she was otherwise healthy and active.

Does she have any signs of adrenal? The Tennessee Panel hormone profile(done by UT vet school- I live an hour and a half away) is not considered diagnostic. I guess I'm asking what other abnormal signs does she show, or is all of this based on one faulty blood work?

[fuzzysmama]

Oh, the results weren’t based on 24 hours of her being on pred, she’s been on it almost a year. Her first bg at diagnosis last year was 59 (via glucometer)- I started her lower than the vet prescribed initially as I thought 1.25 BID was way too much for mild Insulinoma, plus she is very small. He tested her again (via glucometer) a few weeks later and said bg was 57, so I increased her to 1.25 but I also went to find another vet. (He and his office almost fought with me when I requested prednisoLone instead of straight pred; they claimed it made little to no impact on ferret’s livers).

At the new vet, her jugular draw was bg 93, (if I recall correctly), then 3 months later, bg 151 (again via jugular draw). It was this last draw where her bg was through the roof. We went back in the following day for confirmation as none of us could believe 513 was accurate...unfortunately, hyperglycemia was the real situation. (They further confirmed with urine strips- lots of glucose in her urine both days too.)

So far as early signs, I remember observing the “stare into space” occasionally, but she never displayed other signs. When she had the flu/cold, she had respiratory symptoms that concerned me (noisy breathing, almost a wet rattle), and had some back leg stumbles during that respiratory thing, as well. I guess that, and a faulty glucometer reading =insulimoma to that vet.

My current vet actually told me the Alphatrak company was trying to get approval for use on ferrets but the approval was denied- apparently Alphatrak ranges between 20-50 points under an accurate blood glucose, so it shouldn’t be relied on by vets at all. ~Scary to know that so many vets do though.

The adrenal possibility is based on her condition while on pred. Pred already causes hair coat changes, and hair loss, so it’s more a preventative “just in case” measure with her pending implant. She’s never had aggression/swollen vulva/sexual behaviors...none of that. I’ll attach a photo to show you guys her current appearance once I figure out how to do that. (Been trying but it’s not worked yet. I’ll try a different hosting site) -I think it’s mostly the fuzzy black-head covered rat-tail that has them thinking adrenal. I would have preferred she have oral melatonin, but she’s apparently sensitive to glycerin too, so that’s out. (The highest bg was after some Bach’s rescue remedy, which uses glycerin as its base).

I’m glad to hear that your little one is doing well with her meds and overall. They are such remarkable creatures, for sure. We are all completely confused by this situation we’re in. All we can assume is that she’s never had insulinoma and she’s developed steroid-induced diabetes. My main concerns at the moment are the risks of DKA (ketoacidosis), seeing as she’s still getting any amount of pred and she’s running such a crazy high bg...and the fact that if she’s not able to start regulating her insulin on her own, she’s looking at needing insulin injections, which all the vets in my entire vet’s office don’t know where to even start for a ferret. -I’m waiting on a shipment of urinalysis strips so I can monitor her urine for glucose and ketones at home while she’s weaning, but if ketones do develop, I’m afraid no vet here would be able to reverse it...so we’re just crossing our fingers she will pull through this and self-regulate again. (That’s why I was asking about homeopathy. If there’s anything I can do to help her restore normal function, I want to do that.) -I’ve read some about chromium, but I’ve also found human studies that link chromium supplementation to cancer, so I don’t want to even try.

Anyhow, thank you. I’ll keep everyone posted. Today is a good day- she’s playful and happy and stealing slippers and pens. Tomorrow the wean goes to 1mg QD. (.5 mg 12 hours apart). She’s a tough little fuzzbutt, that’s for sure.

[fuzzysmama]

There we go! Hopefully this works...
www.flickr.com/photos/36599856@N06/47024778964/in/dateposted-public/

[fuzzysmama]

Update!
So, it’s been a long road and we’re still trudging down the path, but I’m happy to report that she’s off steroids (her last dose was the 15th); she’s no longer showing any glucose in her urine, and hasn’t for several consecutive days. (So diabetic coma is off the list of potentially life threatening situations we may face, yay!) Her new “thing” is a digestive issue. She’s now 100% refusing her Wysong (kibble), and would only eat (turkey) baby food or egg. I’ve suspected a chicken sensitivity for a while, and that’s the main staple in Wysong. Soo...
Not sure if it’s IBD or ulcer from all the pred, or withdrawal symptoms (I know they can take a while to recover from, especially with the long duration), or Addison’s (adrenal insufficiency) or the fact it’s spring and warming up, or the fact she’s “feeling fat” (pred belly), but unless coaxed, she’s not seeking out food. Plus, a baby food and egg only diet is awful nutrition. Though I can understand that when it hurts to poop (she often whimpers), everything isn’t feeling “right”. I’ve ordered some slippery elm bark powder
We started FDR today. 1st attempt ever and she ate about 1/2 a (rehydrated) pellet. Sort of begrudgingly, but then “ooh, I like this”, then... “no, I don’t want that” ...”oh, yes I do”.... We worked on it for an hour and until she’s eating actual meals, I’ll keep bringing it out every 3 hours. Keeping fingers crossed that we can have a happy, healthy little girl soon.

[Heather]

Is it possible she has an ulcer. This is not uncommon from pred use. Simple antibiotics will repair this. It usually requires about a month but it's worth it
ciao

[fuzzysmama]

Thank you Heather. Do you know if they test for that in any way or is it more of a prescribe-and-see-how-it-goes type of thing? Her last vet visit was the 13th. We brought her in due to unusual lethargy with some uncharacteristic “wobbles”. The vet thought she was just dealing with too many symptoms from the high glucose. Her bloodwork showed some dehydration too, so we were sent home with sub-q fluids for her as well. (We stopped giving the sub-q after 6 days).

If they do prescribe antibiotics, is Carafate always a part of that? I worry about giving her anything with sugar in it- I always made sure she had a full tummy first and gave her a bit of EVOO with her meds to attempt to avoid ulcers. That said, the stress of coming off steroids rather rapidly, plus an extremely high BG, plus all the strain on her tiny pancreas and adrenals to get working again, that could give her an ulcer too, I’m sure.

[Heather]

Her various issues could be definitely allow for a helicobacter outbreak (ulcers). Sometimes you can tell by stools (dark, blackish, tarry). If the ulcer is very low, in the intestines, sometimes you will actually see frank blood....if it's very high, you won't see anything...so talk it over with your vet. It's treated with various antibiotics. Carafate is one of the common meds that is used alongside the antibiotic(s) to help settle the stomach. Some vets use pepsid but to be honest, I like the carafate, it's almost guaranteed to be effective
ciao