How long does it take for Des implant to reduce symptoms?

[brittanyb]

Hi, everyone. My Scarlett just had a Suprelorin implant put in 3 weeks ago, and she is still very itchy, and seems quite tired over the past few days. For those of you that have experience with using the implant to treat your ferret's adrenal disease, how long after getting the implant did it take for you to notice a significant reduction in their symptoms?

[unclejoe]

It may take a second implant after 6 months to show improvement in clinical signs with just the des implant. See if you can get a melatonin implant which will speed things up. Idk if you can get Lupron, but last time i tried it was prohibitively expensive. Also ask about oral children's benadryl, which should help with the itching. We gave oral melatonin which was very helpful, but it needs to be given in a certain window around mid day.

[abbeytheferret6]

Does your ferret have insulinoma? It does reduce cortisol which tends to try to stabilize insulinoma in ferrets(do not know if that would make ferret weak or tired---lowering cortisol).
Have dark spaces for your ferret during day---if you have not already.

(about hair loss than the itching)
This is my Phoebe before Des implant and then after--but she did die of the tumor. It was near the Vena cava(vessel near heart). She lived to be 6.5 and so from her  hair growing back--she lived about a year and a half. She must have had advanced adrenal and I did not know it.

I did not keep up with the weeks it took for her to grow hair back---I should have.

She never wasted away- matter of fact she was always a muscular girl. I do not know if it was because she was fed raw or what. She did gain a little weight in belly---maybe fluid collection last weeks of her life. Not sure about that symptom-I did not talk to a vet about it .

I would give it a few weeks. My vet said one of her clients was mad at her because her ferret got worse before it got better. If she told me why--- that, I can't remember.

[abbeytheferret6]

[brittanyb]

Thank you both for your replies! I'm going to ask Scarlett's vet about supplementing with the melatonin implant. She hasn't shown any signs of insulinoma in the 6 months I've had her, but I know very little about her previous diet(s), and I've read that the the elevated cortisol levels caused by adrenal disease can mask insulinoma. So I will also be addressing this with her vet. I've also read that some ferret's adrenal symptoms get worse before they get better after the Des implant, so I am hopeful she'll be a brand new ferret in the next couple of weeks.