Trusting your gut!

[anunnaki]

I went to a ferret vet a week ago and got a clean bill of health for the most part for my 5yr old girl. I brought her in for a mild case of lethargy only to be told she had ear mights with no tests ran. They treated her even though I said I was skeptical that was even the case. I said she was lethargic and itchy but they just gave her ear mite treatment. She seemed back to normal the next day. She started blowing her winter coat and I noticed she had a tiny amount of tail hair thinning so I booked an appointment with a former vet that I trusted almost an hour away. I explained the other vets diagnosis and they did not agree. Tested her ears..nothing. Noticed the tail and her previous case of lethargy so they did a quick glucose test and it was low. Confirmed Insulinoma and adrenal disease. Knowing this I’m glad I made the switch to freeze dried raw and I feed her multiple times a day worried she may crash. Now I’m waiting on a quote for surgery. I’ve used the implant and prednisone in the past but having had ferrets with seizures I didn’t want to see this happen to her. Trust your gut and get a second opinion if you can or at least push for labs until they agree. So sad to see ferrets in America so diseased from poor breeding.

[unclejoe]

insulinoma is very difficult to resolve with surgery. The cancer is generally throughout the pancreas, affecting the islets of langerhans. unless there is one big tumor, it's probably best to treat with prednisolone. You can get it compounded into a flavored liquid that may be easier to administer. I've had several ferrets that lived over 2 years on pred till other cancers got them.

[anunnaki]

The vet warned me that it would likely not cure her. After I get a quote I may go the medication route instead. I’m hoping I can get her to at least 7 comfortably.

[Corvidophile]

Neither medication nor surgery (because the cancer cells are throughout the pancreas) will cure her of insulinoma, and even with surgery, you’re going to have to have her on a blood sugar raising drug (like prednisolone or diazoxide) because removing part of the pancreas will tank insulin production. It’s far safer to go the medication route. Mine lived on pred, then diazoxide and pred, for three and a half years. He made it to seven and a half. You can find his story of treatment documented very thoroughly under “Winnipeg’s health thread”.

[anunnaki]

Thank you for the information. The vet quoted me $1000 for surgery and $350 for the labs for adrenal disease. Do you think the adrenal surgery is worth it? I’m ok with going forward with the surgery and medication but I don’t want to put her through surgery if it’s not worth it for her. She’s made the switch from Marshall’s to Ziwi Peak and Stella and Chewy finally. Also, she eats freeze dried raw minnows as treats, are those ok? I want to make sure I’m covering everything to keep her as healthy as I can and not cause a blood sugar crash. I will be trying some other raw meat on her soon. She likes raw fish. I’ve trashed all the Marshall’s food and treats that aren’t raw.

[silentdook]

Labs for adrenal aren't always accurate. I'd just do the implant and prednisolone if she were mine.

[Corvidophile]

Yeah, “Tennessee panel” as they call it is what they want to run? It can give both false positives and negatives. Surgery is risky for adrenal disease because the glands pass by a major artery or vein, can’t remember which, which if nicked means bleeding out on the table. Deslorelin implant is not as effective as surgery if it’s successful, but it’s safer. You’d need repeated implants, how frequent depends on how advanced the adrenal disease is, usually between every six months and every year and a half. Expect to pay between $200-300 per implant.

The freeze dried minnows are great, mine loves them. Even my mice loved them, haha. You can also buy freeze dried hearts and livers to mix it up. Usually kibble eaters take to freeze dried foods readily because they’re crunchy. You can rehydrate them for added moisture, but it’s not necessary.

[unclejoe]

I've often wondered if anyone has done a study combining pred and des to treat adrenal. Pred is used to treat other cancers like lymphoma to slow the growth of tumors. I will post that on the facebook page and see what comes up.

[anunnaki]

I’m considering just doing medication after talking with y’all. I think I paid $500 for an implant for one of my other ferrets from the same vet. I’m ok with doing repeated implants for her. I trust this vet to do a good job if she were to go through with the surgery. I’ll have to have a call with her again next week to see what she thinks. Just want to make my baby comfortable for whatever time she has left. Got her the salmon and cod Stella and chewy (she eats the chicken, duck, and rabbit now) and she loves it. Happy to see her eating so well. She eats the ziwi peak kibble but prefers the rehydrated food more. She had a raw egg today, hope that’s ok. Also, hope she never has a seizure.

[unclejoe]

yowsah, $500? I paid $245 last Sept. Lupron was at one time a gfood add-on, but it's gotten crazy in price, and the last vet I asked about it wanted to charge me for the whole vial because it has a short shelf life (14 days?) once mixed. I gave it to one ferret and he went from bald to full lush coat in 3-4 weeks. That was at a time when the des was unavailable.