Going to try des..

[goingpostal]

I've got two adrenals, Craven and Pip, Pip on monthly Lupron and responding well but recently started up sexual aggression again, Craven no improvement with lupron and I had planned to ask the vet about possibly adding melatonin implant to the mix and/or upping Pip's dosage when I ordered more shots. Called today and the tech had my vet give me a call back, apparently they have des implants in stock already for $125 a piece! Awesome.

I did order one more shot for Pip since we probably can't afford to go for at least 2-3 weeks, I want to bring everybody in for checkups/bg tests since we usually go in May anyways and had almost saved up enough for that, but now need another $250 and I'd prefer not to rack up the credit cards I've been working so hard to pay off. So cross your fingers that des works for my boys, I really want to see Craven back to his healthy self and want the molesting to stop so I can get some sleep!

[Deleted]

That is a great price! Fingers crossed for the boys

[Deleted]

You can also do melatonin in combo with the des. shot. I think that might be worth trying if you can afford it or if they don't respond as well.

[Heather]

Good luck. I hope it works for you. You can use melatonin in conjunction with the des. The des takes a few weeks to work, don't expect immediate results. I've had some success. Any success is worth something.
ciao

[goingpostal]

Yeah I'm hoping for success with this, I can add melatonin later if need be but not likely to get it at this vet visit. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to magically round up another $700 in the next 3 weeks since I want to bring all the ferrets and the dogs in and get all the yearly crap done.

[Heather]

You do know that your ferrets are ill and should never get a vaccine again? You qualify for an exception, your vet only needs to sign the papers.
ciao

[goingpostal]

No I don't give the ferrets any vaccines, but checkup plus blood glucose test is $70 per ferret x 4 plus $250 for 2 des. implants. Dogs need yearly checkups, heartworm tests, hw meds and vacc. I do rabies and distemper every 3 years on the dogs mainly because we do foster on occasion and being pit bulls, I won't risk them not having rabies UTD, god knows the outcry if one of them ever bit someone and didn't have it. Anyways I added it all up at work and just the basics is over $900, plus gas/food since it's out of town. I've got plenty clear on credit and money in savings but prefer not to dip into that if possible.

[Heather]

Ouch...
ciao

[goingpostal]

Ouch is right. This vet isn't cheap, but the next nearest option would probably be 5+ hours away and that's not going to be any cheaper. I'd rather get everyone in and done with than make two trips, otherwise I could take the dogs to the local vet but they aren't much cheaper, very old school (yearly vaccs, every vacc under the sun, feed science diet, etc), treat me like an idiot and not even good skills with animals! When Pandora had that tumor taken off I'd brought my cat in as well for some chin acne that just wouldn't go away and I had to argue with them a ton since she hasn't had any shots in the 7+ years since I moved out with her, she got them yearly before that so she's had plenty. They were all amazed that she is 15+ and healthy as can be but 2x the tech walked in trying to give her shots I didn't ask for or approve. She got a rabies done since she's an unpredictable biter but it will be her last even if she lives another 7+ years. By then her teeth probably won't hurt anyone anyways!

Anyways, my vet listens, gives options, stays up to date on everything and is so good with all the animals. If only I could move her closer to me! I'm sure both the local clinic and this one love seeing me on the schedule though, I spend a small fortune every year.

[Sherry]

Good luck with your guys and the des! And I do understand what you mean by the vaccine happy vet Had one of those. We don't see him anymore

[Deleted]

Wow, that is expensive! I was contemplating getting des. for my three girls, but I think I've decided against it. If it is a genetic issues, I don't want to build up ay resistance to it before they are adrenal. I think I will start preventative lupron shots next year though.

[goingpostal]

I'm wondering if I should throw Koda in for an implant as well, I'm not sure he's actually adrenal, he rat tails out every year badly and grows it back but I have caught him sniffing butts out of the norm for him. I guess wait and see. How long on average are people seeing des. work for? I've seen 6-12 months which is a huge gap.

[Deleted]

How old is Koda? Any other symptoms besides the rat tail and butt sniffing?

[goingpostal]

He's probably somewhere between 4 and who the heck knows? He was one of my friends 3 we took and we've had him over 2 years now, he's been tossed around too much and nobody knows his age. He's been rat tailing the whole time we had him, every year he drops pretty much all the hair and grows it back eventually. No other real signs other than his coat is crappy feeling and he smells more than everyone else. I've wondered over him the whole time we've had him but he never drops weight or acts adrenal so maybe there's some other issue entirely going on with him. The butt sniffing is new behavior, he's usually the one my other adrenals pick to hump and I don't know if it's because he's throwing off hormones or just because Pandora will actually fight back.

[Deleted]

Because of his age, I'd probably go ahead and implant him if you can. I remember Sherry saying something about the smell of an adrenal ferret. And the increased hormones would probably make a ferret smell worse. Is he especially yellow?

Pixie had rat tail once, but after switching to raw, it completely cleared up. But your kids are already on raw.