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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2011 14:44:19 GMT -5
Well, then saying adrenal isn't a death sentence is like saying that falling out of a plane isn't a death sentence. Will the fall kill you? No. Landing will. But is it really fair to say the falling isn't deadly? Hmm, not really, not to me. Just a technicality. What worries me is the snap change in behavior. The symptoms are aggressive, appearing and developing so suddenly. That, and how lethargic she is now. I am scheduling the deslorelin now so don't get me wrong, I'm not really considering surgery and I have full intentions of giving both my girls the implant. I might even put one in the younger ferret I have as a preventative. If I were in her shoes, I'd definitely want the implant so that I could live out my life in a normal way even if I did have a terminal illness. That's how I always make health choices for them. Think about if it were ME going through whatever they have. It's kindof sad but they seem to get alot more health care than I do!! I'm not insured, but they can go where I work with an employee discount  Thanks for the info on melatonin! My vet wouldn't do it in combination with the prednisone. Is there a PDF on that as well that I can take to her? |
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Post by Heather on Mar 22, 2011 14:53:49 GMT -5
I suppose when you talk about ferrets it's all about matter of degrees. Lymphoma is a death sentence. There is no reprieve, no silver lined clouds, no improved quality of life. I guess in ferrets it's all about absolutes. It's an absolute that your ferret will develop one of the big tumour causing factors. You've got a blanket....Adrenal, insulinoma, lymphoma (or a type thereof). Of the big 3 (I hate them all passionately believe me) I would sooner have the diagnosis of adrenal. At the age of 7....adreanal is one of the better diagnosis. Once you get a des implant (about 2 weeks into it you will start to see changes if all things go well) you will get your beautiful, good natured little girl back
ciao
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Post by Sherry on Mar 22, 2011 15:24:16 GMT -5
I'm not sure where the article would be, but if you check out the ferret health list archives at yahoo, they'll have something there. If you can't find it, ask. Someone will point you in the right direction.
The address for the ferret Heath list is listed in ferret talk under "useful links.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 22, 2011 15:37:15 GMT -5
i think that 9 times out of 10, when your ferret has adrenal disease, he/she will end up dying from something else. seems to me that they will often end up with a combination of 2 or more illnesses towards the end of their lives. i don't know why and i have wondered about this for YEARS, but it seems to me that alot of other health issues in ferrets (at least mine) usually follow adrenal disease. this seems to be have been the pattern (in order) with my ferrets in the past: 1) adrenal disease, 2) enlarged spleen, 3) (insert either lymphoma, other enlarged organs, cardio problems, insulinoma, ulcers, ibd, or any combination of these here) i sometimes wonder if the adrenal tumors themselves trigger any of these other things to happen? i wonder if (because of adrenal disease causing so much stress on their system) that their immune systems become compromised and then everything else starts to happen to them. i guess i won't ever know the answer to that question. but it sure as heck seems to be a recurring pattern. anyway, i havent heard of too many adrenal tumors being the direct cause of a ferret's death. sometimes the adrenal tumors become so large that they may rupture or the one next to the vena cava may cause that vein to rupture and your ferret will die of an internal hemmorhage. but those scenarios are not so common. the tumors themselves cause alot of symptoms that are debilitating and when they are far advanced, those symptoms may require you to put the ferret to sleep. for example, extreme muscle wasting to the point that they are unable to walk or get to the bathroom or get up to eat and have zero quality of life, or inability to urinate because of enlarged prostate. as for meds, I've had a ferret on a combination of 4 meds: pediapred AND diazoxide (proglycem) for insulinoma + melatonin AND lupron (or deslorelin) for adrenal disease. actually, my vet said that i broke the record with one of my ferrets. he was on pediapred, diazoxide, melatonin, flutamide, propecia, pepcid a/c, carafate and some other medication for ulcerative colitis ALL taken at the same time. as you can imagine that was a very stressful time in my house.  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2011 21:33:46 GMT -5
Wow... that is alot of medicine! I'm sure your baby was happy to have such a caring mommy  Mimosa is improving overall with her flu symptoms but still coughing and sneezing from time to time. I had a male ferret before who caught the flu a couple of times, each time he had symptoms that wouldn't completely go away for 3-4 weeks. I keep reading online that 3-5 days is the norm to have the symptoms. But I am sharing the flu with her, and I still have congestion and coughing. Should I worry for her? What are your experiences with the flu in ferrets? |
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 23, 2011 21:39:28 GMT -5
As best i can remember from 4 to 10 days for my ferrets. but apparently there is a flu going around now that lingers for over 2 weeks (lots of ferrets in shelters have come down with it recently.)
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Post by Heather on Mar 23, 2011 21:43:54 GMT -5
I've had ferrets who have suffered through upper respiratory infections (appears to be a cold). Most times no intervention is required and they last about 2 or 3 weeks to complete the full cycle. The difficult part is a ferret can get pneumonia without seeming to have a serious respiratory infection. Xrays are often required to make this diagnosis. I've only had to use antibiotics once in these cases because I discovered that Vibactra by Ambertech worked as well if not better to deal with these infections.
ciao
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Post by sherik on Mar 23, 2011 22:21:35 GMT -5
My ferret Zoey has adrenal and insulinoma. She has a melatonin implant, a des implant, and is on prednisolone. She is happy, playful, and eats wonderfully. It never messed with her blood sugar, the melatonin implant. If you go to the melatek website it will explain that is was just a rumour that the implant caused low blood sugar. It does knock them on their butt for the first 3-5 days I've found though. Which during that time, I just make sure that they eat.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2011 14:13:45 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing the info on the flu! It makes me feel better to know it can last this long. I felt really shocked when I read online it should only last 4 or 5 days... I mean, I have the same thing as her and I'M still sick!
Overdue update on Mimosa...
I took her in to the vet. She wasn't running a temperature, and the Dr didn't see any reason at all to think she could have pneumonia or anything else. She's still getting over the flu, and doing ok since she's eating well and her energy is getting back up some.
What really shocked me was this... she has EAR MITES!! But she and her sisters have been checked for those! I really don't know how she picked them up. They're all on ivermectin monthly too... Anyway, brought the other two in today and yep, they've ALL got mites. So that is contributing to the itchiness, BUT they were just in her ears, not on her skin, so it still doesn't excuse the BODY itching. My Dr also pointed out that the hair loss mostly looked bitten off, and could be seasonal, including her behavior. Although its very odd for her, it's entirely possible. She was living in a much more humid environment than she is now.
Another thing is, they've been in the litter box boot camp for about as long as she's been aggressive. It occurred to me yesterday that they could be pretty pissy about being in such an enclosed space overnight and through a portion of the day. Maybe that's sparked the boredom and aggression? I hate to "wait and see" about getting her the implant, but it might be the best thing to do since the symptoms could very well be unrelated. It's definitely something to think about.
So to sum up,
1) She IS getting over the flu that she caught from my hubby and gave to me, and is on the mend.
2) She is itchy from ear mites and possibly seasonal skin dryness. Maybe adrenal.
3) Her aggressiveness is POSSIBLY linked to seasonal issues and/or the boot camp. Or adrenal.
I'm still waiting to hear back from the office I found that has the deslorelin anyway, so I've got some time to think.
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