Hi Everyone,
 
OK, I am definitely not an expert on insulinoma.  So what follows is what I
know from my own experience with hypoglycemia.
 
I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia over a decade ago.  I have a family
history of adult onset diabetes.  Hypoglycemia is a precursor to diabetes.
I worked initially with an endocrinologist in Houston who specialized in
treating diabetes.
 
For any blood sugar problem one of the main things to watch out for is
*simple* sugars.  You still need complex carbohydrates in your diet.  For
me, this meant things like fruit juice, soda (which I am still hooked on
and I know it is not good for me) and things like highly refined grains
(white breads etc).
 
However, acceptable snacks also include milk and vanilla wafers, cheese and
crackers, meat, etc.
 
Milk products, as well as vanilla wafers, all have sugars in them.  But the
protein balances out these things.
 
My current vet has no problem with the Ensure and baby food.  She did
recommend that I add nutrical and ferretone to the mix, which I do.
 
Stella will also eat the baby food with cream and I used this also.  I
still add the nutrical and ferretone to the mix.
 
I do agree with Bob on the corn bit in foods.  Corn is a very hot food,
high in sugar and is often fed to horses in winter because of this.  Helps
keep them warm.  My endocrinologist advised me to eat corn and carrots in
very small amounts.
 
I plan to keep working with his gravy recipe because I think it looks like
a pretty well balanced diet.  It goes along with many of the recipes in Dr.
Pitcairn's book on natural care for dogs and cats.  He gives many recipes
for home made diets and the cat diets follows along the same lines.  I will
use one of these recipes, or perhaps all on a rotating basis once I get my
ferts to eat the stuff.  Over half of my ferret are aged, being 4 and up,
with many 5-6 and up.  I know this is going to be a staple for the upcoming
illnesses associated with old age in ferrets.
 
Plus, many are just plain getting old age skinny too.  I want to start
supplementing daily for the them.
 
I will continue to feed free choice kibble for all.  Dr. Pitcairn's book
also gives supplement for dogs, to be fed along with kibble.  I did this
with my dogs (who now live with the ex) and they did great with the
addition to their diets.  They were already being fed nutro lamb and rice
diet.  They particularly loved the cottage cheese mix.  But he does have
one based on raw or cooked turkey or beef that I think would be great too.
 
The book, _Dr. Pitcairn's Compete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats_,
is a great resource to have.  It gives alternative and complimentary
treatments for many common diseases in animals to go with traditional meds.
He also breaks down the many recipes for home cooked foods with nutritional
values and explains how to substitute and work with the calcium/phosphorous
equations.  It is available at Amazon.
 
I guess what my whole opinion boils down to is that I feel, from all kinds
of stuff I have read, that several factors combine to cause things such as
blood sugar problems and cancers.  Genetics, environment, exposure to
certain triggers for the genetic components.
 
I also realize that ferrets are not nearly as fragile as a lot of folks
believe.  They are tough little critters and mother nature makes for strong
folks.  I know man has interfered with mother nature when domesticating
animals and that must be taken into consideration.
 
But Sukie has speculated about all the inherited problems with ferrets
in the U.S. on the genetics list (maybe she can talk more on that here).
This country, according to her experience, is breeding a lot more sports
for color.  While she was talking on a thread with Waardenburg's syndrome,
I cannot help but wonder is she isn't onto something.  How much may go
along with the WS when breeding for fancy colors?  Combined with high
starch diets, as in kibble, we may be giving the ferrets the trigger for
genetic problems.
 
Maggie Mae
 
"Oh Maggie I wish I'd never seen your face
You made a first-class fool out of me
But I'm as blind as a fool can be
You stole my heart but I love you anyway"
 
"Maggie May," Rod Stewart
[Posted in FML issue 3153]