Insulinoma: Yes, they generally do better with surgery, with about 60% of
the ones with early cases being cured by surgery.  Do remember to read
about post-op care; poor post op care can kill so they need to be kept
quiet with no climbing (even ramps), usually separate unless there is a
known safe post-op companion because they can't be walked on or have
their stitches fussed with or such, they need to not have regular litter,
need to be kept hydrated, etc.
 
Yes, monitoring is often needed.  Having high protein food always
available works for many but not for all.  Yes, meds help when needed,
but the growths will continue and the meds need to be adjusted over time.
 
You should read the resources available immediately.  I mentioned a
few in today's FML and certainly a search of the FML and FHL Archives
will help you greatly like
http://listserv.cuny.edu/archives/ferret-search.html
and
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/
 
Also, go to http://geocities.com/sukieslist .  A lot of it is out of date
including the FHL addy but you can link to that from the FHL Archives at
sonic-weasel above, and I have not had the time to learn how to update it
(It was given to me.), and one of the link list addies has been bought by
a porn site but most of the links still work right and a number of them,
including a number of the vet sites, cover insulinoma.
 
Try asking questions at
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth , too.
 
A sick ferret takes as much care as any two or three other animals and
far more money than many; the last thing you want to do is to add another
animal when you have a sick one.  It won't be fair to the animals or to
the people and can be a slippery slope toward being an animal hoarder or
will prove to be a hard lesson learned the even harder way.  As you see,
it is far from being a moot point.
 
Right now I am very low on time so will trust you to use those resources.
----
 
Lori-Ann, that is one of the three form letters Verizon is using.  We
have only one thing with Verizon at this time (local hard wire service
and are looking into whether than can be changed to AT&T instead now that
it will be doing local services).  Verizon's hard-line is a different
division but it's still the same company so we may as well send checks
to someplace that isn't going to feed a dangerous misconception that
regularly gets anti-ferret people up in arms.
----
 
>(TIP: It's strictly for health issues, so any posts such as the one you
>made to this list (as well as my reply) are not allowed, and will most
>likely be refused.)
 
It's true that we don't allow OT messages on the Ferret Health List; we
need to stay on topic to retain the veterinary participation which is
essential to our goal of helping save ferrets and ease the route to
health information for their people.  We also try to keep the discourses
as friendly and inclusive as possible because by definition a number of
our members are going through hard times so we want to avoid making them
uncomfortable when we can.
 
--Sukie
(It's not necessarily important where you choose to put your love and
labor to help others, only that you do so.)
(Knowing the flaws of any tool (equipment, resource, methodology,
politician...) is essential for avoiding errors and optimizing use.)
[Posted in FML issue 3905]