Thanks to all that wrote with help on my little Ringo.  I am pleased to
share that he is greatly improved.  He has put on some weight and is
active and ornery again.  That's my boy!  On the advice of Todd and the
Fuzzbutt Rodeo Clowns, I'll share a little of the scenario in hopes of
helping others in a similar situation.
 
Ringo had adrenal surgery in February.  The vet found an insulinoma at
the same time and took it out as well as the left adrenal gland.  All
was well- recovery was quick and all his fur grew back shortly.  About a
month ago he started losing weight and acting real lethargic.  He also
smelled funny.  Normally he smells like corn chips.  He started smelling
really sweet (at risk of sounding crazy, like grape Nehi).  Another
fuzzie had just done this, so off we went to the vet who confirmed
that his blood sugar was out of wack.  We started him on steroids
(dexamethasone), a dropper full every night for a week and then one every
other night after that.  My other boy on dexamethasone had responded to
that dosage just great.  He's all fat and sassy again.  Ringo just never
perked up though.  He kept dropping weight until he was truly skeletal.
He (of course) had no energy and no appetite.  I couldn't even get him to
eat chicken baby food or ferretvite, which he loves.  He was just limp
all the time.  It was horrible.  The vet basically said there was nothing
else he could do.  That we were at the end of the fight and if this
didn't work, nothing else would.
 
Thank heavens we have the FML!!!  Many, many people responded and most
pointed out that the dosage was wrong.  Thankfully (as I turn into a
complete blubbering idiot when one of the fuzzies is in trouble!), Todd
gave me very specific directions on what to do.  We started playing with
the dosage, increasing amount and frequency.  Along the way Ringo perked
up, but started drinking tons of water (more than normal.  He generally
prefers to dig all the water out of the bowl rather than drink the
stuff!).  Todd pointed out that the dosage was now too high and needed
to come down a bit.  I played some more with the dosage until we landed
at .5ccs of steroid morning and night (and we're still tweaking that).
Ringo is getting a yummy concoction of wet kibble, chicken baby food
and ferretvite for breakfast and dinner, with the regular kibble to tide
him over all day.  Twice a day he also gets a boost of Ferretvite and
Ferretone.  Yummy stuff in Ringo's world.
 
I must say that the help and support from this list are what have kept
Ringo alive.  The vet had written him off and I didn't know what to do.
The accumulated knowledge here is extraordinarily valuable.  Ringo is
playing again.  He's driving the puppy crazy (and actively searching her
out to do so!).  He is waddling around the house again making me laugh.
Thanks to all that have given me more precious time with this sweet boy.
 
Anne and the kids
(Miesa, Joe, Bear, Jeffry and Ringo
with Lily the Dog)
[Posted in FML issue 4576]