Sugar's adrenal treatment with a new (not yet in the US) drug,
documented for generel information and interest

Wed Aug 27, 2008

My 3 yo Sugar has just been diagnosed adrenal with swollen vulva and
thinning fur.

My vet and I have decided that a Suprelorin implant,(Generic name
is deslorelin acetate) is the way to go with the addition of oral
melatonin.

Wed Sep 3, 2008

Sugar received her implant today. Suprelorin 4.7mg. In the six days
since she was diagnosed her fur generally has coarsened and thinned all
over. She has very little fur on her feet and looks like a pink-footed
ferret. Her skin pigment is very pink.

For anyone in Europe the implant can be ordered from Virbac S.A. they
are the sole licensed supplier in Europe. The cost in the UK is [GBP]56
but there are two implants in the pack, I offered to pay for both as
neither I nor the vet realised this but he only charged me #28 + tax
and he will find out the shelf life of the implant.

He injected the implant while I held her and let her lick ferretone
from my finger, she only flinched as the implant was ejected from the
end of the (huge) needle.

Day 10.

Sugar's vulva has decreased in size to about 50% of what it was on the
day she was treated.

I first saw a change about day 5 but I couldn't persuade myself that it
wasn't my imagination. I have checked every day and the changes are so
small day by day that it is hard to see a difference but now I am sure.

Day 30

Sugar's vulva is now less then half its maximum size, the day to day
changes are imperceptible but it is smaller than day 10. Her skin
pigment has lost its very pink color and her fur feels softer. At this
time of year they all get combed every day with a fine steel flea comb
as this helps me judge the condition of their under fur by the feel of
the comb. Over the last few days I have started to get a few wisps of
fur from Sugar and this is about the time of year my ferrets begin to
put on their winter coats. All my ferrets seem to take 4-6 weeks,
centered around October to complete this process. The timing may be
climate/latitude influenced but its always the same. She has become
more playful over the past few days, more like her old self.

Day 60

Sugar's vulva is now 5-10% of its maximum size, the changes seem to
happen in a non linear way, nothing seems to happen for a week and then
a big reduction in size almost overnight. She seems to have almost
finished shedding her summer coat, I am combing out less day by day,
she was a bit skimpy in the fur department anyway but she had no bald
patches. She has become livelier than she was prior to the implant and
is now enjoying a good wrestle everday with Suki. Her appetite seems to
have improved but that may be just stoking up for the colder weather.

There is a side effect that has only become noticable in the last few
days. Sugar is an albino and I have always been proud of all my albinos
snow white fur with never a trace of yellow. Sugar over the past few
days has developed very dark yellow patches around her neck and
shoulder areas, I realise that this must be due to an increase in the
production of oils from her skin, there is no change in her very slight
normal musky scent.

Day 90

Sugar's vulva is now of normal conformation as far as I can tell, the
changes continued to happen in a non linear way. She has now got her
full winter coat, very thick and soft with some yellowing around the
neck and shoulders, this yellowing has stabilised with no increase in
area over the past 3 weeks. She has remained livelier than she was
prior to the implant and her appetite remains good.

Note: The the oral melatonin mentioned at the start of this post has
not been administered so as not to confuse the results of the implant.

Tony.

[Posted in FML 6185]