I'm relating my recent experience with the Deslorelin implant in hopes
that it might help others to maintain a good quality of life for a
longer period of time for their ferrets with adrenal disease.

I lost my boy Pop on Thursday of this week due directly or indirectly
to adrenal disease. It's really hard to know for sure, as I'll explain,
but I'm left with the gut feeling that if I had gotten him his second
Deslorelin implant sooner than I did, then he might have had more time
with me.

I got Pop in December of 2009, at which time he was, at best guess, 3-4
years old. He was severely malnourished and thin, had a large chordoma
on the end of his tail, and had rapid hair loss on the neck and
shoulders. His prostate was also enlarged and he was having urination
issues. I got him a Deslorelin implant as soon as I could, about 10
days after I got him, and it very quickly helped. His prostate and
urination were back to normal in less than a week, and within about
6 weeks his bald spots were filling in, and his coat as a whole was
improving. We had his chordoma removed, and between a nutritious diet,
the implant, and lots of love, Pop became a very active, healthy boy.

In my mind I always planned on getting him a second implant around 12
months after the first, as that's the 'general' timetable that was
reported in everything I'd read up until recently. Unfortunately, I
don't think that timetable applied to Pop. By the time that I noticed
him starting to go downhill in September, I believe his adrenal tumor
had already grown quite a bit. I had an ultrasound done in late
October, and it revealed a very large (2.6 cm x 2.9 cm) tumor on his
RIGHT adrenal gland. The left adrenal appeared to be okay, and no other
tumors were noted in his abdominal area (or anywhere else). I believe
that the tumor had started to increase in size around June or July, as
he started to have chronic diarrhea in July. As it turns out, the
diarrhea was caused by pressure on the GI tract from the adrenal tumor.
I got his diarrhea under control in August with a small daily dose of
prednisolone, but at the time (July/August), neither the vet nor I saw
the connection between the diarrhea and his adrenal disease.

Right after I had the ultrasound done near the end of October, I had a
second implant put in (10 months after the first). I was hoping that
between the fresh implant and increased doses of prednisolone, that Pop
might come around again, as he was really no longer playing much, his
abdominal area was distended much of the time, and he was showing signs
of discomfort. For a few weeks, the combination of the increased pred
and the new implant did help, but he began going downhill fairly
rapidly last week, and by this Thursday I had to put him to sleep.

I feel that if I had given him the second implant AT 6 MONTHS, then
perhaps the tumor would not have grown like it did, and he might have
continued on being active and pain free, at least for longer than he
did. I have no way of knowing for sure, but seeing that the second
implant did help for a few weeks, despite fighting against a huge
right adrenal tumor, I am left with that impression.

My point is this: I feel that the Deslorelin implant helped Pop
tremendously. But I also feel that a ferret with more advanced adrenal
disease like Pop should be RE-implanted no later than 6 months. If
you wait longer, you may be taking a chance that the adrenal tumor or
tumors are growing undetected, and by the time that you realize this,
you may have lost too much precious time with your ferret.

Jeff
In Loving Memory of Neo, Trinity, Morphy, Possum, Pip, Pop, Sabrina,
Minnie Mouse, Misty, Frodo, Baggins, and Mr. Parker
Caring for Luna, Baby Girl, Dozer, and Hunny

[Posted in FML 6910]