In issue 543, there was a question about treatments for insulin
secreting tumors.
 
Here are our experiences with insulinomas.
 
Penny was was about 4 when we took her in after her owner could
no longer take care of her.  After we had her about 3 months, she
started having seizures which were eventually diagnosed as low blood
sugar, probably due to insulinoma (symptoms were labored breathing,
drooling, and seeming unaware of anything going on around her).
The vet put her on prednisone.  She lasted about 4 months until the
tumor seemed to be causing other problems and her general health was
becoming much worse.  So we had her put down.
 
A couple of years later, Henry (our first ferret) began showing signs of
weakness and confusion (as if he were blind), similar to some behaviors
that Penny had shown.  We got him to the vet and he had very low blood
sugar.  We started him on prednisone which controled his symptoms, but
left him with very little energy.  Our vet suggested we try proglycem
which has fewer side effects.  It was expensive (about 100.00 for a
30 ml bottle, but a bottle lasted for 5 months) and hard to find (we
eventually found a drug store 20 miles away that carried it).  With the
proglycem, we were able to reduce the dosage of the prednisone (but
proglycem alone did not control his symptoms), and Henry seemed somewhat
better.  He was still not nearly his old active self, but now he seemed
to enjoy his walks outside again.  While on prednisone alone he would
hardly want to go farther than a few hundred feet down the road.  After
we started on the proglycem he would go farther, sometimes half a mile
down to the beach and back.  He slept more than usual, usually only
waking up for his morning and evening walks.  But he seemed to a pretty
happy ferret right up to his last day.  His appetite remained good, and
he remained enthusiastic about his walks and exploring any new places
(and even chasing my parents cats).  He died quite suddenly one night.
That was about 10 months after his first symptoms appeared.  He was just
couple of months short of his 7th birthday.
 
Jim & Donna
Lark (Border Collie)
Andy (Ferret)
 
[Posted in FML issue 0544]