Hi, my name is Michelle Stephenson and I am a 3rd year veterinary student at
Auburn University in Alabama.  I have an older (guessing 5 yrs) female MF
ferret.  Last May, we removed her right adrenal gland due to cancer of
course.  We've known for a couple of months now that her disease was back
and in the other adrenal so Tuesday we removed it.  At surgery they also
found an insulinoma and removed half of her pancreas.  She was put on a
glucose drip overnite and it was removed Wed.  morning.  She came home last
night, still tired but responsive to her treats and ate the head off of a
pinkie mouse (yuk!).  This morning (thurs.) she was totally lethargic and
unresponsive.  I assumed she was having a hypoglycemic or Addisonian (low
steroids in the blood due to no adrenals) crisis.  I gave her a milligram of
Pred and some honey and she slowly came around.  She is still refusing to
look at her food and she is still tired.  But she does get up to go in her
litter pan and she did climb into her fleece hammock a few minutes ago.  I
am getting her some canned A/D for eats and putting her on daily pedia-pred
today.  Basically, I am looking for anyone with a ferret in this same
situation and wondering how you treated it post-surgically and any other
advice you all can give.  I don't exactly know how this email ferret list
works but I will be checking it for responses and my personal email address
is: [log in to unmask]
 
Thanks everyone.  I just love hearing about all of your little guys.  And
rest assured that in one year when I am out practicing veterinary medicine,
I will know how to treat these little guys and if I don't, I will find
someone that can.
[Posted in FML issue 1844]