One VERY important reason some vets like lysodren and other don't is that
too many still do not realize that LYSODREN CAN NOT BE EXPOSED TO WATER OR
SALIVA.  With ferrets the amounts used are so small that the chances of
exposure are great so it MUST be given in something which will shield it,
such as Nutrical.  How do I know?  Years ago when we first tried Lysodren on
Hjalmar (who got a bit more than a year from it combined with pred and other
meds despite his adrenally based lympho) I called up and spoke with one of
the researchers who developed it.  You see, it was a relatively new approach
so very little was known and we needed all sorts of information to make sure
that what we were trying would make sense.
 
A second reason lysodren does not always work is that there are multiple
variants of adrenal disease.  Just among the benign adrenals and tumors Mike
has pointed out that he thinks there may something like 3 or 4 variants but
that at this point there is no way to know for sure.  There are also several
malignant versions.  Meltdown had a different type than Hjalmar had and she
lived years past her surgery with no further problems.  It may well be that
Rose is a rose is a rose, but you can't say the same sort of thing for
Adrenal.
 
I'm not a vet, of course, just someone who has been around the block a few
times.
 
The ability to see colors is also something which varies.  We have one who
sees shades of blue.  It seems that few can do that.  Seeing shades of red
seems to not be at all unusual.  Others seem to completely lack color
perception.  Few enough things in bio are yes or no; continua are the norm
which should not be a surprise.
 
Next week Steve will probably add some pictures of Meltdown at her 8th
birthday party, Warp with the tree, Ashling defeating her first barricade,
and Scooter looking cute to the others currently in his web page.  Today he
may have gotten some good ones of Jumpstart with a tambourine but we won't
know for a while.  The page is http://skunk.research.att.com
 
Sukie
[Posted in FML issue 1915]