I read with interest Dawns' post yesterday about Dr. Weiss' work with
medication instead of surgery for some adrenal cases.  My Indy was
diagnosed last week and Dr. Dahlhausen here in Cincinnati started him on
medication Friday.  I'm not sure it's the same thing as Dr. Weiss was
refering to.....it's called Nizoral.  I had to pick up the tablets at a
local human- pharmacy (no, my insurance prescription card wouldn't cover
it) and bring it back to the Doctor to be formulated into a paltable
liquid.  Dr. Dahlhausen said he has seen some good results with this
medication....but it's all or nothing.  In other words, the ferret either
responds or doesn't.  If Indy doesn't show improvement within three months,
our next step is definitely surgery.  His symptoms are a bald butt, bony
hips, a lack of overall tone and a very thin coarse coat.....but NO
decrease in activity (or poop).  This poor guy has survived a vaccine
reaction and a terrible bout of green diahrea (I hesitate to call it ECE
because he had no decrease in activity or appetite....but it took weeks to
get back to normal!) in the past year.  By the way, Indy is a little less
than two years old, NOT from Marshall Farms.  I've had him since he was a
little kit, and he's always been fed Totally Ferret.  I've got 16 other
ferrets here who are not showing any of the same symptoms.
 
I'd sure like to hear from other FMLers who have tried medication for
adrenal problems.  I feel like I'm in uncharted waters here!
 
PamV
[Posted in FML issue 2605]