Okay, I've gotten some positive info back this morning regarding my
question about Moogie's Prednisone prescription and vet's reluctance to
refill it; the information I have received indicates that, if surgery is
not an option, that Prednisone is necessary or he will die of the
(otherwise untreated) insulinoma.  Also, I understand that people have had
their ferrets on Prednisone for two or more years without the serious side
effects seen in some other animals.  Another question for you: When I took
Moogie in for examination (the same visit in which my vet was saying she
didn't want to refill his prescription), he was/is showing the early signs
of what I would think to be an adrenal hair loss pattern: hair missing,
worse at the base of his tail, but also spreading just a little up his back
and down his tail.  I asked the doctor about the possiblity of an adrenal
tumor.  She dismissed this concern and said that the hair loss was
definitely from the Prednisone and that it is a further sign that we are
giving him Cushing's syndrome from the medication.  No mention of tests was
made.
 
This is not the same vet that originally prescribed the Prednisone for
Moogie.  That vet has left the area; this vet is the one who took over her
practice, and she says that the old vet was not nearly as ferret
knowledgeable as she is.
 
I am beginning to feel very uncomfortable with this situation.  Don't you
think that this vet was a little too quick to dismiss the possiblity of an
adrenal?
 
Thanks for all the help,
Vickie
[Posted in FML issue 2707]