>From:    hotdish <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Need advice from those who have been through this
>I have posted several times about Rasta, who is my almost seven-year-old MF
>male who has insulinoma.  I have been giving pred since July and it seems
>to help but now he is having an even harder time walking and only eats,
>sleeps, poops.  He has no interest in playing and just wants to be held.
 
From what you've said, it doesn't sound like Rasta is anywhere near the
time where you need to be making that final decision for him.
 
I suppose no one knows for sure, but I believe they are not in pain from
insulinomas.  The low blood glucose may cause some discomfort, but the
blood glucose can usually be regulated with medications.  Perhaps Rasta's
pred needs to be upped a bit, or maybe you need to consider adding
Proglycem to his treatment protocol.
 
My Beasley was diagnosed as having insulinoma over a year and a half ago.
He's been on pred since as I decided against surgery.  He has never
staggered, but he has had a few (very few) episodes of hypersalivation,
pawing at the mouth and nausea.  Like Rasta, he doesn't do much more than
sleep, eat and poop, and he only eats when I feed him his "special" food.
I took him to our vet yesterday, along with Spaz, to get him started on
Lupron because he's beginning to show signs of adrenal disease.  By the
way, his blood glucose, which was checked during this visit, came out a
whopping 35 mg/dl.
 
So I guess you could say he doesn't have a very exciting life, but I
believe he's happy and enjoying his life, such as it is.  Though his awake
times are seldom more than 15 or 20 minutes four or five times a day, he
enjoys those minutes to follow me around the house, explore the various
corners and scratch at the door that leads to the garage.  He loves to
climb into a wicker basket that's in the family room so he can rub his head
against the rough surface, but he's SOOOO fat from the pred that the basket
invariably tips over before he can get into it.  So I help him and he's not
the least bit bothered by it.
 
No, it's not his time yet.  He's nowhere near as energetic as Spaz or
Penny, but he seems pretty happy.  Thinking about making that final
decision for him is not even a glimmer of thought in my mind.  I don't
know all the particulars of Rasta's situation, but it doesn't sound to me
like it's his time either, if the only problem is a little wobbly gait.
Get his blood glucose checked again and consider a little more pred if
he's not at the maximum or look into adding Proglycem.
 
For the ferrets,
Mike
 
* Michael F. Janke, [log in to unmask]
* Secretary, South Florida Ferret Club & Rescue
* A 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation
*
* Shelter web site:  http://www.miamiferret.org
* Adrenal/Insulinoma web site: http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc
[Posted in FML issue 2851]