Phyllis Smith ([log in to unmask]) writes:
>Faith had a blood sugar of 45 on Wed.  I have started feeding her every 3
>hours.  My main question tonight is do I need to feed her every 3 hours
>during the night?
 
You might want to talk with your vet about using prednisone to help control
Faith's blood sugar levels.  My Slinky (6 yo MF Female) is on 0.5ml
prednisone (Pediapred) twice daily and it seems to have given her a little
more energy and "staying power" during play times.  I did have a scare
though.  Slinky had a blood glucose level of 47 after fasting in preparation
for testing her blood glucose to determine appropriate levels of prednisone
to give her.  Luckily, the vet's office took her in on an emergency basis
and did the test early.  Slinky then devoured the Totally Ferret I had left
with the vet tech!  Sighs of relief!  :)
 
>Second, I would like to hear from those of you with ferret who have or had
>insulinoma.  I want to look at facts on how ferrets did with and without
>surgery.  If the surgery improved their quality of life.  I am going to
>compile all the information I get and then I will post my findings.
 
Slinky started showing signs of Insulinoma this year ... more and more play
time spent sleeping and some hair loss on tail.  I had Bandit (her best
buddy) scheduled for adrenal surgery and elected to have the vet do surgery
on Slinky at the same time.  Its been two months since the surgery and I
have a happy, healthy ferret to cuddle and give kisses!  Unfortunately, I
have a run of ECE going through my guys.  The ECE seemed to exacerbate
Slinky's Insulinoma but the prednisone seems to have brought it under
control.  It seems that Slinky has shrugged off the ECE "bug" and is doing
fine now!  :))
 
Hope this info helps you in your decision on Faith's treatment.
 
Marc Wilson and the Tres Amigos (Slinky and Chloe ... mourning the loss of
their brother and compatriot Bandit who succommed to ECE on 6 July 1998 - we
all miss you buddy!)
[Posted in FML issue 2365]