Hi Mary,
 
I concur with the most recent post.  Lupron is for the treatment of
adrenal tumors - it shuts them down and prevents the adrenal tumor(s)
from oversecreting sex steroids (principally testosterone and
progesterone).  However, a vet will often prescribe prednisone for
ferrets that HAVE just received adrenal surgery, and this is to help
them recover from the surgery itself.  The pred is not being given to
help "cure" the adrenal condition, obviously, since the tumor was
removed surgically and is no longer present.  I will elaborate:
 
Understand, the vet doesn't remove only the cancerous parts of the
adrenal gland when she or he performs the surgery-- the vet removes the
vast majority of adrenal gland, if not the whole thing (it's literally
that small).  The adrenal gland is normally supposed to secrete all sorts
of hormones into the body -- some help drive body metabolism (they are
called "glucocorticoids") and some are more involved with reproduction
(they are called "sex steroids").  An adrenal tumor results in
oversecretion of the sex steroids, which leads to the hair loss, and the
inflammed genitals and everything else.  So, the vet removes the
adrenal(s).
 
BUT
 
when the vet removes the source of the problematic sex steroids, the vet
is also removing the natural source of the glucocorticoids that drive
metabolism.  It's simply a consequence of removing the entire adrenal
gland.  [As an analogy, if you had a tumor on your pinky and your doctor
was only capable of removing your hand, you would lose your other fingers
and thumb too, even though there was nothing wrong with them and you need
them to function].  The ferret needs the glucocorticoids for normal
metabolism, and without enough of them the animal can "crash".
 
So, the vet prescribes an artificial substitute for after the
operation -- prednisone.  The prednisone has medicinal value not in
what it shuts down, but in what it substitutes for.
 
As for insulinoma, a different disease, prednisone is the first medicine
most veterinarians will prescribe.  It helps stabilize blood sugar
(again, prednisone affects metabolism).  It's also dirt cheap as far as
medicines go.  I don't really like prednisone because it has a lot of
side effects in the long run (like muscle wasting).  There is another
drug called Proglycem which is more effective against the disease, but
costs more too.  Most veterinarians won't prescribe Proglycem until
prednisone stops working -- I don't get that.  Why wait to pull out the
big medicines until after the disease has progressed further?  If we
were talking about my best (human) friend, I wouldn't screw around until
the disease got serious -- so why should I settle for less for my little
ones?
 
I have yet to get a satisfactory explanation from a vet for why Proglycem
isn't the first drug used.  Believe me, I've asked.  It may be because
they feel most ferret owners won't shell out for it (wrong); or it may be
because they've been trained to follow a specific, somewhat effective but
obsolete regimen and they are not inclined to think outside that box.
 
As an aside, I had a ferret who developed insulinoma and I managed her
for two years using Devil's Club Supreme (an herbal remedy).  While her
blood sugar never got back to 100, she led an active, symptom free life
and her eventual passing had nothing to do with insulinoma.  I don't know
if this herbal remedy is good for all insulinomas, but it worked for my
Nikita.
 
Anyhow, if anything that I typed isn't clear, please email me and I will
try to answer your questions.
 
best,
John
[Posted in FML issue 4673]