>... Mandy, my 6 year old female had surgery this past Monday (12/11) at
>which time her left adrenal gland was removed as well as a nodule from her
>pancreas.  Her glucose level prior to surgery was 34 and following surgery
>was over 400.  Dr. Welborn had her on dextrose during surgery so this
>wasn't too surprising, however I am concerned as we checked her again on
>Tuesday and it was up to 561.  We are hoping that it will go down on its
>own however she is still showing signs of elevated blood sugar ( excessive
>thirst and urination, and wobbly walking).  Bandit had experienced these
>symptoms a couple years ago in reaction to pred.  use.  Fortunately, his
>blood sugar came down on its own and actually stabilized to allow him to
>be med.  free for about six months.  Anyway, my questions are do you know
>how long her glucose lever should take to come down on its own, if its
>going to and what I should suggest to my vet if it seems like this is not
>going to resolve on its own?  I am concerned about potential for permanent
>problems by waiting too long....
 
Dear Lucie:
 
Diabetes following insulinoma is not an uncommon finding in ferrets.  The
reason behind it is that the insulinoma has been secreting insulin at such
high levels for so long that the normal cells that secrete insulin in the
pancreas (the islets of Langerhans), having nothing to do, have atrophied.
They usually do come back, and often within a week, but there is no
timetable for when they will.  Usually if there is not sufficient downward
movement of the blood sugar within a week (it doesn't have to go to normal,
just start downward) then we should start thinking about the possibility of
diabetes.  This first week, though, let;s try to stay away from prednisone,
Nutrical, and any type of high calorie supplements which may elevate the
blood sugar.  If there is no decrease in the level of sugar by next Monday,
then we may want to talk about the possibility of insulin secretion.
 
It's not critical at this moment, but it bears close watching.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3267]