Hi, folks,
Whew!!  Just caught up (finally) on the FML.  I have been 4-6 weeks behind
since August (the joys of buying house intering with my reading time).  I
apologize to anyone trying to reach me for questions - the time just has not
been there.
 
WARNING: Graphic medical stuff to follow.
 
I've had an ongoing experience that I hope will help other ferret owners, as
insulinoma as been a constant thread lately.  In October, I arrived home one
afternoon to find Freya, my 5 year old sprite paralysed in the hindquarters,
weak and salivating profusely.  Needless to say, her blood glucose was
30mg/dl, much too low.  Freya was one of the ferrets on the NYS board exam
in 1992, and I had rescued her on my way home from Cornell before starting
my life as a full-fledged veterinarian.  Now, I have done surgery on my own
animals before, but not when I ' owned' them (I still considered them
rescues).  One of the other doctors in the practice placed an interosseous
catheter in her left femur (a practice I highly recommend, as it didn't
bother the ferret and she still had good mobility) which was attached to a
small IV fluid container that does not rely on gravity for flow.  After a
night on fluids with dextrose, and a 5 hour fast, I prepared to do surgery
(as I am the only one in the practice confident in ferret surgery).  I
removed 2/3 of her pancreas, everything else appeared normal.  By the next
day, she was eating duck soup very happily, and her blood glucose had risen
to 57mg/dl.  To make a long story a bit shorter, I was unable to get Freya's
blood glucose higher than 60mg/d; I started her on prednisone.  If your vet
has access to a good compounding pharmacy, they can mix prednisone to the
appropriate dosage in a sweet solution.  My little girl runs to that syringe
of eggnog/vanilla stuff twice daily.  It makes medicating her so easy.  I
also supplement her with a/d-Deliver 2.0 daily, and she has maintained her
weight.  She gave me her first real wardance in months Christmas week, and
she has never looked back.
 
I hope this positive story will give hope to those of you whose fuzzies are
showing signs of insulinoma.  If anyone has further questions on Freya's
treatment, please write - I actually am able to read my mail daily now.
 
-Dr. Karen
 
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[Posted in FML issue 1825]