Well, I said that I would tell of my troubles with Christopher once I had a
diagnosis.  That diagnosis came in over the weekend so here it goes.  I'll
try to keep it concise.
 
Christopher will be 2yrs old this month.  He is a panda wanna-be MF male.
He weighed over 3lbs last year when he got his shots.  Oh, and he does hear
even tho he is a Waardenburg.
 
This all began over a month ago when Chris lost half his weight in a short
amount of time.  I attributed this to my running out of TF food.  Maybe he
didn't like Eukanuba alone?  I curse myself for not noticing sooner.  He
was separated and given straight TF, which he ate with gusto, but he was
nauseous so he did toss the food now and again.  His poops alternated
terrible goo and almost normal.  He did not gain any weight.  The local vet
drew blood for testing.  Physical exam found nothing unusual.  The blood
came back severly anemic (hematocrit of 28.4, normal low end is 45 or so).
 
I consulted with Yvonne DeCarlo (BLESS HER!) who was concerned so I rushed
him to Dr.Kim of Ridgefield Park who immediately felt a large adrenal tumor
but wanted to try Clavamox first for the stomache as well as prozyme to aid
digestion and pepcid for nausea(weight 1.6lbs).  A week later, no change
and Chris had dropped more weight(1.4lbs) so he was put under for an
adrenalectomy.  Maybe the adrenal tumor was suppressing the bone marrow and
causing the nausea or even ulcers.  Upon opening, Dr.Kim uttered those
horrible words, "Uh oh." Chris' intestines were a brownish color, almost
necrotic looking.  His blood vessels were congested.  There were lumps on
the intestines.  Biopsies were taken as well as an adrenal tumor the size
of a big lima bean.  Immediate suspicion was ADV even tho all 12 ferrets
tested negative on the United test in February.  Orbax now instead of
Clavamox.  Prognosis not good.  Adrenal came back as benign adenoma.  One
week later and back we go.  Chris didn't urinate for 24 hrs (but did once
we got in the car, the little brat).  Urine dipstick test showed proteins
in urine.  Kidneys in trouble?(weight 1.5lbs)Add Clavamox to meds.  Next
week, quick visit and weight back to 1.4lbs.  Meds finished and still no
change.  Back next week because I wanted more tests and retests.  Also
did saliva test for ADV.  CBCSuperchem came back anemic but not as bad
(hematocrit 34.6).  Urine cytology came back a puzzle.  Diagnosis:
eosinophilic inflammation.  Fine but rare if this were the intestinal
biopsy; unheard of for a urine sample.  Fecal still pending.  Began
treatment for eosinophilic gastroenteritis: pred and ivermectin.  Also
decided to try Tylan, used by some for gastric and diarrhea cases including
ECE.  ADV test is negative (halleluia!).  Intestinal biopsy came back as
lymphocytic plasmocytic enteritis.  Treatment as above.
 
So.  Enteritis is no easy thing to deal with.  I understand that this is
likely to be a recurring problem.  At this point, the meds seem to be
working.  I don't know if it's the pred or the Tylan or both, but Chris
is eating better, drinking more, and his poops have gotten better.  He is
alert and bright eyed, tho doesn't have much stamina.  Still, yesterday he
went right back to being sick, bad poops and flat ferret.  Today, he's back
to being better.  It looks like we'll be on this rollercoaster for a while
to come.
 
If anyone has any experience with enteritis, I could use all the help I can
get.
 
And that's my tale, mostly. It's been hell and it's still not over. I
understand Judy's heartache now. The rollercoaster is a painful thing.
 
Anastasia
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[Posted in FML issue 3207]