Hey everyone . . . .  I could use some help, please, in regards to my
Phoebe's lack of hair re-growth after her adrenalectomy and with Lupron
shots and melatonin implant.
 
Phoebe had her left adrenal gland removed in Sept '04 and I adopted her
the following month.  When she arrived in October, she weighed in at
around 1 lb.  5 oz.  and I was told she had previously been fed Purina
Cat Chow.  She was therefore pretty scrawny but began gaining weight
pretty quickly, which was great.
 
What has continued to baffle me, however, is the lack of hair regrowth on
her butt and tail, despite being on Lupron since February and receiving
the Ferretonin implant 7 weeks ago.  It's very sparse and patchy and
barely covers her butt.
 
I figured that the hair loss she arrived with was a pre-adrenal surgery
symptom and that the fur would eventually grow back after surgery and
once she began getting the Lupron shot (and even moreso once she got the
Ferretonin implant).  But so far, she still has a bare bottom and sparse,
coarse hair on her tail.  (I even think I'm beginning to notice that the
tip of her tail is balding now).
 
Well, there has been absolutely NO sign of regrowth despite the Lupron
and Ferretonin (although it may be too soon to tell with the Ferretonin).
I guess I'm just wondering how much longer I should be waiting before I
can expect to see any change and therefore know if the Lupron /
Ferretonin combo is indeed actually working?  (She did have some strange
bare patches of fur loss on her neck when I adopted her - like 2 little
strips going from each ear down to her shoulder blades but the fur grew
back there all by itself within a few weeks after adopting her in October
and it was PRIOR to the Lupron shots).
 
Could it be that her RIGHT adrenal could have also been affected with the
disease but not detected or simultaneously treated pre/during surgery and
therefore that is why she's still showing signs of "active" adrenal
disease?  Would it be 'normal' for the right gland to become diseased so
quickly after the initial surgery, therefore causing the symptoms (only
hair loss with Phoebe) to remain instead of go away for a brief time and
then re-occur?
 
With Sasha, my other post-surgery adrenal ferret, her swollen vulva
decreased almost completely to normal size only two weeks after her first
Lupron shot (last month) so it hardly took any time at all for the Lupron
to take effect in her.  (She had her surgery in May '04 and began showing
signs of reoccurance in March '05).
 
The Lupron dosage that Phoebe is getting is 100 mcg, once a month, and
the Ferretonin implant should last for 3-4 months.
 
Any suggestions????  How do I know I'm even treating anything with the
Lupron and Ferretonin when I can't see any progress????  Would I need to
do a Tennessee panel to verify if adrenal disease is still present??
 
Thanks,
Jennifer and the 3 Amigos  :-)
[Posted in FML issue 4883]