To Anne Charbonneau:
 
>Victor is still on Pred one month after insulomina surgery (1,25 mg bid).
>When I try to reduce very slowly the pred (from 1/4 of pill to 1/6) he soon
>begin to have symptoms of hypoglycemia (salivation, stupor, weakness,
>lethargic).  Despite that he's in great shape.  I continue to hand feed him
>with canned C/D as he doesn't seem to eat a lot by himself and like that I
>can control the amount of food really ingested.  Should I try again to
>reduce Pred?
 
        No, not for a while.  It doesn't do any good if you make him
hypoglycemic.  Soe ferrets even after the removal of pancreatic tumors may
remain hypoglycemic due to the presence of tumors that are not visible at
the time of surgery.  Victor may fall into this category.  I would wait at
least a couple more weeks before trying to reduce the pred again.
 
Bruce H. Williams, DVM         Dept. of Veterinary Pathology
Chief Pathologist, AccuPath    Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]         Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
                               [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1216]