>>but it was odd that he had the classic signs of insulinoma but
>>nothing was found.  my vet has only seen it in one ferret before in his
>>20+ years of exotic practice.  is it common?
>
>You didn't mention if he had a fasting blood glucose done. If the
>blood glucose confirmed insulinoma, yet no nodules could be seen or
>felt, then your vet should have performed a partial pancreatomy. I'm
>pretty sure the rule of thumb is to not come out empty-handed. My
>understanding is that insulinomas can often be microscopic, so that by
>taking part of the pancreas, you'll be likely to get at least some of
>them and that should help to raise the blood sugar.
 
the only blood glucose checked was when he was in a hypoglycemic episode.
I think it was pretty much confirmed insulinoma.  I did asked about a
partial pancreatomy (why not do one) and my vet's answer was what do you
take out?  and it may cause other problems as well.  I had made my very
first batch of chicken gravy for Dief the weekend before he left (before
he was supplemented with baby food) so we were going to try a diet
control.  I have heard of the not come out empty-hand rule, but only with
respect to adrenal.  my vets don't agree with that rule, and there are
other stuff that are commonly accepted in the fml/fhl that they don't
agree with.  they are really good about explaining their full reasoning
to me, and check about any additional info I bring to them, so I trust
the decisions they make.
 
does anybody have a ferret where nothing was found and a partial
pancreatomy or something else was done?  how did things work out?
 
>I'm so sorry to hear that you lost the little guy a week after
>surgery. My heart goes out to you. I just lost my Molly last month.
>I know how much it hurts.
 
I'm sorry to hear about Molly.  may the happy memories you have with her
comfort and cheer you.  Birch and Dief passed over a month ago, and they
are the two that sleep with me every night, so it is particularly rough.
 
take care.
 
// *********************************
// Selina, Sprite, Sand & Bear
// missing Birch, Dief & Storm
// http://www.cgl.uwaterloo.ca/~ssiu
[Posted in FML issue 3988]