Well, with veterinary care we've gotten as long as 5 and a half YEARS
for a ferret after adrenal disease was first treated so I guess
compared to the months mentioned with care (type of care not described)
that is pretty good. Most of ours get less than that but that's just
because this particular ferret was young when she got adrenal disease.
BTW, in her case it was a carcinoma rather than hyperplasia (Yep, not
all forms of adrenal disease are equal*) so without care she'd only
have had months. She had both adrenals removed and lived out her long
life on a little bit of Florinef/ fludrocort and Prednisone each night
before dying 5.5 years later (five and a half years) which is the rough
equivalent of 55 years more in human life span proportions.

*About not all forms of adrenal disease being equal: failure to treat
hyperplasia can result in a lifespan similar to that of a ferret with
a huge medically treated carcinoma for which surgery is impossible but
maybe that will no longer be the case since I've been informed that
recent work by Dr. Nico Schoemaker of the Netherlands indicates that
new Suprelorin should be added every 6 months for such ferrets which is
more often than the previously used 8 months. Hyperplasia is typically
the least worrisome and easiest to treat form of adrenal disease -- as
long as it is treated.

Surgery is often the best approach for adrenal disease but it is not
the only option. Suprelorin (deslorelin implant) is highly effective
and a new one is often added anywhere from every 6 months (new data on
how to treat a probable carcinoma which I wish we'd had in time for
Mornie) to the more typical 12 months (for hyperplasia) in ferrets
under treatment for adrenal disease. Lupron depot can also be used,
of course, and some folks swear by them as long as the replacement
schedule is tight. Along with Suprelorin and Lupron depot melatonin
can be used and the combination is usually a good one. Melatonin by
itself is the least effective treatment and to work out well there is
tight timing which must be used if oral or an implant must be used.

A treated ferret with adrenal disease also avoids serious complications
such as fatal anemia, prostate inflammation which causes urinary
blockage (a very painful death), etc.

This past post tells the QUALITY of life reasons that failure to
treat an adrenal is not in a ferret's best interest, and this is from
a ferret expert veterinary pathologist who really knows his stuff:
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/SG5054

Remember that this post predates Suprelorin (quoted with his standing
permission to me):

Actually tonight I am working on a promised article to Ferrets Mag
about adrenal disease. But I think that Melissa and Sukie have covered
the dire possibilities very well (and they are very real.)

However, even under the best conditions, when there is no malignancy,
there is no bone marrow toxicosis, there is no prostatic cystic
disease - even the most mild prediction is a sad one. Ferrets with
adrenal disease have a diminished quality of life - they have
progressive muscle loss, low grade anemia, they tend to redistribute
weight to the abdomen, further making it difficult to walk, they have
an increased incidence of gastric ulcers as a result of the stress
of chronic illness, decreased bone density - none life- threatening,
but all life-compromising. Even medical treatment, which is not my
preferred way of treating adrenal disease, gives slight relief to
symptoms. Doing nothing is not kind and not in a ferret's best
interest.

With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM

Other diseases are similar. People don't treat just for quantity of
life but also for QUALITY of life, and in relation to quality remember
that each year you get a ferret is rather similar to each decade you
can get yourself with treatment. If medical care could get you 5
years, 10 years, or 55 years for yourself and those years would be
less painful and healthier would you use that care?

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
On change for its own sake:  "You can go really fast if you just jump
off the cliff." (2010, Steve Crandall)

[Posted in FML 6865]