http://www.smartgroups.com/message/readmessage.cfm?gid=1423922&messageid=490
 
>This seems to have escaped all the vets' attention last week, so I will
>re-post my concerns and questions:
>
>My 8 year old boy, Snorkle, had a blocked Urethra and underwent a light
>anesthetization to insert a catheter and stitches to hold it in place.
>He was given Clavamox as a precautionary antibiotic regimen against
>infection.  (No infection found in the urine, just crystals)  It was
>determined that the swollen prostate was NOT the cause of the blocked
>urethra.  (He IS adrenal and started a 4 month Lupron treatment
>yesterday)
 
Whoa partner - you said "THE" swollen prostate, not "a" swollen prostate.
If you have prostate enlargement and dysuria, that is like thunder and
lightning.  I would be a bit hard pressed to believe that the urinary
difficulty would be attributable to another process in a ferret with a
large prostate.
 
>Blood tests showed a blood sugar reading, initially, of 85 and on the
>second day of his stay, it lowered down to 65, presenting a possible case
>of insulinoma.  Because of his weakened condition, the vet decided to
>hold off on a Pred treatment until his body stabilized and another blood
>test could be performed...maybe in 2-3 weeks.
 
Seems like a bit long.  If we can give Pred 4 days following exploratory
surgery on the bowel, it shouldn't take 2-3 weeks to be able to give Pred
to a ferret which just had a catheter in place.
 
>All other blood tests showed normal, and his 'kidney readings' showed
>stress but good/normal and presented no indications of a shut down.
 
Not sure what "kidney signs of stress" are.
 
>Now to my concerns:
>On the second day of his vet stay, and when I brought him home, and for
>a day after that, his paw pads, nose, belly, and tail were bright red.
>The vet tech attributed that to the 75 degree incubator.  If so, why did
>it persist for another 24 hours after his return home into an air
>conditioned environment?
 
Well, I'm not sure I totally buy into a red pad condition.  Cutaneous
vasodilation may be the result of overheating, as the blood vessels
dilate to cool the body, but this generally doesn't happen at 75 degrees.
You may also see this if certain drugs are given, such as tranquilizers
which result in dilated vessels.  I can't think of a medical reason why
hypoglycemia might cause this change, but I have also seen it on the FHL
as well.
 
>she wishes to supplement his normal diet with added Vitamin C to help
>prevent their formation in the future.)
 
You might want to consider a urinary acidifier - I think these work
better than Vitamin C, which can result in crystals in the kidney in
high doses.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3855]