[3-part post combined  BIG]
 
Hi you guys...
 
Some of you might remember the last times I wrote because of Salma s hair
loss and I asked directly some of you around that time about my boyfriend
s bad allergic reaction to the ferrets
 
Now months after the OP (which was luckily NOT Adrenal, rather a huge
ovary cyst probably a couple of cells were left behind after her
neutering which grew out of control and produced extra hormones, hence
her hair loss and funny behaviour ) is Salma doing great, healthy and
hairier as ever!
 
What is making me desperate though is my boyfriend, and I know some of
you guys are allergic or know people who are allergic too, so I m asking
for please any sort of help or ideas on this because I really don t know
what to do!  I ve had the fuzzies for 3 years and for 2 years was my
boyfriend ok, didn t feel ANYTHING!
 
He d had bad allergic reactions to cats and dogs before (dander) but for
5 years he hadn t had a single asthma attack.
 
Last year I helped out a shelter friend by taking care of 6 of her
ferrets for 3 days.  Altogether then were 9 ferrets at my old apartment.
They were pretty stinky, a couple were yet to be operated for adrenal
(you know how many sick ferrets land on shelters) and this ONE ferret
was a WHOLE MALE (which I didn t know until I picked him up at home, and
which wouldn t have worried me since I DIDN T KNOW that some people with
CAT ALLERGIES also often get allergic reactions to whole males!).
 
So what happened?
 
After less than ONE HOUR in the same room (and during the ride in the
car) with the 9 fuzzies my boyfriend had an asthma attack which landed
him on the emergency room cause he didn t have any medicine (having not
had any problems for years!).
 
We have talked to may people (and doctors) and 99% of them say GET RID
OF THE FERRETS .  I ve already cried so much about it and was already 3
times SO close to rushing with them to the shelter or looking for someone
to take them.  I really do NOT want to lose my babies, just the thought
of it makes me cry over this stupid keyboard.
 
My boyfriend has been an angel, even my friends tell me that had he been
just any other guy he would have done months ago the ultimatum either me
and my health or the ferrets .
 
He has never told me to get rid of them, he has actually 3 times talked
me out of doing it!  He told me there has got to be a way and we ll get
through it all 5 of us.  He s taking a lot of medicine (many natural
homeopathic things but also the scary dangerous LUNG SPRAy/pump which he
s supposed to only use a few times a month BUT which he ends up using
like, 4 or more times PER DAY!!!) He s working in another city and we
only see each other on the weekends, either I fly over there or he flies
over here.  When I fly there he s usually ok (sometimes he has had asthma
because of ferret dander I probably had on my clothes).  When he flies
here (which is most weekends and holidays) he ALWAYS has asthma and has
to spray many times.
 
It makes us extremely worried and scared of permanent lung damage which
the doctors tell us could easily happen.  He can t do sport (which is
something he loves he runs marathons and major stress relief), he feels
fear and stress whenever he s coming over and the emotional situation is
at it s worse.
 
We will be moving together to he city where he lives and we chose an
apartment with an extra room which was to be room just for the ferrets
(which he wouldn t go inside, even though he misses playing with them).
This way all ferret things would be in there and I would wear something
that would stay in there so no dander would escape and mess up the rest
of the place.
 
We DID get an AIR PURIFIER and we have it running here all the time but
it does NOT seem to work!
 
The asthma attacks this weekend have been fierce, even though for
months I ve been taking the fuzzies to my boyfriend s sister for her
to take care of them while my boyfriend is here.  So he actually hasn t
had contact nor seen them since Christmas.
 
Still, during the week the fuzzies are living in the bathroom and having
short runs of part of our actual apartment.  No matter how much the air
purifier is on, how much I keep the babies away from everything, and how
much I scrub and clean, my boyfriend always gets asthma.  I am really
really desperate, it s like, I don t see a light at the end of this long
and scary depressing tunnel!
 
I love my 3 fuzzies Logan Leelo and Salma incredibly and deeply and I
wish I could change with my boyfriend and get this damned allergy instead
of him because I also love him more than anything in this world and he
is really the sweetest person I ve ever known, so loving and really my
best friend and I will hate myself and regret forever if he gets some
permanent lung damage because it s my fault for not listening to all the
people telling me to get rind of the ferrets
 
We hope when we move (end of April) that the problem will be solved, but
now I m really worried,
 
---> WHAT IF the asthma won t go away EVEN with the fuzzies in their own
room and not running around the house at all?  (I would take them for
walks on the leash so they wouldn t be bored to death)
 
I mean, CAN DANDER escape from under the door or glued to my hair and
spread itself all over the place?!  The apartment here s already
permanently messed up, (dander once s attached to things I read it
stays for months even after the animals are removed) and we can t afford
to have the new apartment messed up because of the asthma!  CAN ANYONE
PLEASE HELP???!!!!
 
CAN ANYONE PLEASE HELP???!!!!
 
Any ideas?!!!  Just tell me (especially from experience) if you think
the allergy COULD be really under control if the babies are just in one
room?!!
 
Or is it all useless and the only solution is to give them away?!  My
heart would be broken forever but I would do it if it means to save my
boyfriend s health!
 
Is there anything my boyfriend could take besides from this horrible
sprays or stupid daily pills (he feels horrible to be so young and
suddenly having to carry medicine all over the place like an old man,
and he really needs to be able to do sport and run again!!!).  He is
really depressed and it worries me and I feel so incredibly frustrated
and anxious and horrible it s like, it s MY FAULT!
 
The babies have no fault, they are so innocent and I love them so much.
But I love my boyfriend above all, and I couldn t live without him.  He s
even spend over nearly 2000 bucks in therapies to try to get rid of the
allergy but nothing seems to help!
 
Anyway, sorry for the huge post but this is the whole story and Maybe
someone was able to read it until the end and could find it his/her heart
to answer me and help us!  I would REALL appreciate it!  I haven t posted
much but I m always around and I don t know what would be of me and the
three fuzzies without the friends I ve made here and all you guys
experience and help.
 
I wish there was hope but today has been a horrible day and I m drained
out from crying and worried over this, to think I ve been getting all the
papers done (so many and so expensive!) to move with the fuzzies in April
(we re going to Zurich and they are considered wild animals over there
what a joke!), if there s no hope then I would like to find someone for
them here in Germany where the ferret community is bigger
 
Thanks for listening and for any help.
Big hug and dooks to everyone and best wishes of health to
all 2 and 4-legged sick ones
Very depressed,
Chris
[Posted in FML issue 4430]