I have a few questions about adrenal symptoms (or lack thereof) and
although I know there has been ample info.  posted on the FML archives
about this, I'm wondering how soon the disease can be detected and then
treated, bases on the presence of or lack of symptoms.
 
First of all, Sasha has been receiving clean bills of health as recently
as 3 weeks ago by our experienced ferret doctor so I haven't been
alarmed.  Also, Sasha has absolutely no hair loss anywhere, although she
did lose a patch of hair on her butt during the winter but it came back
in full within a few weeks of losing it.  Sasha has always been rather
plump, esp.  in her tummy and has consistently weighed in at 2.5#, give
or take a few ounces, ever since I got her in Jan.  of '03.
 
The main symptom I'm concerned about is that Sasha's vulva is noticeably
swollen a bit more than what the vet usually sees and now it's actually
externally protuding and has a discolored bump (size of a normal human
acne pimple) at one tip but there's no accompanying odor or discharge.
 
The rest of these symptoms are borderline & "iffy" but who am I to say,
since I don't quite know what I'm looking for?
 
1) Excessive drinking   (maybe but that could also be because it's been
   pretty warm lately)
2) Scratching/itchiness (nothing more than usual, in my opinion)
3) Change in tempermant / aggressive behavior: (she's always been one
   to gently jump on Snowball, her "brother" as a way of instigating
   playtime.  Never on anything/anyone else and never overly aggressive -
   she's as gentle as a pussycat!) No lethargy, excessive sleeping, etc.
 
I guess I'm wondering if:
A) I'm noticing adrenal symptoms early on enough to "catch it" and should
   seek a second opinion of another vet
B) I'm excessively worrying and shouldn't be alarmed if my vet ( an
   experienced ferret doctor) is not overly concerned
c) I should just continue to monitor Sasha and wait until more noticeable
   symptoms show up
 
Can anyone provide direction here?  I want to be as proactive as possible
but is it possible to diagnose adrenal disease in its earliest stages?
If so, how does a vet going about discovering the disease and providing
an official diagnosis?
 
Please feel free to email directly - thanks so much!  Jennifer, Sasha and
Snowy  :-)
[Posted in FML issue 4483]