Travel has gotten me behind in my FML reading, but I wanted to chime in on
an earlier thread.  This has to do with reducing the use of prednisone in
Anne's Victor who may have insulanoma remnants after a surgery.  In this
use, prednisone speeds up the glucose conversion process and helps the body
keep up with the drawdown that excess insulin causes.  Prednisone has a side
effect that lowers the immune response.  For this reason, it should be
treated with care and used at a minimum dose.  (I had a dog on pred. that
was recovering from cancer very well until he succumbed to an infection.)
It can have the same effect as AIDS.
 
Chromium picolinate serves a similar function in glucose stabilization.  We
have a ferret with insulanoma that we do not want to have surgery.  Nico is
only being treated medically.  He gets a small amount of pred. (0.1ml of a
prelone syrup that I don't have on hand to give the concentration, but it is
WAY WAY WAY less than what Victor is getting) once each day along with
chromium picolinate (CP) in our version of a duck soup.  (BTW   We would
never give our ferrets or anything else raw hamburger because of the
potential for salmonella!  Maybe a warning notice on this by the FAQ recipe
is due?  That meat should be cooked.)   He is doing very well and this has
been going on for about 5 months.   It may be possible to lower pred. dose
in insulanoma and still get the same benefit by using CP as a supplement.
My vet is studying this with great interest.
 
As a sidebar, she takes CP because of a family history of diabetes and my
wife and I take it for the more usual reasons.
   ( )--(o)
   (@=@=) \     Till next time.......Rudy the ferlosopher
   O__) /\ \__
      \   \
      /\ * )  \
I am the Iconoclast, but you can call me Noodle Noggin, right Big Ears?
    (Pinky and the Brain on the Animaniacs)
[Posted in FML issue 1223]