Kim, your case sounds suspiciously like cystic-prostatic disease.  There
was a good description of this on the 9-8-98 Ferret Digest.  It also
appears in our adrenal info handout, available free for an SASE with 78
cents postage (business envelope).  CPD is treatable with antibiotics
and/or surgery.  Antibiotics should be tried first, to relieve the
inflamation and restore urinary flow.  I feel sad that your vet appears
unaware of this possiblity.
 
Dede, why not do adrenal surgery on your ferret?  Sometimes those enlarged
lymph nodes go away after the adrenal tumor is removed.  Sometimes they
don't, and the ferret goes on to live a long life in spite of it.
Sometimes you find other treatable situations when you do adrenal surgery,
as we did recently with our shelter ferret Ronnie.  Had we not gone in
after the adrenal tumor, he would have died within a few weeks of liver
disease.  As it was, we removed a diseased liver lobe and he has made a
good recovery.  Treating the ferret with prednisone after surgery sometimes
controls enlarged nodes.  Sometimes the ferret also has insulinoma.  During
adrenal surgery, nodules on the pancreas can be removed, and may extend the
patient's lifespan.  See the first part of our post for a free adrenal
handout (well, it's more like a small book!).  It covers all these
possibilities and has a step-by-step surgical guide for your vet/surgeon.
 
Best Regards to all those who love ferrets!
 
           Ferret Rescue of the Western States
           140 W. 29th St., Suite 191
           Pueblo, CO 81008
[Posted in FML issue 2429]