So, mollie has finished taking the baytril and her liver is back to
normal, and the only thing that is abnormal about the blood test is that
her blood sugar is high.  it was high during the last blood test too.
now the vet is suggesting testing her insulin levels, which he is doing,
because of insulinoma.  now, when i spoke to him, i knew nothing about
insulinoma (except for the name) but guessed that that was where he was
going.  so now i've been reading up about it, a bit, on the internet, and
also a copy of something he wrote about insulinoma.  all things i have
read (including the thing he wrote) seem to agree... but a few things
remained unanswered.
 
first off, mollie's 9 months old.  that's AWFULLY young, isn't it?  how
rare is it?
 
secondly, she's not drooling, spacing out, seizing (although once in a
while she will bite hard and scream, but usually when she is really
excited), collapsing, pawing at her mouth, etc.  how common is it to be
asymptomatic and be sick?
 
third, unless the lab doesnt have enough blood, they are going to use the
blood they already have to test her insulin levels.  i have since found
out that mollie spilled a soda the night before her blood test, and was
able to drink some for about a minute before she was caught.  as for the
first blood test, i dont know what she ate, but its quite possible that
she was around my mother's ferrets (who get cereal as treats) and ate some
sugar then too.  i read on one website about insulinoma that they should
fast for 4 hours prior to the blood test... mollie obviously didnt, and
may have had sweets in her system, could this skew the test?  if the
results come up positive should i have them take blood again?  if they
come up negativ, should i have them retake the blood?
 
forth... if she DOESN'T have insulinoma, and her sugar levels are not out
of wack because of the food, but they are just out of wack but her insulin
is normal, what could that mean?
 
and finally... the last two... worst case scenario, she has insulinoma...
 
a.) how likely, if its early enough and its one little tumor and they
remove it, will that be the end of it forever (not very, i'm sure)
 
and b.) i have read in a few places that she would be on a special diet...
is that the case, and if so, how would i go about giving her a special
diet and the other 2 their food?  i know the obvious answer would be
separate cages, but i dont think i would have the heart to have her live
in a cage all by herself, and die in a cage all by herself.  the other 2
are her best friends.  how do i handle this (hopefully i wont have to.)
 
thanks alot, and please send good luck to mollie...
 
-lisa mollie katie rudy
[Posted in FML issue 3618]