>>but it was odd that he had the classic signs of insulinoma but >>nothing was found. my vet has only seen it in one ferret before in his >>20+ years of exotic practice. is it common? > >You didn't mention if he had a fasting blood glucose done. If the >blood glucose confirmed insulinoma, yet no nodules could be seen or >felt, then your vet should have performed a partial pancreatomy. I'm >pretty sure the rule of thumb is to not come out empty-handed. My >understanding is that insulinomas can often be microscopic, so that by >taking part of the pancreas, you'll be likely to get at least some of >them and that should help to raise the blood sugar. the only blood glucose checked was when he was in a hypoglycemic episode. I think it was pretty much confirmed insulinoma. I did asked about a partial pancreatomy (why not do one) and my vet's answer was what do you take out? and it may cause other problems as well. I had made my very first batch of chicken gravy for Dief the weekend before he left (before he was supplemented with baby food) so we were going to try a diet control. I have heard of the not come out empty-hand rule, but only with respect to adrenal. my vets don't agree with that rule, and there are other stuff that are commonly accepted in the fml/fhl that they don't agree with. they are really good about explaining their full reasoning to me, and check about any additional info I bring to them, so I trust the decisions they make. does anybody have a ferret where nothing was found and a partial pancreatomy or something else was done? how did things work out? >I'm so sorry to hear that you lost the little guy a week after >surgery. My heart goes out to you. I just lost my Molly last month. >I know how much it hurts. I'm sorry to hear about Molly. may the happy memories you have with her comfort and cheer you. Birch and Dief passed over a month ago, and they are the two that sleep with me every night, so it is particularly rough. take care. // ********************************* // Selina, Sprite, Sand & Bear // missing Birch, Dief & Storm // http://www.cgl.uwaterloo.ca/~ssiu [Posted in FML issue 3988]