Greetings -- We've already sent a note privately to [log in to unmask], but thought that this might be of more general interest to the FML. We just read about Bear's condition on the FML, and thought we would tell you about our Spazz's case. Your mileage may vary, of course, since surgery results depend on so many (often uncontrollable) factors, but this is another case example. Spazz is one of our first ferrets who we adopted from a nearby shelter more than three years ago. At that time, he was quite active & playful -- he clearly had earned the name his previous owners gave him. At any rate, Spazz will be 7 years old in October and had adrenal surgery just this past August 3. He had 1.5 adrenal glands and 10 pancreatic tumors removed in a single surgery. He has recovered quite well in the intervening month and a half, and is a happy, active ferret these days. He has actually gained a little weight over his pre-surgery levels, and he now regularly initiates play scuffles with our other two, much younger, carpet sharks -- something he was doing less & less of during this past year. Due to Spazz's age, we were reluctant to put him through surgery, so we had him tested for adrenal problems by the Univ. of Tenn. facility, and the results were, of course, ambiguous; his glucose levels at the time were fine. Based on the adrenal test results and his other symptoms (very minor hair loss, some thinning of the skin, and his low activity level), we played the wait-and-see game for a few months. However, he did not improve after some attempts to treat other possible causes of the hair loss, and we decided to have the surgery done before his condition deteriorated further. We contacted Dr. Weiss (of FML fame), who agreed that an adrenal tumor was likely and that surgery was best. Dr. Weiss also ran some blood tests (primarily for glucose and liver function) and found that Spazz' glucose level was now low enough to suspect insulinoma; surgery was definitely indicated at this point, even though the adrenal symptoms were still very mild. During surgery, Dr. Weiss was extremely surprised to find both adrenals involved and quite large! The reason we mention this is that you may be better off making a judgement based on the visible symptoms (which you can best see, since you see Bear all the time) rather than the blood test, which may not tell you much. Note, we're not veterinarians, but are simply relating what happened in our situation. By the way, we heartily recommend Dr. Weiss in Potomac Maryland, if he's within travel-distance for you. For us, he's more than an hour drive away in non-rush hour time, but it was well worth it: he was just wonderful with our little guy. And he's great with worried parents, too! We had so many questions before & after the surgery, all of which he thoroughly discussed with us, plus he phoned regularly to checkup on Spazz's recovery, gave us his home phone number for emergencies, and consulted before & after with Spazz's regular vet. Anyway, whatever decision you make, we're sure it will be made with love and with Bear's best interest in mind. Good luck, Bear, we'll be thinking about you. Wayne and Sylvia Baggett Cloudy -- alpha ferret "where'd that squeaky toy go?" Rocky -- food ferret "what'cha eating, can I have some too?" Spazz -- is Spazz "yyyyooooowww, I feel *good*, dadadum dadadudum" [Posted in FML issue 1319]