Insulinoma - Years ago I had a father and daughters that had Insulinoma. Actually, I was the first person in our town to take the ferrets in for treatment. Mary Van Dahm of FAIR had written up a wonderful recipe which at the time I altered for the taste of my ferrets. I do have a packet of info on Insulinoma if anyone is interested which contains Mary's recipe. Email me with your street mailing address and I'll drop it in the mail. Nikki was dad and he was the first one to show symptoms. He would paw at his mouth and drool. The vet ran several hundred dollars worth of tests before the simple inexpensive blood glucose test ($10 at that time). I knew about Pred and Proglycem but the vet didn't want to try Proglycem because it was not commonly used on ferrets. I agreed to try the Pred if surgery wasn't successful and it wasn't. Poor Nikki. He had so many seizures, 3-4 a week. I remember the fear that I'd find him in the death throes of a seizure. Because the Pred wasn't helping and Nikki was still seizing frequently we opted for surgery again a year later. This surgery was also unsuccessful. The strangest thing happened though. Nikki had 1 month of wellness, he played and didn't have seizures. Then one night when I got home he didn't come out and I went looking for him. I found his cold little body under the couch on the sheet hammock I'd made and attached to the bottom for them (this was the old type laydown couch similar to our futon but had a solid bottom) in a coma. I warmed him and gave him his 3 cc's of karo syrup and called the vet. She said there really wasn't anything more they could do for him and that he was not in any pain. I was told to watch him that night and bring him in the next morning. In the morning Nikki was still in a coma and had latched onto a sock that I could not remove. I took him to the vet with a heavy heart. The vet took one look and said "It is time". I cried for hours and days. Nikki was only 5 years old. Whitney, Nikki's daughter, also was diagnosed with Insulinoma at the age of 5. With Whitney I insisted on Proglycem along with the Pred. No surgery for her. It took 3 months to get her stabilized with the Proglycem but once I had the dosage correct (the vet started me and said to adjust it as needed) she did fine. I created a recipe that she loved and it was the only thing she ate for her remaining two years. Teddy Bear, Nikki's daughter and Whitney's sister, also had Insulinoma. Teddy's was controlled by diet only, no medication. It was her diseased heart that killed her at the age of 8+. What I've learned (Vets jump in anytime) - I learned that we need blood sugar for our brain to survive and function properly. When we don't have adequate amounts we see the symptoms the ferrets exhibit, pawing at the mouth (this can be from other illnesses or food caught too so don't panic here), drooling, gazing off, hind end weakness, drunken walking, seizures and ultimately when left untreated - coma and death. A simple blood glucose test should be done twice, at least 3 weeks apart. The Insulinoma secretes excess insulin which eats up the blood sugar before it reaches our brain. Insulinomas are normally found in the pancreas and they are so tiny, about the size of a pinhead I'm told, they are often times difficult to find by an inexperienced vet. Many times even when the Insulinomas are surgically removed there are more later. Prednisone causes more secretion of glucose and Proglycem (diazoxide) is an insulin blocking agent. Brewers yeast is thought to be beneficial in that it is a good source of Chromium which is important for normal sugar and fat metabolism. A high protein diet and frequent meals are especially helpful. What works for one ferret may or may not work for another. Hugs to all. tle [Posted in FML issue 1683]