Hi everyone.  Boy its been quite a while since I've posted here but I felt
I should give my .02 about insulinoma.
 
Our Lillith was diagnosed with insulinoma almost 2 years ago.  We researched
everything we could find on insulinoma.  We discussed it with our vet, who
is very ferret friendly, and decided against surgery.  We decided that,
since it is not a cure but would only extend the inevitable anywhere from a
month or so to (with luck) 2 years, we would not do the surgery but try
other means to control her blood sugar levels.  I was called a few nasty
names by some people who apparently thought I was a cruel and unusual person
for not going the surgery route.
 
Anyway, we discovered a copy of the insulinoma elixir and decided to give it
a try.  I had our vet check it out and she sent it to another vet who
doesn't know ferrets but deals in holistic medicine.  The vet did not know
if it would work or not but determined that it certainly would not hurt our
ferret.  We started off on one feeding of the elixir a day with no
additional medications.  Eventually we started her on three feedings a day
with no medicine.  Over time, we had to start with the proglycem and pred at
an extremely low dose as the elixir was not effective enough by itself
anymore.  Little by little we had to increase her medicine dosage to the
point we are at now.  We give her the three feedings of the elixir and she
is on the conventional meds at a level that most ferrets generally start at
after surgery.  We have seen no side effects of the steroids yet since she
has been on a lowered dose.  The is active, healthy and weighs more than she
did before diagnosis.
 
I don't know if its just our luck or the elixir or something else but this
is our experience.  I don't know if she would have done better or worse had
we gone for the conventional surgery and meds route and will never be able
to make that determination but after almost 2 years, we are happy with the
choice we made and feel that it was the correct one for us.  As far as I can
tell, she will live for many more years.
 
The funny thing is that when we first started her on the meds, everyone we
spoke with told us that we would only have to buy one bottle of the
proglycem because she wouldn't last longer than the bottle.  However, she
has outlasted a few bottles!!!  I must say, though my pocket is thinner for
it, I'm very happy every time I have to buy a new bottle!
 
Take care,
 
Steven
[Posted in FML issue 2117]