My little man Sammy has been displaying odd symptoms occasionally for several weeks now. In early April I'd just gotten back from vacation and noticed Sammy seemed unsteady on his feet. His back legs seemed weak and uncoordinated, and he fell over a couple of times. Later he was lying on the bed staring into space and shaking. Soon after this he was drooling. I immediately thought it might be insulinoma, and gave him a little honey in case his blood sugar was crashing, followed by some protein to stabilize him. After this he seemed ok. I also thought of poisoning, but couldn't find anything Sammy might have gotten into. I brought Sammy to the vet first thing the next morning (Saturday), but he was no longer displaying symptoms so the vet said to bring him back Monday for observation. For the most part Sammy seemed fine for the rest of the weekend. I dropped Sammy off Monday morning, and he was drooling again after the car ride, although he was walking around normally with no difficulty. I should mention that Sammy has drooled before on car rides; I think maybe he gets car sick. Plus there was the stress of another vet visit so soon after Saturday's visit. Anyway, the vet kept Sammy for two days, taking several blood sugar readings, both fasting and non-fasting, and the reading never budged. The vet said it was on the low side of normal, but normal. Would that rule out insulinoma, or might Sammy have the disease and still go that long without an episode? I think the vet fasted Sammy for 8 or 10 hours the first day, but his blood sugar stayed steady. The vet also did a blood panel and urinalysis, which came back normal. The only thing that was unusual were on his x-rays. Sammy has some calcium along two of his vertebral joints. The vet said this might cause pain or impingement which could account for all Sammy's symptoms. We happened to have 3 sets of x-rays at 4 month intervals, and could see the calcium advancing, bridging the vertebrae, and then maybe breaking. I think the vet mentioned ankylosing spondylitis or something. Sammy had no symptoms for a week after I got him back. The vet asked me to limit Sammy's activity for a couple of weeks, especially with regards to climbing, and see how he did. He seemed to do well, with only occasional unsteadiness in the back. He drooled again on another car ride, but other than that not much happened. After that I gave him the run of the livingroom and bedroom again. He sometimes seems a little unsteady, but most of the time he's ok. This morning though Sammy had a bad attack. He was having obvious trouble walking. A little while later he was lying on the bed drooling. I put him to bed in the kitchen, and a few minutes later he was on the floor retching, drooling, and foaming at the mouth. I cleaned him up and put him back in bed. 1/2 hour later he seemed fine again. I'm really worried. Might it still be insulinoma? The blood sugar tests were good, and the vet had Sammy open in August to remove a blockage; at that time he said his organs looked healthy. It almost seems like poisoning, but several times in the past 6 weeks? I can't find anything he might be getting into. Or is it a spinal problem? If so, is Sammy going to have these awful attacks for the rest of his life? I'm hoping he still has several good years ahead; he only turned 5 a couple of days ago. The vet could only suggest I keep a record of his attacks; Sammy hasn't had any attacks while at the vet (of course). Can anyone shed any light or offer any advice? -- John Rosloot, Caregiver to Cassidy and Sammy With loving memories of my dear departed Buddy Technical analyst, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Regina Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada http://www.cs.uregina.ca/~john/ferrets [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 2684]