By Mary Van Dahm, with revisions by Pam Wood-Krzeminski, DVM and Angela Espinet, former shelter operator, South Florida Ferret Club & Rescue.

CAUTION:  Chromium may LOWER blood glucose levels, not raise it as was previously thought. This diet includes chromium and brewers yeast (which is also a source of chromium). One may want to consider whether or not to use either of these components of this diet.

Please be sure to read Dr. Bruce Williams' comments on this diet at the bottom of this page.

With this new mixture, some ferrets have been weaned off Prednisone, and reduced dosages on others. Please consult with your veterinarian and have regular glucose checks taken on your ferret if you choose to try this therapy. Some pros and cons to consider will be listed below the recipe. Remember that this is meant as a supplement to the regular diet, not as a replacement, although sick animals may be fed this alone for a while if they cannot eat their regular dry diet. This recipe makes approximately 8 servings (l-l/2 oz. each).

Preparation

• Crush/mix Chromium, Vitamin K and FerretZyme Plus (or 6 Papaya enzyme tablets) together to make a fine powder. (If you don't have a mortar and pestle, use a spoon and a flat bowl or even a rolling pin with the pills between 2 sheets of waxed paper).
• Mix the powder with the cat food, baby food, and Dextrose. Let combined mixture set for 15 minutes or longer (this allows the enzymes to start working).
• Add the remaining dry ingredients (break open Vitamin E capsule) and the PET TINIC and stir well. The mixture should be smooth, not lumpy.
• Heat the chicken broth until hot, but not boiling. (Water may be used in a pinch, but broth adds more flavor.)
• Mix broth slowly into the mixture until well blended.
• Serve in a bowl or by syringe, twice a day, minimum. If fed by syringe, give at least 25 cc’s per feeding.

Helpful Hint: Use the baby food jar to measure each portion: Fill to the top edge of label = one serving.

NOTE: It is not recommended to store this mixture for more than 48 hours since some of the vitamins may start to break down. If you can't use this much mixture in that amount of time, cut the recipe as needed.

pros and cons

PROS

• The mixture adds many healthful nutrients to the diet.
• The need for steroids and other insulin blockers is reduced.
• Prednisone irritates the adrenal glands and other organs. By using this mixture and cutting back on the use of Pred you are reducing the risk of adrenal problems. This mixture is especially helpful in cases where adrenal problems are present and corrective surgery is not an option or has already been done and further surgeries are not desired.

CONS

• This mixture is time consuming to make. This mixture is not a cure for Insulinoma and we do not know if it simply helps the body to control the glucose levels, or if the mixture reduces the size or number of insulinomas.
• Pred has the ability to retard the growth and production of insulinomas in the pancreas. By eliminating it from the ferret’s health program, we may be allowing the insulinomas to continue to grow unchecked although lower doses of Pred may still be used concurrently with this regimen.

Comments on the Insulinoma Elixir by Dr. Bruce Williams

I have some trouble with these statements and the characterization of prednisone, which is extremely important in controlling the hypoglycemia with insulinoma. While we all know that surgery is still the best method to treat insulinoma, there are many, many animals for whom surgery is not an option and require prednisone to control their hypoglycemia.

Prednisone is used in insulinoma to raise glucose and to increase the production of glucose in the liver. It does not block insulin at all - it simply counteracts the hypoglycemic actions of insulin with its own hyperglycemic action.

I believe the characterization of prednisone as an irritant to multiple organs is unfair at best. In ferrets, especially those with adrenal disease, the use of prednisone does not appear to have any adverse effects, as it has no effects on estrogen producing cells. As we have already discussed today, ferrets are a relatively steroid resistant species, which is of benefit in light of the vast numbers of animals on it chronically for IBD, EE, insulinoma, and a number of other conditions. I do not believe that you can legitimately claim that this particular formulation will reduce the risk of adrenal disease

Finally, I do not believe there is any evidence that prednisone retards the development of insulinomas or additional insulinomas. Currently, we have little knowledge as to what actually causes the development of insulinoma. To date, surgery is the only definitive treatment for insulinoma, although some work with Doxorubicin in a small clinical study in the NE U.S. is showing some promise when used post-surgically.

While I believe that this particular diet is probably not harmful, I would be hesitant to endorse its claims of a diminished risk of adrenal disease, and would likely attribute its benefits to the large amount of carbohydrate which it provides, rather than any actions of chromium or brewer's yeast (which are highly unpredictable at best).

Bruce Williams, DVM