From: Lynn McIntosh [faiml@uswest.net] Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 1999 2:04 PM To: FAIMLanon; FAIML Subject: FAIML #335; Sept. 21, 1999 Ferret Adrenal/Insulinoma Mailing List (FAIML) #335; Sept. 21, 1999 1. weeza 2. Fruit Loop Has Insulinoma and Question on Food 3. Brina, Krystal, Ulysses 4. Scooter goes to the vet. The FERRET ADRENAL/INSULINOMA MAILING LIST (FAIML) is a group that's come together to share support and information about adrenal and insulinoma diseases. FAIML comes out in digest format three to six times per week, depending on the number of posts sent, and their urgency. FAIML information is the opinion, only, of subscribers, mostly ferret caretakers. It is not medical advice, comes with no guarantee of accuracy, and is not meant to replace the examination and medical oversight of a qualified veterinarian. If your ferret is sick or exhibiting signs of illness take your fur kid to the most ferret-experienced vet you can find! A ferret-experienced vet is one of the most important services you can provide to your ferret. TO POST: Write POST at the end of your subject heading (the more specific you can be in your subject heading, the better) and send to . URGENT POSTS: If you feel the message is urgent please mark it POST URGENT and I'll send it out to subscribers as soon as I can, then include the message in the next list. CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS: Please write POST ANONYMOUS after your subject heading if you don't want your address or last name published. SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE: Just use the one address for posts, subscription questions, requests, cancellations, comments, etc. The list is run by hand so just send me an e-mail. ADRENAL/INSULINOMA WEBSITE: FAIML ARCHIVES/PHOTOS: Past FAIMLs are being archived, with a search feature, on Michael Janke's adrenal/insulinoma web site: . Michael is also kindly posting pictures of FAIML subscribers and the ferrets at this site in the FAIML Album. Check out his site for more info. PAM GREENE's FERRET FAQs: I suggest people read (and reread) Pamela Greene's Disease FAQ's on Insulin and Adrenal diseases, as they offer a good background. I forward them to all new subscribers, and will gladly send them upon request. I also send the "Disease Package", a file that tells how to get all six of Pamela Greene's FAQs on ferret diseases. Pam also has excellent FAQ's about general ferret care as well, and a link to these may be found on the FERRET CENTRAL web site: . THE FERRET MAILING LIST (FML): The FML has 3,000+ ferret-loving subscribers and the topic is simply ferrets, ferrets, and more ferrets. Moderated by Mr. Bill Gruber, it's a good source of ferret entertainment and information. Visit FERRET CENTRAL on the web (see paragraph above) for more info on the FML. To subscribe to the FML, send email to its moderator, Bill Gruber, at and ask to be added. You can also try subscribing automatically by sending email to with the command SUBSCRIBE FERRET in the body of the email. 1. Subject: weeza From: YaYa324@aol.com Date sent: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 18:01:34 EDT HI my ferret weeza is 3 yrs old ,has adrenal gland problem, had her on lysodren and she seemed to get better, but after a while she would not take it. took her to my vet and decided to operate, she had surgery and the vet called to say she had to stop as she did not have clamps small enough. I am so upset i puther thru that, they want to have a spec do her again, its ben 14 days ,i say noway she was so tramatized, and shook when i picked her up. Heard that there is a liquid out there, have yheard of it. please ans. as soon as possible.I also have a mail who has lost his fir ,as you see i;m lost ,do i have him operated on and face the same thing,or do i put him on the meds too thanks for lisening yaya324@aol.com 2. Subject: Fruit Loop Has Insulinoma and Question on Food From: "Mary Rogers" Date sent: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 9:38:56 -0500 Fruity's count is 51 so he does have insulinoma. He's on .1 Pred twice a day. He loves Bob's Chicken Gravy which makes it easy to give him the Pred and eat at the same time. My question is he eats TF and Iams Kitten dry food, is this OK or should I try and give him something else? They don't like the senior TF. He's caged with 3 little girls and I don't really want to switch their food. Is Ferretone mixed with olive oil OK to give him? That's the only treat he likes that he can have now. Thanks, Mary and The 12 Munchkins 3. Subject: Brina, Krystal, Ulysses From: "Troy Lynn Eckart" Date sent: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 10:38:22 -0600 It's been a very rough month. Brina had her right adrenal removed, vena cava ligated, kidney and part of liver removed a couple months ago. We had a heck of a time getting her stabilized but finally did. Then her liver started bleeding. Yesterday she died in my arms at 2:45. Brina belonged to Nancy and both Nancy and I were with her at the time of her death. I knew yesterday morning she was going. She stayed so long I finally gave her a very small injection of torbugesic and it relaxed her enough that she was able to leave. These little ones hang on so very long. Krystal had her bi-lateral adrenal surgery 3 weeks ago last Monday. This time it was her right, vena cava ligation, part of liver, and pancreatic tumor. By the Thursday after her surgery she had a full blown bleeding ulcer. It's been touch and go since then. I finally got the bleeding stopped last week after starting her on the Biaxin crystal solution (this is wonderful and easy to give as it is a palatable fruity flavor and the metallic taste doesn't start until after all the medicine is swallowed and I give her plenty of good stuff afterwards so I don't think it lasts long). I had her on carafate for a time before and still and now my door and walls are nicely decorated with splotches of carafate (as she flung it out of her mouth). Anyway, she will drink water on her own but still is not eating so I have to scruff and syringe feed her but we do get about 20cc at a feeding so that is good. Ulysses had bilateral adrenal surgery, his right adrenal, vena cava ligation, part of the liver, tumor off the pancreas, tumor off the esophagus and constricting muscle cut. He seemed to be able to eat better after surgery until last Thursday. Since then it has been as low as 1cc an hour to as much as 6 cc's every hour. sigh. Both Ulysses and I are trying very hard to bring him through this but his body can only take so much. I had his weight up until last Thursday and now he is getting so little food in him that he is steadily loosing. Ulysses has Megasophagus and the prognosis is poor. If anyone has any ideas, please share them with us as I really want poor Ulysses to pull through this. He's had such a time of it. Please send good thoughts and prayers our way for Krystal, and especially for Ulysses. Diana - Please give my condolences to Disney's caretaker... Hugs to all. tle 4. Subject: Scooter goes to the vet. From: ela.heyn@db.com Date sent: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 12:22:54 -0400 I'm happy to say that Scooter (my little 4.5 year old MF boy, whom I posted about last week) went to the vet. last night. The vet does NOT think that Scooter has very definitive adrenal signs right now. Actually, he thinks it looks like rather distinctive overly-aggressive wrestling hairloss. (Paddington has some of that, too -- a ferret in the shelter played too roughly with him last month, when he was visiting. It looks very similar to Scooter's hair loss). The vet. pointed out to me that the hair loss sits exactly above the areas where ferrets grab each other when they play rough (and Smokey DOES play rough with him!), and also that there are some light grazes on the skin that would also seem to indicate hair loss due to wrestling. He also said that the fact that the hair loss is entirely in front, and not at the back of the animal (and the timing that this started right after Smokey came home with me) is encouraging. Whew! The idea now is that I monitor it, and see what happens. The vet. said that we'll have a much better idea of what is going on after Scooter finishes blowing his coat (which he's also working on right now), and that I should just "keep an eye on it". We discussed the Tennessee panel and ultrasounds, but he doesn't feel either one is called for at this point. I'm thrilled! Thanks to everyone for the kind notes ..... let's hope Scooter doesn't have any further problems! - Ela Ela Heyn Harborside Mail Stop 3024 201-860-3336 ela.heyn@db.com ---------------------- End of FAIML #335 --------------------------