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Post by mysticalmanana on Jan 14, 2009 14:52:58 GMT -5
My always healthy Pippin (3 1/2 year old male) woke up yesterday unable to stand, we rushed him to the vet, blood work was sent away and the vet just called to say Pippin is diabetic with a BG of over 580. He said there is little information on treating diabetes in ferrets as it is so rare so if anyone has some info to share that I can take to my vet I would appreciate it so much.
He stressed the prognosis isnt good but I want to do all I can for my little man.
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Post by momof3fuzzies on Jan 14, 2009 16:21:34 GMT -5
Unfortunately, I do not have any information for you, but I do want to send my love and prayers to Pippin and you. How is he doing now?
Christina
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Post by mysticalmanana on Jan 14, 2009 17:50:55 GMT -5
Thank you Christina, I appreciate the prayers for my boy. The vet said he is alert and has been eliminating ok but you know that really doesnt tell me how he is does it? I want so badly to be there with him but I cant, the weather is horrible, road conditions arent good and its over an hour away from here so I just have to wait and worry and pray he is doing ok. He has never been away from us for even a day he is going to be wondering whats happened to his family.
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Post by greta on Jan 14, 2009 18:05:41 GMT -5
Try not to worry too much about your little guy. He's in good hands at the vets. Diabetic ferrets are a real challenge and require special diets and regular doses of injectible insulin. Besides that, there are only a few blood sugar measuring machines (glucometers) that are reliable for ferrets. I'm sure your vet (or his/her tech) will fill you in on the procedures you'll need to know to help your little one. Has your vet done a check on your little guy's urine for sugar? This is also advisable in these cases. And I know from my own experience (I am diabetic) that if thee is any type of fruit juice or sugar containing foods that have accidentally touched the testing equipment (or the lab tech's hands) it can cause a high reading. I hope this helps you. Hugs, Greta
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Post by wildbunch on Jan 14, 2009 18:18:34 GMT -5
You are in our prayers and thoughts, if we find something we will let you know.
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Post by huronna on Jan 14, 2009 18:33:38 GMT -5
Squeaselmom had a ferret with diabetes and I can't remember for how long she kept him comfotable with insulin injections. I'll try and contact her to see if she can give you any insight. I know it was not an easy situation
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Post by mysticalmanana on Jan 14, 2009 19:48:15 GMT -5
Thank you very much, the vet called just now and has contacted an exotics specialist who unfortunately didnt have anything to add that my vet didnt know. They started him on insulin and he is responding somewhat, his BG is down to 400 and he will be keeping him on an IV until he can get it stabilized below 200.
I guess its trial and error beyond this point.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2009 20:02:54 GMT -5
Gosh, I'm really sorry to hear that. That's pretty much the same way I found out about Dakota having diabetes. It turned out to be quite a project, but I, too, wanted to give him all the time I could, as long as there was quality to his life. I had high hopes for a long time of being able to get it under control, but truthfully I never could. I got close for some time, but it seemed like his body was bent on overriding all my efforts. I gave him N insulin....the same as humans. I also tried the one recommended for ferrets, but it worked even less well. It seemed to me that the biggest problem was probably because of the high metabolism. I think the insulin burned up quickly. The trouble was that you couldn't outguess it, because if I gave it too close, sometimes it would drop the bg too much. Dropping it too low is acutely dangerous, while having it too high is longer term dangerous as it wrecks the kidneys.
I'd have to go see if my journal is still on the old computer, but it was somewhere between 6 months and a year that he remained with me after the diagnosis. I had to give him a concoction with whipping cream and pureed chicken to keep his weight up. If he was feeling good, he liked it, but if he wasn't, then I'd have to force and/or encourage him.
One of the things that he was prone to was becoming dehydrated. The main symptom was weakness in the hind end and difficulty walking. The elevated bg's cause frequent urination. I gave him sub q's every day...usually twice a day. Again, if he was not feeling good, it was easy. I scuffed with my left hand and forced it it with my right. Some people use butterfly syringes, but I used a big honker and did it fairly quickly....into the neck skin. Now if he was feeling pretty good, he wouldn't want to sit still, so it was more difficult. I had a pouch of ringers lactate that I used for the sub q's.
At the moment, that's all I can think of. Good luck to you.
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Post by linkie2001 on Jan 15, 2009 8:07:23 GMT -5
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Post by mysticalmanana on Jan 15, 2009 11:19:26 GMT -5
Thank you very much for the links and to neophyte for sharing your experience, I am taking note of all this info to pass along to my vet, any and all is appreciated.
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Post by mysticalmanana on Jan 18, 2009 16:36:28 GMT -5
Pippin hasnt been responding at all to the insulin so we changed it to glargine and hes doing better, hes been in hospital almost a week now and still has a blood sugar of between 500 and 400, if we can get it regulated and the dosage he needs sorted out the vet said he can come home.....poor boy has had a bad bad week and I cant wait to get him home, his buddy Bear has been moping missing him too.
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Post by linkie2001 on Jan 18, 2009 16:59:18 GMT -5
poor little Pippin ... fingers and paws crossed that he'll feel better and come back home soon ... sending more prayers your way ... you are in our thougts !!!
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Post by huronna on Jan 18, 2009 23:57:37 GMT -5
Poor little Pippin, such a traumatic situation for him. It is so hard to regulate a diabetic ferret. It's not easy with one that is insulinomic, but much more difficult with high glucose
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Post by yukkabelle on Jan 19, 2009 0:08:03 GMT -5
Oh poor little baby. You both are in my thoughts and prayers. Please keep us updated. I hope his vet will find the right dose and medication for stabilize Pippin. Sending Love to Pippin and You, Yukka
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Post by mysticalmanana on Jan 19, 2009 2:12:03 GMT -5
Today we started him on Glargine insulin and it seems to be working, finally, I hope so, if we can get his blood glucose regulated somewhat and get it down to a decent level he can come home finally!
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Post by mysticalmanana on Jan 23, 2009 12:38:19 GMT -5
Pippin gets a day off!
After 48 hours of blood testing him every 3 hours his levels are still way to high.
The vet and I were thinking that maybe all the stress is contributing to his high levels. Stress releases secretions of cortisol, glucagon, epinephrine, GH, which have a direct affect on the blood glucose levels, so today no pokes for Pippin although he will have to put up with me doing urine sticks on him all day but hopefully we see a difference, keep your fingers crossed for my baby.
I am posting all these as they happen in hopes we will all learn something and it may help someone else up the road who is also going through this.
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Post by huronna on Jan 24, 2009 10:13:29 GMT -5
Thank you for posting all this information. we do this to try and help others, you are correct.
When Neophyte was treating her diabetic ferret, she would come in almost daily and give an update. Trying to control diabetes in a ferret is so difficult almost close to impossible. Hopefully some day the solution may be found
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Post by mysticalmanana on Jan 24, 2009 23:52:00 GMT -5
Pippin took a turn for the worse over night and was rushed to the vet this morning. The vet was in surgery and so I didnt get to speak to him and had to drop Pippin off as they were closing at noon. I expected a call at the very least, they dont have an after hours number or voice mail. Its 11 pm and I still havent heard a word I am beside myself to say the least. I hope he was looked at and treated and is ok and not alone there feeling horrible.
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