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Arohk

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Insulinoma Help - Sunday, March 29, 2015 9:57 PM
Hello. Been a long time since I posted.

About 5 days ago, I had the misfortune of having my baby diagnosed with Insulinoma and I am very scared and nervous. Before you ask, yes, I have read the other threads. It just doesn't help me as much because it's not specific to my boy. Since every ferret is different, it would really help me if I had a thread of my own to track and some sound advice.

I noticed that my ferret Loki was a little sleepier than normal and absolutely did not want to play. That alone didn't alarm me, but his bag leg would slip even on the carpet, and he was standing still one time and his hind end just flopped to the side. I immediately got him into the vet the next day. She confirmed that it was Insulinoma from his blood sugar level. It was at a terrible 1.3. However, the good news is that I caught it in it's earliest stage. My vet said she had never seen it caught so early before, so that gives me hope.

She prescribed him a daily dose of Prednisone, which I give him at noon. Normally he is fine in the morning and towards the night he's a little more tired. With ample sleep during the day, of course. He is age 4 and is in otherwise perfect condition. He had a full physical while we were at it and is very healthy.

He has improved drastically from that day and has even been better than normal. However, there have been low points too where I am really scared for him. It has never gotten to the point of seizures, not being able to wake him up or anything to the severe scale. But I don't want it to get there.

My current problem is that he absolutely does not want to eat his normal food. Obviously I can't let this go because he needs the protein. So I have been balancing it with some high protein treats that he likes and feeding him those sticks that he always wants. The other night I couldn't even get him to eat treats and he didn't want to be awake more than 5 minutes. After sleeping for 8 hours, I knew he needed something. He was a little wobbly. So I gave him a couple licks of grape juice in a cap and it helped. But he can't live on that. That's only for emergencies.

His poop has been fine. A good consistency, though a little lighter in color. Probably because the stubborn little fuzz won't eat normally. But that worries me, you know? He just went to sleep after about 50 minutes of wandering and playing with me. He was bright and seemed fine. But the poop he had while he was awake was a bit small. Not any different, but there was a slight watery texture at the very end of it. Not too much, but I also am concerned for that.

Loki has always been extremely picky about what he eats. He doesn't like chicken, raw or cooked. And he doesn't like eggs in any form. He also hates duck soup or anything with a slightly slimy/wet texture. So it's hard to get him to cooperate. It wasn't a problem until now.

I really would like some advice as to what I can do. I've been managing pretty well so far. But I am just so scared. He's my baby. I've had him since he was 3 weeks old and I love him more than anything in my life. I hate seeing him this way, even though his symptoms are on the more mild side and I am just extremely protective.

I was so devastated a few days ago. I keep reminding myself that there is hope and I just really want him to live a normal life. I would do anything. I have read everything that I could on the matter. I am just so scared that our time together could be cut short. He means the world to me. My poor baby.

Any extra tips or advice that you could spare would be so very appreciated. I know Loki will be happy for the help too. I thank every star in the sky that I caught it so early. I just know my baby and I know when he isn't feeling well. Please help if you can, even if it's just reassurance. Whatever information or love you can send will be taken to heart.

What will help him? What can I do more for him? Am I doing the right things? Tell me if you can. Thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to read and care.
<message edited by Arohk on Monday, March 30, 2015 10:17 PM>
bandit99
Re:Insulinoma Help - Monday, March 30, 2015 6:19 AM
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unclejoe
Re:Insulinoma Help - Monday, March 30, 2015 1:11 PM
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Arohk

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Re:Insulinoma Help - Monday, March 30, 2015 2:30 PM
I am looking at the label now and it does say Prednisolone. I made a mistake in my previous post. Sorry! My vet gave me a 10 month prescription and it says 1-4 tablets. I have been giving him one a day and he seems fine on it. That is smart though. I think he is taking a quarter pill at the moment. Do you think that I should again cut that and do what you do? I know you know what you're talking about, so I am listening very carefully. :)

I definitely always give food. He gets 2-3 treats depending. One has the pill inside of it. Thank you for the extra advice on PepcidAC. I will look into that! Because my main concern right now is that I don't think he is eating enough. He was in a dead sleep when I woke him up today, but seemed fine afterwards. I always do have honey on hand, though, yes. I haven't had to use it.

I have also looked into some syringes as of last night. I do think he needs more meals. I don't know whether to make it myself or not, however. Is the bought brand good? I only used it once when he was a little baby and he hated it so I never bought it again. I also am not using sugary treats. Just normal ones, but giving him more than usual.

That being said, his poop is a little more loose today, unfortunately. I'm going to do my best. I sure am worried about my little guy.

Loki hasn't had a crash yet. It's been a week now. There have been low points but I always make him eat something and he feels better. There hasn't been any stumbling or symptoms beyond wanting to go back to bed sometimes. Thank you both for the info. I hope to keep coming back and updating and as well finding more advice too. This is very new for me because he has never had a problem in his life. So I am probably way more freaked out than I even should be. It helps to have caring people like you around.
unclejoe
Re:Insulinoma Help - Monday, March 30, 2015 8:20 PM
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Arohk

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Re:Insulinoma Help - Monday, March 30, 2015 10:07 PM
Awh. Poor baby losing weight. Loki hasn't lost any weight yet. But if he doesn't eat, then he will. Like I said, I've been giving him high protein snacks of what he will eat and it's been doing well enough. But the little fart can't just live on treats. I plan on mixing some Wysong 90 in there to help out.

You might be happy to know I've seen SOME improvement today though. He's been waking up all by himself today and I didn't have to follow the schedule to make him eat. He ate a tiny bit from his dish but not much.

I tried to give him babyfood before this mess and he didn't like it much. Chicken baby food is really hard to find in stores just straight. Or do you use the chicken and ___? I plan on making some duck soup and offering it in a syringe as soon as I can grab some ingredients. So thank you so much for a good recipe. That is a great idea with kibble powder. I will definitely be doing that. Is it also safe to add some ferretone? That is something that Loki loves and might draw him to at least consider it sooner than later. I'm also glad to know that Uncle Jim's is okay, since that is what is stocked at a very close pet store. Thank you so much for your advice and recipe.
bandit99
Re:Insulinoma Help - Tuesday, March 31, 2015 3:10 AM
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Arohk

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Re:Insulinoma Help - Tuesday, March 31, 2015 3:30 AM
The vet pre-chopped them up. What I counted as '1 pill' was how she chopped them. I am sorry, I should have clarified. It's hard to know exactly how to say things sometimes. Especially with so much going on in my head.

As for tonight, I'm having a more rough night than he is, haha. He's perky as a peach but the fact that he won't eat normally still bothers me deeply and I've spent the evening crying and going on. I can't wait until the Prednisolone helps his appetite, because this is killing me. I wish he could understand me when I tell him to please eat over and over, lol.
bandit99
Re:Insulinoma Help - Wednesday, April 01, 2015 3:29 AM
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Arohk

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Re:Insulinoma Help - Wednesday, April 01, 2015 2:34 PM
I checked and it is definitely 1/4th of a pill. So I can't really cut it down much more. But I compromised and instead of giving him the pill straight in the morning, I gave it to him at the mid point just before 5pm. The results were really good. I think the effects of the pill and the protein I gave him just before night was a good combination and he really felt great. He was all over the place crazy! So thank you so much for that. Though I can't chop them, I think changing the timing of his pill really helped a lot. c:
bandit99
Re:Insulinoma Help - Monday, April 06, 2015 8:01 AM
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Arohk

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Re:Insulinoma Help - Monday, April 06, 2015 4:33 PM
Just giving an update. Loki still will not eat. He will snack on treats, fortunately enough, but he outright refuses to eat his food. I am going to hopefully get him snacking on Epigen 90 tomorrow, with his favorite food coming sometime soon. I used the recipe provided to make some duck soup. He absolutely hated it. Definitely acted like it was poison. Luckily he took a good amount down (even though I was also bathed in soupy paste) and had just about 10 ml on his first try. It improved the state of his poop after just one helping. It's still soft, but it is back to a normal color. He seems to be doing well otherwise. He has a bit of low points now and again where he is sleepy, but he hasn't gotten to the point where he stumbles or even wobbles ever again. I hope I can keep taking good care of him. I would feel so much better if he ate properly. Making due for now. Thanks everyone for care and advice. I'll keep giving updates.

I do have one question before I hop away, though. Is it okay to put Ferretone in the duck soup? Of course that is something that he likes. So I figured it might be good to help him get used to it. But at the same time, water + oil-based things don't usually mix. Advice on that? Or should I just stick to what I have? Which was the recipe above.
unclejoe
Re:Insulinoma Help - Monday, April 06, 2015 6:36 PM
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Arohk

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Re:Insulinoma Help - Tuesday, April 07, 2015 3:25 PM
I will see if I can pick up some good cat food this weekend. He's being a picky little bugger. But I am proud to say that last night's feeding of duck soup went extremely well. I watered it down a little more than the time before and he drank it from the syringe without spilling a drop. I am hoping he will get used to it soon. It seems to be helping quite a bit. I will see if I can also find some baby food! I know I have fed it before to him when he was sick, but it was a long time ago. The Epigen 90 came today and he sneered at it, so I am a little disappointed. I will likely grind it up a bit and mix it in with his soupy today. Who knows, maybe he will accept it as a regular treat in time. Again, thank you so much for the continued care and support. It really means a lot to me, and your advice has really helped Loki a lot already. He's doing well, despite not eating properly. I'm getting enough protein into him that he hasn't even gotten low or wobbly.

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