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Hey guys, I am hoping someone might be able to offer some input on a problem my friend's ferret is having. I am NOT looking for a diagnosis, I'm aware that's not allowed. What I AM hoping is that someone might offer some suggestions and ideas that my friend can discuss with her vet.
A friend of mine lives out of state, she has a ferret who has some strange health problems that her vet has been unable to figure out. He is a 2 year old male ferret. Symptoms point towards hypoparathyroid but calcium supplements seem to be making the problem worse. He has seizures, grand mal and focal. He tends to have focal seizures immediately after she gives him the calcium supplement - liquid Calcium carbonate. She gives him part of the dose, he seizes, then she gives him the rest of the dose and he does okay. Since upping the dose from 1mL to 2mL he has stopped eating on his own and has diarrhea. the seizures have also increased. His blood glucose is normal, so it's not insulinoma. No symptoms of adrenal. Everything on his blood work looked good except for the calcium and I believe the phosphorus levels. The other day she noticed his skin was bright red, particularly on his face, and he had bad swelling of the gums (no swelling of tongue or throat) - to the point that his gums had swelled up around the teeth, you could no longer see his teeth. He also ha some swelling in his lips. She called the vet multiple times, but they did not return her calls. About a day later he had another grand mal seizure. She said they oftentimes seem to be triggered when she picks the ferret up.
The vet she is working is not one with a lot of ferret experience. She has had a lot of trouble with them too - the vet does not call her back when she calls in to report issues or ask questions, or to give her lab results. The vet has told her that she will consult a specialist but has repeatedly dropped the ball on this. She has invested a lot of money into this poor little ferret's medical care and he only seems to be getting worse. I know that no one can make any type of diagnosis on here of course. What I am hoping for is ideas - brainstorming. Any ideas on what else might be causing these symptoms, other treatments to try, or other conditions etc that my friend and her vet can look into it would be appreciated.
Some more info that may help:
Condition started around Dec or January with some IBD like symptoms, mucous in poop, soft stools and the occasional diarreha, loss of appetite, then he had tenderness on one side of the mouth, vomiting when eating, and then he began getting cramps in his hind feet - they would curl up and stay curled for long periods. He also showed some loss of function in his hind legs - so they first tested for insulinoma. Vet gave antibiotics, no change. He had his first Grand Mal seizure early Feb. He was treated for ulcers, which seemed to help the GI symptoms some. They did BW (see below). Since then he has continued to have seizured. Vet considered hypoparathyroid disorder and started him on 1mL calcium citrate, recently it was upped to 2mL. He has been having more focal seizures and has had several more grand mal seizures since. The seizures seem to be happening more frequently now, and he has been lethargic on and off. Eats when hand fed but will not eat on his own.
Fasting BG: 122-150 (tested multiple times)
Tried Prednisone with no luck
Antibiotics in Feb no luck
currently taking 2mL calcionate
Hx of allergies
Here is his bloodwork (sorry, no reference values),
COMPREHENSIVE DIAGNOSTIC
HM5 Hematology
ALB: 3.5 g/dL
ALP: 12 U/L
ALT: 141 U/L
AMY: 32 U/L
TBIL: 0.3 mg/dL
BUN: 30 mg/dL
CA++: 5.2 mg/dL
PHOS: 7.9 mg/dL
CRE: 0.4 mg/dL
GLU: 157 mg/dL
NA+: 148 mmo\L
K+: 4.2 mmo\L
TP: 6.4 g/dL
GLOB: 2.9 g/dL
Comment: QC OK; HEM 0 , LIP 1+, ICT 0
WBC: 7.09 N 2.00-10.00 10^9/l
RBC: 6.46 L 7.80-13.00 10^12/l
HGB: 14.2 N 12.4-18.7 g/dl
HCT: 30.15 L 36.00-56.00 %
MCV: 47 N 40- 48 fl
MCH: 22.0 H 13.5-16.5 pg
MCHC: 47.0 H 32.1-35.5 g/dl
PLT: 445 N 96- 776 10^9/l
PCT: 0.32 N 0.00-0.00 %
MPV: 7.2 N 0.0- 0.0 fl
PDWs: 8.5 N 0.0- 0.0 fl
PDWc: 33.4 N 0.0- 0.0 %
RDWs: 28.9 N 0.0- 0.0 fl
COMPREHENSIVE DIAGNOSTIC
HM5 Hematology
RDWc: 15.8 N 0.0- 0.0 %
LYM: 2.06 N 0.40-6.50 10^9/l
MON: 0.39 N 0.10-0.70 10^9/l
NEU: 4.64 H 0.80-4.50 10^9/l
LY%: 29.1 N 27.0-80.0 %
MO%: 5.4 N 0.0-10.0 %
NE%: 65.4 N 16.0-70.0 %
EOS: 0.00 N 0.00-0.00 10^9/l
EO%: 0.0 N 0.0- 0.0 %
BAS: 0.00 N 0.00-0.00 10^9/l
BA%: 0.0 N 0.0- 0.0 %
2/13/2012 16:55 Doctor: 2; Operator: 2
ALB: 3.3 g/dL
ALP: 15 U/L
ALT: 215 U/L
AMY: 31 U/L
TBIL: 0.3 mg/dL
BUN: 32 mg/dL
CA++: 4.4 mg/dL
PHOS: 10.8 mg/dL
CRE: 0.7 mg/dL
GLU: 124 mg/dL
NA+: 149 mmo\L
K+: 4.3 mmo\L
TP: 6.2 g/dL
GLOB: 2.8 g/dL
Comment: QC OK; HEM 0 , LIP 1+, ICT 0
WBC: 6.58 N 2.00-10.00 10^9/l
RBC: 7.82 N 7.80-13.00 10^12/l
HGB: 14.2 N 12.4-18.7 g/dl
HCT: 35.27 L 36.00-56.00 %
MCV: 45 N 40- 48 fl
MCH: 18.2 H 13.5-16.5 pg
MCHC: 40.3 H 32.1-35.5 g/dl
PLT: 688 N 96- 776 10^9/l
PCT: 0.50 N 0.00-0.00 %
MPV: 7.3 N 0.0- 0.0 fl
PDWs: 9.1 N 0.0- 0.0 fl
PDWc: 35.3 N 0.0- 0.0 %
RDWs: 29.7 N 0.0- 0.0 fl
RDWc: 17.5 N 0.0- 0.0 %
LYM: 1.42 N 0.40-6.50 10^9/l
MON: 0.78 H 0.10-0.70 10^9/l
NEU: 4.38 N 0.80-4.50 10^9/l
LY%: 21.5 L 27.0-80.0 %
MO%: 11.9 H 0.0-10.0 %
NE%: 66.6 N 16.0-70.0 %
EOS: 0.00 N 0.00-0.00 10^9/l
EO%: 0.0 N 0.0- 0.0 %
BAS: 0.00 N 0.00-0.00 10^9/l
BA%: 0.0 N 0.0- 0.0 %
Like I said, I am NOT looking for a diagnosis here, just some ideas that she can talk to her vet about since her vet has very limited ferret experience and has continually flaked out on consulting a specialist. If anyone has thoughts or input it would be very much appreciated. If not, well it was worth a try. This poor ferret has gone through a lot and nothing seems to be helping.
Thank you!
A friend of mine lives out of state, she has a ferret who has some strange health problems that her vet has been unable to figure out. He is a 2 year old male ferret. Symptoms point towards hypoparathyroid but calcium supplements seem to be making the problem worse. He has seizures, grand mal and focal. He tends to have focal seizures immediately after she gives him the calcium supplement - liquid Calcium carbonate. She gives him part of the dose, he seizes, then she gives him the rest of the dose and he does okay. Since upping the dose from 1mL to 2mL he has stopped eating on his own and has diarrhea. the seizures have also increased. His blood glucose is normal, so it's not insulinoma. No symptoms of adrenal. Everything on his blood work looked good except for the calcium and I believe the phosphorus levels. The other day she noticed his skin was bright red, particularly on his face, and he had bad swelling of the gums (no swelling of tongue or throat) - to the point that his gums had swelled up around the teeth, you could no longer see his teeth. He also ha some swelling in his lips. She called the vet multiple times, but they did not return her calls. About a day later he had another grand mal seizure. She said they oftentimes seem to be triggered when she picks the ferret up.
The vet she is working is not one with a lot of ferret experience. She has had a lot of trouble with them too - the vet does not call her back when she calls in to report issues or ask questions, or to give her lab results. The vet has told her that she will consult a specialist but has repeatedly dropped the ball on this. She has invested a lot of money into this poor little ferret's medical care and he only seems to be getting worse. I know that no one can make any type of diagnosis on here of course. What I am hoping for is ideas - brainstorming. Any ideas on what else might be causing these symptoms, other treatments to try, or other conditions etc that my friend and her vet can look into it would be appreciated.
Some more info that may help:
Condition started around Dec or January with some IBD like symptoms, mucous in poop, soft stools and the occasional diarreha, loss of appetite, then he had tenderness on one side of the mouth, vomiting when eating, and then he began getting cramps in his hind feet - they would curl up and stay curled for long periods. He also showed some loss of function in his hind legs - so they first tested for insulinoma. Vet gave antibiotics, no change. He had his first Grand Mal seizure early Feb. He was treated for ulcers, which seemed to help the GI symptoms some. They did BW (see below). Since then he has continued to have seizured. Vet considered hypoparathyroid disorder and started him on 1mL calcium citrate, recently it was upped to 2mL. He has been having more focal seizures and has had several more grand mal seizures since. The seizures seem to be happening more frequently now, and he has been lethargic on and off. Eats when hand fed but will not eat on his own.
Fasting BG: 122-150 (tested multiple times)
Tried Prednisone with no luck
Antibiotics in Feb no luck
currently taking 2mL calcionate
Hx of allergies
Here is his bloodwork (sorry, no reference values),
COMPREHENSIVE DIAGNOSTIC
HM5 Hematology
ALB: 3.5 g/dL
ALP: 12 U/L
ALT: 141 U/L
AMY: 32 U/L
TBIL: 0.3 mg/dL
BUN: 30 mg/dL
CA++: 5.2 mg/dL
PHOS: 7.9 mg/dL
CRE: 0.4 mg/dL
GLU: 157 mg/dL
NA+: 148 mmo\L
K+: 4.2 mmo\L
TP: 6.4 g/dL
GLOB: 2.9 g/dL
Comment: QC OK; HEM 0 , LIP 1+, ICT 0
WBC: 7.09 N 2.00-10.00 10^9/l
RBC: 6.46 L 7.80-13.00 10^12/l
HGB: 14.2 N 12.4-18.7 g/dl
HCT: 30.15 L 36.00-56.00 %
MCV: 47 N 40- 48 fl
MCH: 22.0 H 13.5-16.5 pg
MCHC: 47.0 H 32.1-35.5 g/dl
PLT: 445 N 96- 776 10^9/l
PCT: 0.32 N 0.00-0.00 %
MPV: 7.2 N 0.0- 0.0 fl
PDWs: 8.5 N 0.0- 0.0 fl
PDWc: 33.4 N 0.0- 0.0 %
RDWs: 28.9 N 0.0- 0.0 fl
COMPREHENSIVE DIAGNOSTIC
HM5 Hematology
RDWc: 15.8 N 0.0- 0.0 %
LYM: 2.06 N 0.40-6.50 10^9/l
MON: 0.39 N 0.10-0.70 10^9/l
NEU: 4.64 H 0.80-4.50 10^9/l
LY%: 29.1 N 27.0-80.0 %
MO%: 5.4 N 0.0-10.0 %
NE%: 65.4 N 16.0-70.0 %
EOS: 0.00 N 0.00-0.00 10^9/l
EO%: 0.0 N 0.0- 0.0 %
BAS: 0.00 N 0.00-0.00 10^9/l
BA%: 0.0 N 0.0- 0.0 %
2/13/2012 16:55 Doctor: 2; Operator: 2
ALB: 3.3 g/dL
ALP: 15 U/L
ALT: 215 U/L
AMY: 31 U/L
TBIL: 0.3 mg/dL
BUN: 32 mg/dL
CA++: 4.4 mg/dL
PHOS: 10.8 mg/dL
CRE: 0.7 mg/dL
GLU: 124 mg/dL
NA+: 149 mmo\L
K+: 4.3 mmo\L
TP: 6.2 g/dL
GLOB: 2.8 g/dL
Comment: QC OK; HEM 0 , LIP 1+, ICT 0
WBC: 6.58 N 2.00-10.00 10^9/l
RBC: 7.82 N 7.80-13.00 10^12/l
HGB: 14.2 N 12.4-18.7 g/dl
HCT: 35.27 L 36.00-56.00 %
MCV: 45 N 40- 48 fl
MCH: 18.2 H 13.5-16.5 pg
MCHC: 40.3 H 32.1-35.5 g/dl
PLT: 688 N 96- 776 10^9/l
PCT: 0.50 N 0.00-0.00 %
MPV: 7.3 N 0.0- 0.0 fl
PDWs: 9.1 N 0.0- 0.0 fl
PDWc: 35.3 N 0.0- 0.0 %
RDWs: 29.7 N 0.0- 0.0 fl
RDWc: 17.5 N 0.0- 0.0 %
LYM: 1.42 N 0.40-6.50 10^9/l
MON: 0.78 H 0.10-0.70 10^9/l
NEU: 4.38 N 0.80-4.50 10^9/l
LY%: 21.5 L 27.0-80.0 %
MO%: 11.9 H 0.0-10.0 %
NE%: 66.6 N 16.0-70.0 %
EOS: 0.00 N 0.00-0.00 10^9/l
EO%: 0.0 N 0.0- 0.0 %
BAS: 0.00 N 0.00-0.00 10^9/l
BA%: 0.0 N 0.0- 0.0 %
Like I said, I am NOT looking for a diagnosis here, just some ideas that she can talk to her vet about since her vet has very limited ferret experience and has continually flaked out on consulting a specialist. If anyone has thoughts or input it would be very much appreciated. If not, well it was worth a try. This poor ferret has gone through a lot and nothing seems to be helping.
Thank you!
