Ella and Nyssa go to the vet

Last Thursday, with more business travel looming for me, Summer took Ella and Nyssa to see Dr. Holly Weston at Jordan Lake Animal Hospital, our vet in North Carolina. I really appreciate her doing that. Thankfully my business travels are likely over for now and I can give proper care to my ferrets again full time.

Ella went because she had been showing some hair loss which we originally attributed to the usual seasonal coat change. Then her vulva became swollen and Summer realized that Ella's adrenal disease likely has recurred.

By the time the appointment came around two days later Ella's vulva was back to normal. I saw these kind of on again, off again symptoms with Nyssa when she had adrenal disease about five years ago. Our vet at the time, Dr. Dan Hudson (wonderful ferret vet, now retired) took a conservative approach and waited until the symptoms were clear and didn't go away. Nyssa had her adrenal surgery about nine months later. Dr. Weston takes the same conservative approach. She believes that it is likely that Ella does have adrenal again, but considering all the potential for problems and complications after a second adrenal surgery she wants to be absolutely certain before doing anything. Having experienced pretty much everything that could go wrong with both Pertwee's and Ryo-Ohki's second adrenal surgeries I appreciate her caution. I also know, in the end, if, as everyone expects, Ella does need surgery it isn't the end of the world. Pertwee had three and a half very good years with no adrenal glands and was still my totally insane wired weasel much as before.

So... I'm worried about Ella but for now it's simply time to watch and wait and see how things develop.

I guess I'm used to hearing a horrible prognosis when Nyssa goes to the vet. She's lived longer than anyone expected already. Dr. Weston truly believes that Nyssa is now in the final stages of lymphoma and that she doesn't have long left. Nyssa weighs only 1.5 lbs., down roughly a pound from a healthy, normal body weight for her. 2.7 lbs. was a normal winter weight in the past. She really is just skin and bones. Dr. Weston believes the diarrhea was caused by lymphoma invading her GI tract. She also noted that Nyssa's teeth, especially the broken canine, are in really bad shape.

Anyway, it was definitely time for yet another change of medications for Nyssa. Dr. Weston started her on amoxicillin (an antibiotic), both for her teeth and for the off chance that the stomach problem is a bug rather than lymphoma. She discontinued the Mylanta and didn't resume the diarsanyl. While the diarsanyl worked for Nyssa's tummy troubles before it was Dr. Rosing (our Ohio vet) who prescribed it and Dr. Weston just isn't familiar with it. She put Nyssa on Kaopectate instead and that should also coat her stomach the way the Mylanta did. Nyssa is still on the same dosage of prednisolone and we still have the torbugesic in case she needs pain medication.

The net result, a week later, is that Ella seems fine. The hair loss is about the same and she's not showing any additional adrenal symptoms at all. Nyssa's responded very well to the new meds, either the amoxicillin, the Kaopectate, or both. In any case her poop is normal. She has a voracious appetite as always so we're hoping she won't lose any more weight and may even put a little back on. She's clearly feeling better again. We seem to have had yet another little miracle for Nyssa and bought her some more time. I am very grateful for that.

This weekend I go to North Carolina and, after spending a couple of days with Summer and the ferrets there, I get to bring them home to stay. I can't wait.