A Sabi update (a good one)
When I last updated about my sweet silver girl, she was, as you might remember, losing fur and weight due to an Adrenal tumor, and we were waiting and waiting for a medicine shipment from Australia to be approved...
In December, I got tired of waiting for the Deslorelin, and made an appointment for Sabi to get a less-powerful shot of Lupron. I was told we could come to Roanoke the next day, and so I packed Sabi into her crate and made the hour-long trip. We got there, waited nearly half an hour in the waiting room, and finally made it to the exam room. The vet went back to get the shot ready... and came back, VERY sheepishly explaining that all the Lupron was gone. Haha. Oh, how fun.
She was very embarrassed and promised she'd order more straightaway, and that Sabi could get her shot the next week. At long last, we made it back up there, and Dr. Finkler, one of the most renowned ferret specialists in the country, gave her her first hormone shot, telling me to wait at least a month before getting back to him.
As I explained once before, we had no way of knowing whether the tumor was benign or malignant. If it was hormone-responsive, we would consider it benign and continue with treatment. If her symptoms didn't diminish in about a month, that would signal that it was most likely malignant and would require surgery.
Well, weeks passed, and there were no changes. I was getting worried... and then, around January 10th, I checked on Sabi one evening and found that the fur was growing back on her shoulders.
It was just peach fuzz, but it was definitely regrowth.
When the regrowth had continued a few days later, I called the vet, and the following Friday, Sabi and I went back to Roanoke for a Deslorelin implant. Deslorelin is much stronger than Lupron, and as a time-release capsule, it lasts as much as ten times longer in the ferret's system.
Dr. Finkler readied the biggest needle I've ever seen. It looked more like a coffee-stirrer. And boy, did Sabi let out a screech when it went in. It left a big, visible hole between her shoulders.
That was just around a week ago, and I'm happy to say Sabi is doing GREAT! Her fur is growing back rapidly, the vulvar swelling has reduced completely, and she's even put on a little bit of weight! This whole ordeal hasn't slowed her down in the slightest, and she should only get better from here out!
In December, I got tired of waiting for the Deslorelin, and made an appointment for Sabi to get a less-powerful shot of Lupron. I was told we could come to Roanoke the next day, and so I packed Sabi into her crate and made the hour-long trip. We got there, waited nearly half an hour in the waiting room, and finally made it to the exam room. The vet went back to get the shot ready... and came back, VERY sheepishly explaining that all the Lupron was gone. Haha. Oh, how fun.
She was very embarrassed and promised she'd order more straightaway, and that Sabi could get her shot the next week. At long last, we made it back up there, and Dr. Finkler, one of the most renowned ferret specialists in the country, gave her her first hormone shot, telling me to wait at least a month before getting back to him.
As I explained once before, we had no way of knowing whether the tumor was benign or malignant. If it was hormone-responsive, we would consider it benign and continue with treatment. If her symptoms didn't diminish in about a month, that would signal that it was most likely malignant and would require surgery.
Well, weeks passed, and there were no changes. I was getting worried... and then, around January 10th, I checked on Sabi one evening and found that the fur was growing back on her shoulders.
It was just peach fuzz, but it was definitely regrowth.
When the regrowth had continued a few days later, I called the vet, and the following Friday, Sabi and I went back to Roanoke for a Deslorelin implant. Deslorelin is much stronger than Lupron, and as a time-release capsule, it lasts as much as ten times longer in the ferret's system.
Dr. Finkler readied the biggest needle I've ever seen. It looked more like a coffee-stirrer. And boy, did Sabi let out a screech when it went in. It left a big, visible hole between her shoulders.
That was just around a week ago, and I'm happy to say Sabi is doing GREAT! Her fur is growing back rapidly, the vulvar swelling has reduced completely, and she's even put on a little bit of weight! This whole ordeal hasn't slowed her down in the slightest, and she should only get better from here out!