Lainey to the Vet today (one of my ferrets)

[Tink]

She's going in at 3:30.
Some of you remember her strange gasping noises awhile back that me and her doctor's partner decided was allergies.
Well, it's back again and it seems worse this time.
Still eating and pooping but no play and sleeping a lot.
I don't see any nasal discharge but she sounds congested and is sneezing.
Also, me and K have had flulike symptoms this month. Ferrets can catch the flu. Here's an article: http://www.oregonlive.com/pets/index.ssf/2009/10/ferret_gets_swine_flu_from_its.html
Another concern for me is this last diagnosis was not made by her regular doctor because she was out of town at the time. He's ferret knowledgable but I just don't have the same rapport with him as Dr. Monroe and I just think I'd feel better trusting what she has to say.
I love my vet, they say a post dated check is no problem.
I'll have to leave early. Last time there was crazy amounts of construction literally all around their office and I had to go goofy back ways and in circles and there was only this tiny area to get into their parking lot.
I'll let you guys know how it goes. I just have this gut feeling I shouldn't just keep saying it's allergies and get her checked by her own doctor for sure.

[Mags]

How worrying for you Tink:(

I hope the vet can help Lainey, good luck, let us know how you get on....

[Tink]

Thanks. Hopefully we can nip it in the bud so to speak and I can get a more definite answer about her condition. I'm just not sure about the whole "allergies" explanation.

[Elaine]

Hope all goes well for Lainey and it's not too much to worry about xxx

[Tink]

Thank you! If anything, it'll give me peace of mind to know she was seen by her regular doctor this time. I'll trust what she says. That woman is one in a million.

[dandysmom]

Fingers crossed here it won't be serious; you'll get some peace of mind having her regular doctor check her out.

[angieh]

I do hope you get a good explanation from the vet you trust Tink. Fingers crossed for Lainey that it's easily treatable.

[calismum]

Hope you feel more positive once she's been to her 'own' vet.

[Tink]

Hi, guys. Just got back.
Upon examining Lainey, the vet did think her lymph nodes seemed swollen. She had no fever and weighed almost the same as last time.
As we were talking, Lainey had an episode. Dr. Monroe said it was possible it is "reverse sneezing" but she'd hate to just send me home chalking it up to that wihout doing more investigation.
She ordered bloodwork and a chest xray. They had to gas her (put her under) to do it so I just hung out and got coffee for an hour and a half or so while waiting for all that to be done.
When I came back, I started getting nervous because Dr. Monroe was very busy but she asked me to wait till we had a chance to speak alone. Of course, the longer I waited the more my mind started to wonder.
Chest xrays look great. Heart and lungs look normal and no congestion.
While she was out (and not so hard to handle..she's a diva :lol:), the Doc examined her lymph nodes more closely and says that it's very easy to think her lymph nodes are enlarged but what it comes down to is she has a lot of tissue on her neck and a thicker neck than usual (probably b/c she's a private bred). She said it's very deceiving though and even she was fooled at first. So those are alright after all too.
The bloodwork doesn't come back till tomorrow morning. She will call me and we will go from there on what to do next.
I told her about how Lainey is part angora and angoras are known to have hair in nasal passageways where there normally isn't and that might be a theory and she is going to research it further for me tonight :D
Then we talked about the latest ferret issues in the world today and gabbed about veterinary ethics. I'll say it again, I love this woman.
Then after we got home I set Lainey loose and showed her the surprise Mama got her while she was getting tested...a whole set of jingle balls she loves to stash so much! :D

[Tink]

So I did some research of my own tonight among fellow angora owners. Apparently they have heard of unexplainable cough/sneeze/gasping/asthma symptoms and a lot of their kids are on PediaPred.
I'm a bit discouraged by that. I'm very...."Let's avoid steroids unless we absolutely have to go that route" for reasons I've seen with Tigger (my cat who passed away) and even with humans (K for instance with all the infections and steroids compromising his immune system).
I know I haven't gotten the blood back yet but I plan to bring this up with Dr. Monroe tomorrow after we discuss those.
I'm just kind of thinking out loud for the moment and preparing myself if I need to make a decision about steroids.
On one hand, I don't want her to be miserable hacking on and off intermittently. On the other, do I really want those dreaded things in my baby's system (even at a low dose?). I've had such bad experiences...
*Pondering*
Dr. Monroe is SO LUCKY I don't have her home number :lol:

[Tink]

Ugh. Lainey is having a bad night :( I have to vent.
Her coughing/gasping thing is worse (I don't even have a word to describe it).
She's being woken up by it often and then falls asleep exhausted wherever she was standing till it starts up again. That is not typical Lainey. She's very picky about where she sleeps and rarely does it out in the open, she prefers a hammock or hidey hole of some sort.
She's having some issues crunching her kibble it seems like so I syringe fed her soup. She ate ALOT. Like 1 and 1/2 ounces. I guess she was hungry.
Her eyes are half closed and she's looking at me like she's miserable. I don't know if it's just because she's half asleep or she's actually squinting meaning something else.
Something is WRONG. If these blood tests come back inconclusive in the morning, I don't know where to go next. She cannot be like this all the time. What if she does have the flu? My vet said they just confirmed first ferret death related to H1N1. What then?
And what's really frustrating is I feel like no one believes me. She plays down her illness when she gets to the vets and K is never around them and he is so casual about it like it's no big deal and I just feel like no one is gonna believe me something is wrong with Lainey till she's dead or something.
It's also pouring down rain really hard here and I am worried about being able to get her medication myself. I mean, I could have K take me on Saturday but still..I'd want it right away.
My windshield wipers are still not working very well and I have a doctors appt. today and it's my last chance for care for myself because I'm losing my medical insurance this month and I'm probably either gonna be too scared to drive or too stressed to go or both.
I don't know whether I should sleep or stay up all night with Lainey. Knowing me I'll do a little bit of both in the ferret room.
It just really upsets me and I'm getting emotional about this.
Thanks for listening.

[kado]

Only you know your own animals if they are not well. I have the same problem with my OH if any of the cats are showing signs of illness its because we lost simon your just parinoid. So its not just you that feels like that

[angieh]

Sorry to read this Tink. I am sure that your wonderful vet knows by now that you are not over emphasising Lainey's problems. It sounds hugely distressing not only for you but for Lainey too. I am asthmatic and have been since babyhood and it is I think worse for the onlooker who feels completely helpless. I wonder whether there is anything of the nebuliser sort of thing that could be rigged for a ferret and whether there is anything like a salbutamol inhaler that could be given to an animal via the nebuliser. I have no idea if this is possible, but it could be a help to Lainey when she's having an episode, if there is anything of that nature.

[dandysmom]

I'm sorry to hear this, and you're not being paranoid, you know your own animals. Poor Lainey, she sounds as if she is really miserable and it's so distressing for you not knowing what to do. And that's horrible abut you losing your medical insurance!!! All I can do is send healing vibes for Lainey and a (((hug))) for you ...keep us posted, and rant anytime!! It helps a little to know others care even if they can't do anything.

[Tink]

Thanks for all your input and trying to keep me level headed. I just get so out of sorts when one of them is sick and I'm a very impatient person so I want answers NOW and it also probably doesn't help that i'm uhm *hormonal* this week. You know what I mean :roll:
I stayed up till 8am worrying and fretting and then I must have dozed off. Just got up an hour ago and there are lots of hang ups on my answering machine. I called the clinic and their phone is tied up so I left a message saying I'm sitting by the phone now and I'm leaving for town in an hour for a doctor's appt. so if she has a chance to call back by then, that'd be great.
Lainey is actually coming up to me for hugs. She never does that. She's my least affectionate. Last night/this morning, I picked her up and wrapped her in my sweater and she wrapped her little tiny hands around my finger and gazed up at me and fell asleep in my arms.

[Tink]

I called and harassed them again :lol:
Dr. Monroe had a large caseload of surgeries today and is in between appointments right now but the receptionist was able to pull her aside for a sec and ask her if I need to stop by or not for meds while I'm in town after my doctors appt.
She said yes, meds are needed and she will talk to me in detail within the hour..prob is I'm leaving in thirty minutes. I told the receptionist I'd just stop by then after my appt and she said she's not sure if they have the meds there or if Dr. Monroe is having to order out for them. I don't know, should I just swing by? It's kind of outta the way but it'd be nice to talk to the doc in person. I'll prob end up just going there too.
I feel a little better that at least I know the bloodwork indicated something that needs to be taken care of and I'm not just off my rocker.
Will update you guys when I know more.

[calismum]

What a stressful time you're having Tink. Hope the results show something treatable. Look after yourself too.

[dandysmom]

Any news, Tink? Did you see the doctor?

[Tink]

Hi.
So I went to my appt. and called the vet again from my therapist's office to see if I should stop by or not since I had nearly no gas left and only three dollars on me and she said not to bother because she needed to phone the RX in to the human pharmacy by my house anyway and to go ahead and head in that direction instead.
So this is what's going on.
We are treating Lainey for asthma (that may be exacerbated by allergies as well) with a liquid Prednisone solution. When it runs out, we will see if we need to do this long term or just once in awhile type thing. We don't know yet.
Also, her creatinine is slightly high at 1.1 (top of normal range is 0.eight) so she is going to be getting some Epakitin which Baby Bear is getting for his kidney values too. This disturbs me because what are the odds of two out of my four ferrets having high creatinine levels?
I'm going to research this and see if I need to make some changes in their diet. It just seems too coincendental.
I have to go have my first meal of the day now. I've been running around town like a chicken with my head cut off, making phone calls, and trying to drive with a car that only has one windshield wiper working, the passenger side at that. I have a massive migraine.
But Lainey has meds and soup in her belly. That's what important and was my goal so I achieved that. Now I'm gonna go lay down with my baby and spend quality time with her.
Love,
Tink