More on Kaos …
Spirolactone (Aldactone)
When the maximum dose of furosemide diuretic (0.5-1.5mg/ pound every 8-12 hrs ) is not sufficient to eliminate fluid buildup in the tummy (ascites) and lungs (pulmonary edema) of your pet, another diuretic, such as spirolactone, can be added to the medications your pet receives. The usual spirolactone dose is 0.5-1.0mg/pound body wt. given twice a day (1-2mg/lb/day). You need to be patient – it takes 2-4 days for the full effect of the drug to be reached. Spirolactone can increase the toxicity and effect of digoxin so your pet’s digitoxin dose may need to be lowered. It can also cause an increase in serum potassium, which can be dangerous. To monitor potassium, a blood sample should be taken and measured for serum electrolytes and kidney function on the 3rd or 4th day, the 7th day and periodically there after.
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Filed under: Cardiomyopathy • Ferret Illnesses
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Oh Bill – many thanks for that information about spirolactone & digoxin. You certainly did a lot of research to find out the answers
I think you misunderstood me – I haven’t had any contact with Ron Hines, the American vet. He had an article about Cardiomyopathy & Ferrets on his website
http://www.2ndchance.info/cardiomyopathyferret.htm
so I printed the information out and took that to my vet to ask if Kaos could be put on Spirolactone. I never contacted him but saw he had his email address on his site so passed that on to you if you wanted to ask him questions.
To muddy the waters, I found a site which talked about Benazepril being an ACE inhibitor drug and that is used with Spirolactone, then the potassium levels should be monitored.
You can read about it here
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientED/cardiacDrugs.aspx
Of course that got me worried as Kaos is on Benazepril so I emailed my vet asking if she thought it was necessary to monitor Kaos’ potassium levels but she hasn’t written back.
Since that site is a general one about pet health, it could be that dogs & cats have a different requirement to ferrets when on the same medication but that’s only my guess. It’d be nice to hear back from my vet but I’m not holding my breath
OK i did some more sniffing around.
Spirolactone or(Spironolactone)is
a potassium friendly diuretic it
dose not raise or lower the serum potassium levels
digoxin is an herb med made from foxglove very toxic. used to help
with the heart beat functions.
Low levels of potassium cause the toxic levels to rise.
hints the dangers of using diuretics. I hope this helped you.
hey NONA
its Bill
I left him an email
with the question but as of yet no
response. he doesn’t seem to have
a post to contact or leave comments
by. like you do. so i don’t think I’ll get an response. since you had contact with him you may have
to ask him your self. sorry about that. I’ll have to do some more
sniffing around. IF i find anything more I’ll let you know.
Thanks, Bill – I really would appreciate knowing what you find out.
Yes, you’re quite right — all these different medications are so confusing.
I did a bit of googling and found something else about Kaos’ meds which makes me even more puzzled about whether what I’m giving her is the right stuff. I’ll write about it in my blog tomorrow morning.
Hopefully we can work out what the best results are for our ferrets when we share our experiences and results from various medications, etc.
OK I’LL check that out when i get the chance and let you know, MED’S
can be so confusing at times.
Hi Bill
That quote came from Ron Hines DVM, who is an American vet.
My vet told me that I shouldn’t worry about Kaos’ potassium levels because the Spirolactone would balance it out when given in conjunction with her Flusapex and Benazepril.
Because she hasn’t been prescribed Digoxin, I can only assume there’s no worry about toxicity.
Re your question about spirolactone, I honestly have no idea if that causes an increase in the serum potassium on its own or together with Digoxin.
If you go to Ron Hines’ website, you’ll see that he says people should email him if they want any further information about what he writes in his articles, so you might like to email him and ask him personally so that you get the right answer.
http://www.2ndchance.info/ACC.htm
Sorry I can’t give you any definite answers but I would be really interested to know what the story is with the digoxin/spirolactone combination should you find out from him!
hey Nona
it’s Bill
I can see the swelling around her belly poor thing. But if she eating that’s agood sign hopefully the the new med’s will be more affective.
WHEN you said (Spirolactone can increase the toxicity and effect of digoxin so your pet’s digitoxin dose may need to be lowered.
It can also cause an (?increase in serum potassium,?)
DOSE the Spirolactone by its self cause an increase in the serum potassium?
or is it Spirolactone & digoxin together that causee’s this to happen?
I just wanted to be clear on this.