#suprelorin

She explained that the implant is an injection like a microchip, and it releases a drug to suppress the heat cycle. They offer a 6 month dose and a 12 month dose, though how long it actually lasts depends on the bitch's metabolism.

The implantation leads to a surge of hormones, which can induce a heat cycle, but after that, it suppresses the cycles until the implant runs out or is replaced.

Sounds like a wonder drug!

They now only offer it for bitches who cannot be spayed for medical reasons, such as a heart issue that makes surgery impossible. Longterm use of Suprelorin tends to create cysts in ovaries, which can lead to prolonged or unending heat cycles, lethargy, and in severe cases, anemia.

The vet's recommendation for a bitch that you want to breed is just to breed her, then either spay or OSS spay if you don't want to deal with heats. She does not recommend fucking with the hormones of a bitch that you want to breed. Cycling is important for the bitch's body to keep all the reproductive equipment in working order.

A friend of mine is trying it out on her bitch so I'll have a couple of years to observe how it works and if there are any longterm effects. I'm also reading what papers I can find, though in my 45 minutes of research so far, it looks like it's mostly used in prepubescent bitches to delay the first heat cycle, rather than control them in an adult dog.

Fantastic. She’s looking more and more fluffy and weighty every day. Her fur is so much thicker and softer and I can feel the spiky patches where it’s coming back in, particularly on her tummy.

And lemme tell you, watching her get the implant was one of the most second hand emotionally painful things in my life. I felt pain in my heart watching my ferret cry (in hindsight, after looking more into it, I should have brought her ferretone to distract her and she would have been fine). She bit the doctor, she bit the nurse, (not even nearly hard enough to draw blood) but when she went to bite me when I put my hands under her face to tell her to stop, she stopped biting and calmed down, laying her head in my hands for the rest of the injection. I apologized to the nurse and doctor who, probably having been through worse, reassured me it wasn’t an issue.

She acted tired and slept on the way home but once we got here she was back to snoofin around like usual. She’s asleep now.

I’ve been reading about people getting mad their vets didn’t anesthetize their ferrets but. I’m not too worried about it? For something that quick I don’t think it was necessary. I didn’t even think about it while I was there, just for an injection, and if I had brought her ferretone, she would have ignored it otherwise.

I was, however, as I am sometimes, hit with the reminder my ferret won’t live forever. I’ve had her for so long and she’s been with me through so, SO many things I tend to forget she won’t always be. She definitely still has a few years left (she’s only 5) and hopefully this makes them a little more quality.

Anyway, here are the sites I looked at with lots of information about both Adrenal Disease and the Suprelorin implant. I was terrified of looking it up once I got home and just finding horror stories but I was. Pleasantly surprised at the commonness and general, accepted, proven use of it.

https://holisticferretforum.com/health/adrenal-disease/

God I love that my vets are open on a Sunday. Dreadnought has a wicked case of Lethargic Fluffed-Up* Chicken. BEST case scenario is her contraceptive implant's worn off, she's laying internally again, and I haven't fucked up TOO badly in catching it in time. At least that's a known issue with a treatment plan (MOAR IMPLANTS). Got an appointment for this afternoon.

Oh well, I never liked having disposable income or stress-free Sundays anyway.