helicobacter and weight gain

Question
Hi,

  My 6-7 y.o. insulinomic ferret, Komay, has what my vet believes to be a helicobacter problem.
   On 11/30/06 I was told to up her dose of pedia pred from .15 2x day to .25 2x day. This increase made her stop eating, drinking, defacating, and also made her weak and lethargic.
   On 12/03/06 I went back down to the .15 2x day and she started behaving normally.
   On 12/4/06 I took her to the vet who gave me some a/d to give her to help her gain the weight back. The vet also did some bloodwork-everything came back normal. We scheduled an ultrasound because Komay had a large mass in her stomach.
  On 12/18/06, Komay had the ultrasound. The vet who was filling in for our normal vet said that the mass was just an enlarged spleen and that her adrenals, heart, etc. looked great.
  Probably about the next day Komay started having frank blood in her stools. I was still feeding her the a/d mixed in with ground pro plan/totally ferret and water.
   I decided to stop the a/d and instead mixed in some Ensure. Soon after switching her stools looked more well formed and didn't have as much blood in them.
  When our usual vet returned on the 26th I took Komay in to see her. She agreed with what Sukie from the FHL said about it possibly being helicobacter and gave me some Metronidazole (.1 2x day), amoxi-drops (.2 2x day), Carafate (.15 2-3x day), and Pepcide. She also told me to put her on the a/d again.
   Komay's been on the a/d since then and her stools have returned to diarrhea with frank blood. Now everytime I try to give her the food with a/d, after a couple syringes she starts making whining noises.
  I need help as to what to give her to help her gain weight and feel better. Especially since I return to work on Tuesday so I won't be able to syringe feed her as much.
It's obvious to me that the a/d is doing more harm than good.
   I've also submitted a stool sample and it's come back as normal.

Help!

Sheryl  

Answer
Sheryl,
I've never had a problem with A/D and my 20 ferrets, but they are all so different.  Obviously, you are right, the A/D doesn't seem to be agreeing with you ferret.  Try Gerber's baby food (chicken).  Heat it up to warm.  Heating A/D may help your ferret too. They sometimes feel better when things are warmed when they are sick.  Also, if you give A/D don't mix it with other food just a little water and plain, no ferret food.  Being as she is sick the ferret food mixed in may be the problem, but try the baby food.  
I hope your little one gets better soon.
Mary