Bill's respiratory distress; now stabilized!

[Godmother]

I started abs last night, added some Lasix (unsure if that was good or bad), used a Ventolin puffer. Last night he seemed better, then this morning bad again. I've started pred, then just gave him some pseudoephedrine.

Wish I knew what the clicking sound means: sticky lungs? tumour pressing on his throat? I am scared because it sounds like Corrie. She had PT and had been doing not too badly, then suddenly one night she was struggling to breathe. It was the late evening, and the on-call vet didn't know about rats. My attempts to help were not working, so I had to have her pts. She was very frightened.

I don't want to lose Bill without a fight, but I've been worried for a while that he had something neurological going on. He gained an incredible amount of weight (200 g since October, now up to 900 g), although I was not over-feeding him.

 

[mamarat]

I had a very fat rat, Boo, and it was because he was retaining water due to a congenital heart defect. Sorry about Bill. Wish I could help.

 

[Godmother]

I'd wondered about his heart. Last time he was at the vet's, in November, his lungs sounded fine and they were not worried. If he is still alive on Monday I will take him in.

 

[SQ]

Have you checked to find out which vet is on call?
You might not need to wait until Monday, depending on who it is.

If it is neurological, pred and antibiotics are about all you can do.
If it is fluid (but the vet would have known that at his checkup) because of his heart, trying him heart meds might help.
A vet would be a good idea right now if a knowlegable vet is on call.

 

[Godmother]

I will call to find out, but the odds are slim of getting Islandview because they were on call last weekend I think.

 

[Godmother]

I'll be taking Bill in to see the on-call vet. It is someone I don't know, but she sounded knowledgeable and she wants me to bring him in.

 

[mamarat]

Good luck!

 

[Godmother]

I was so lucky! There is a new vet in town who loves rats (used to have pet rats herself) and who enjoys taking care of the "small furries". She did a couple of years in the UK where she did a lot of vet work with small mammals. She checked that I was not using pine or cedar, that my cage was well ventilated, and that I would continue the antibiotic long enough.

Anyway, she said that Bill's problem is in the lower respiratory tract for sure. She said that he was sick enough that there was no guarantee that he would pull through. She gave him a thorough exam and said that the extra weight was definitely fat, not retained water. She was wondering if he could have large fatty tumours, except that it would be unusual for them to be so symmetrical.

I learned something interesting: when calculating the medication dosage for him, I am to use his "lean weight" rather than his actual weight to avoid overdosing him. It makes a big difference in Bill's case, because he was a good healthy weight all his life until the fall.

Tonight he seems better. I am crossing my fingers, and I will watch him carefully. It's a good thing that I am home all weekend. It is such a relief to know what the problem is, so that I won't be giving him things that make him worse.

 

[lilspaz68]

Such very good news!!! I hope Bill continues to improve and feel better. You must be feeling such relief, he's a wonderful, special boy :heart:

 

[mamarat]

It's such a relief to find a good vet. I hope Bill makes a full recovery.

 

[lindsayfawn]

Poor Bill. Give him cuddles from us. :hugs:

 

[Moon]

I'm crossing my fingers for Bill and you, Godmother!

 

[jorats]

What med(s) did the vet recommend for Bill? My vet has mentioned that to me before too, that we should be careful in not using the fat weight as opposed to their actual weight. But with a med like Baytril the margin for dosing is quite big.
As for the fatty lumps, they can definitely be symmetrical. We saw it here in one of our rats. He had these two huge lumps/masses on both thighs. It seems odd to us but it surely was fat lumps.

 

[Godmother]

I had already started Bill on Baytril and Doxy, because I had it in the house. The e-vet seemed OK with that.

Bill had another gasping attack this morning, not long after he'd had his morning meds. I now have him in a container in the bathroom, with warm steamy air. That seemed to help, and he was able to eat a tiny bit of porridge and some watermelon and a couple of peas.

He's far from out of the woods, so I hope that he stabilizes by tonight.

The vet also sold me a tube of potent probiotic to give Bill between med doses. I am lucky that my rats love yogurt, but this stuff evidently has a high concentration of bacteria useful for the guts of animals. I'll try anything to get Billy better.

His fat lumps are huge cylinders on each side. I can't imagine that they are operable, but if he pulls through this I will ask.

 

[SQ]

Never heard that before re fat and dosing weight. How on earth would one acurately calculate it?
I have likely been over medicating a few of my rats over the years.
Leah had symetrical fat lumps which I was afraid were tumours so I had the vet repeatedly examine them over a period of a year or so.
They are now gone as she is slowly wasting away ...

 

[jorats]

SQ, I don't know but I think with the vet feeling the rat, they can pretty much tell how much percentage of fat is covering the rat and probably at best is guessing, my vet does overcompensate as well... just in case.

As for the fatty lumps, my vet never made it seem like they should be removed.

 

[SQ]

As for the fatty lumps, my vet never made it seem like they should be removed.

That was the message I recieved from my vet as well.

 

[RatsForever]

How is Bill now? Poor little guy! He's such a sweetheart!

Who is this vet?

 

[Godmother]

Bill was doing a lot better since last evening. :joy: This morning he was looking not too bad. He is eating, which is always a good sign with Bill!

I have a humidifier in the room with them now, and the antibiotics seem to be working. I am hoping that maybe the glucosamine will help also.

 

[jorats]

Come on Bill... you can do it!