My Soulmate Won't Wake Up

[Sam]

My female rat Timon is about 2 years old. Two weeks ago she had a mammary tumor removed and was spayed at the same time. She recovered well and everything seemed really good.

About half an hour ago, I noticed that she was snuggling next to me but wouldn't wake up. She's breathing and everything but is extremely lethargic. I noticed a few weeks ago her balance is a tad off, but didn't think too much of it. I gave her some brown rice just now and she has an appetite, she just won't eat with one of her front paws and keeps her eyes closed and has sneezed a few times. All she wants to do is sleep, she will not get up. Seriously, half an hour ago, she was as hyper as ever. She's my most energetic and I've NEVER seen her do anything like this.

Looking at the symptoms, PT or stroke are my first guesses, but could either of these have come on so quickly? Could this be related to the surgery? She did have a reaction to the stitches and had a lump for a bit. Also, she keeps bruxing

 

[SQ]

I'm sorry .....
The treatments for pt and a stroke are the same - an anti-inflamatory like predisone and an antibiotic.
Bruxing can be a sign of pain. viewtopic.php?f=26&t=18981
PT usually happens over longer a period of time. A stroke happens very fast.
It wouldn't be related to her surgery.
If it is a stroke, she may recover.

I'm very sorry that this is happening

 

[Sam]

It only took half an hour for all this to happen. It was all so quick...
I persuaded her to get up and watch her walk... she does this weird hop thing and is completely uncoordinated, does this change anything?

Are predisone and an antibiotic just things that will prolong her life, or will they actually treat her and make her better?

Holy cr@p I cannot believe this is happening to my Timon

 

[victoria]

It depends what the cause is. If it's a PT, you are just buying time. If it's a stroke, she can make a full recovery, but it's not a given. There are also some chemotherapy drugs that can be tried with PTs, but they aren't widely used so it's unclear how much potential they have. Shelagh is trying Bromocriptine ATM, here is the thread: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=22656

The best thing now is to keep her warm, hydrated, and comfortable until you get her to a vet.

 

[Sam]

It depends what the cause is. If it's a PT, you are just buying time. If it's a stroke, she can make a full recovery, but it's not a given.

Is there anyway for me or the vet to figure out if it's PT or a stroke?

I just noticed the "scales" on her tail come off easily... thoughts?

 

[victoria]

The only way to know most times is to wait and see what happens. There are some symptoms that are unique to each (clubbed paws are usually PT and paralysis on one side is indicative of a stroke) but sometimes it is not very clear.

The scales on her tail are probably dry skin that she hasn't cleaned off.

 

[Sam]

The only way to know most times is to wait and see what happens. There are some symptoms that are unique to each (clubbed paws are usually PT and paralysis on one side is indicative of a stroke) but sometimes it is not very clear.

Okay.

Is there anything else this could possibly be? She isn't paralyzed on one side, she's equally disabled on both sides. She is extremely unresponsive ... hasn't opened her eyes at all, even for the short time she was hopping around for.

 

[victoria]

Sometimes when they're very sick they get very lethargic and weak which can make them seem unbalaced. Although rats can get very sick overnight, it doesn't sound likely if she was running around half an hour ago. Head injuries can sometimes mimic stroke symptoms, but there's no way to tell unless you saw her fall. Other than keeping her comfortable, there doesn't sound like there's much you can do until you get her to a vet.

 

[Sam]

Okay, thanks. I'm getting her to a vet as soon as I can.
He's not too awesome with rats, so I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for him ("predisone and antibiotic" noted thank you SQ)?

 

[victoria]

Print off the Rat Guide articles on pituitary tumours and strokes and bring them with you. You can also print the articles on Pred, Dex, and Batryl to help him with dosing.

 

[Pixie]

Let us know what the vet said. How is Timon going? :hugs:

 

[SQ]

How is she doing?
Lilspaz68 is trying out a new drug for pt that seems to be making a huge difference.

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=22656&p=327321&hilit=Bromocriptine#p327321

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=23441&p=324479&hilit=Melatonin#p324479

 

[Sam]

The vet's office opens in two hours, So I'm gonna try to get in as soon as I can.

She's the same today, extremely lethargic and covered in porphyrin. She won't move very much, but when she does the movement doesn't seem restricted to onside.

 

[mamarat]

Poor sweetie. Good luck at the vet.

 

[SQ]

I hope everything goes well at the vets.

Just in case, or for the future: http://www.jorats.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... how+to+pts

 

[Roo]

=( :hugs:

 

[Dazzle87]

I'm sorry, I really hope the vet visit goes well.

 

[Joanne]

Did you see the vet yet? How did things go? I hope she started to come around for you.

 

[Sam]

Thanks everyone for the replies.
I saw the vet and we decided that it can't be anything other than a stroke given what happened last night. He is suggesting Aspirin every 4 days to thin the blood and help prevent another stroke, although the chances of her stroking again seem rather high. He's figuring out dosages and will get back to me tomorrow.

Timon's doing a bit better today, she's wake right now and doesn't seem in pain. I'm just gonna feed her mashed lab block goop and baby her and see what happens.

 

[victoria]

My Sophie had a stroke two months ago and recovered fully. It was very scary to see the sudden change (she was out when it occurred) and not be able to help or comfort her, but she's still with me today. She's old and has other health issues, but she never did have another stroke. Hopefully the aspirin helps clear the blood clot. Is your vet on the exotic vet forum? It seems to be pretty helpful for vets like this forum is for us.