Respiratory Infection?
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UPDATE kind of, not really:
So since I have been told by the vet basically that she can not approve azithromycin and baytris together, I have been told by someone (I don’t remember who) to just give him the 6 weeks of batgirl itself to see if that will work. I know that it has stopped and that is why I called the vet to get the azithronyicn prescription but you guys already know that. I told the person who usually calls the vet for me (don’t ask) to call a vet that is a farther trip away because the vet here isn’t much help and I wanted a second option from a different vet and I come to find out that they never called the vet because we would have to take him in to get re-evaluated and it would “cost too much”. I am really worried for my boy, he is taking medication for his issues but it still persists. I hate to see him this way and I wish I knew what I could do to stop this from happening over again. It sucks that their are so many bad things that can arise when owning animals. It could be that the dry air from it being winter and me having the space heater on to heat up the room they are in is also making his breathing flare up so hopefully the impeller cool mist humidifier that I ordered will come in soon to hopefully reduce his symptoms.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it.
So since I have been told by the vet basically that she can not approve azithromycin and baytris together, I have been told by someone (I don’t remember who) to just give him the 6 weeks of batgirl itself to see if that will work. I know that it has stopped and that is why I called the vet to get the azithronyicn prescription but you guys already know that. I told the person who usually calls the vet for me (don’t ask) to call a vet that is a farther trip away because the vet here isn’t much help and I wanted a second option from a different vet and I come to find out that they never called the vet because we would have to take him in to get re-evaluated and it would “cost too much”. I am really worried for my boy, he is taking medication for his issues but it still persists. I hate to see him this way and I wish I knew what I could do to stop this from happening over again. It sucks that their are so many bad things that can arise when owning animals. It could be that the dry air from it being winter and me having the space heater on to heat up the room they are in is also making his breathing flare up so hopefully the impeller cool mist humidifier that I ordered will come in soon to hopefully reduce his symptoms.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it.
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I wanted to see if I could get azithromycin because I have heard that it works the best so that is why I wanted to get a different opinion from a different vet.
The problem is still occurring. Again, it could be because of the dry air of it being winter and dry air from the heater so hopefully the humidifier comes in ASAP to possibly help reduce that. He is over half way done his 6 week dose of baytril and I am close to run out of the medication I was given so hopefully I won’t have to pay if I need to get more because they didn’t give me an accurate amount. I am hoping that maybe the vet did more research on azithromycin and can prescribe that to go with the new baytril. My poor baby.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.
UPDATE:
It turns out that there was more medication than I thought there was because in my last post on March 9th, 2019, I thought that I was running out but it actually lasted way longer and now I am officially out on March 21st, 2019. I think that there still is medication left in the bottle but not near enough for a full dosage. This means that he has gotten 37 full days (2 times a day) of medication. I was told that I was given enough for around 45 full days worth (I only need 42 full days) so I am 5 full days short.
I don’t know what my logic behind this is but tell me if I am wrong. Since I was supposed to be given 42+ days worth of medication and I paid for 42+ days worth of medication but I only got enough for 37 days, would I be able to get a refill for free or at a lesser price since they didn’t give me enough to begin with?
I stayed before that the medication did start to work when I first got it but then it stopped working a few days later and I was told to just give him the full dose of baytril for the 6 weeks and to see what happens then and if they need to prescribe him a new medication. Well, the baytril still doesn’t work and now I am out of it so what is the plan now? What should I ask for and/or talk to the vet clinic staff about? His vet said before that she can’t prescribe azithromycin for whatever reason but I don’t want to give him doxy since I have heard that it isn’t as good/powerful as azithromycin. Hopefully since we last talked to her, she has done some more research and can prescribe it this time around along with more baytril. His breathing is rough and it breaks my heart. Sometimes I wake up and have to wake him up so it stops or else I can’t sleep because I worry so bad, but again, I was told to just finish the 6 weeks to see what happens.
Someone said a long time ago that my rat may have become immune or something to the baytril because he has had to take it so much but I’m not sure if that is the case. Someone also said that it may be allergies but I am not sure what he would be allergic to. I stated previously that I was going to change the laundry detergent I use to see if that would maybe reduce his symptoms. I did switch to a non scented laundry detergent but I have not seen any changes. I also said that I was going to purchase a humidifier because it is winter and I have a space heater which could make the air very dry and I wanted to see if that could also help reduce his symptoms and moisten the air a bit. I did order a cool mist humidifier but sadly I have not received it yet and apparently it is supposed to be coming in around April 1st, 2019 which is kind of frustrating because I want it now.
I think I had other things that I wanted to include in my update but I can not remember them at this moment. If I remember what I was going to say at all, I will try to edit this post or do what I can.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.
It turns out that there was more medication than I thought there was because in my last post on March 9th, 2019, I thought that I was running out but it actually lasted way longer and now I am officially out on March 21st, 2019. I think that there still is medication left in the bottle but not near enough for a full dosage. This means that he has gotten 37 full days (2 times a day) of medication. I was told that I was given enough for around 45 full days worth (I only need 42 full days) so I am 5 full days short.
I don’t know what my logic behind this is but tell me if I am wrong. Since I was supposed to be given 42+ days worth of medication and I paid for 42+ days worth of medication but I only got enough for 37 days, would I be able to get a refill for free or at a lesser price since they didn’t give me enough to begin with?
I stayed before that the medication did start to work when I first got it but then it stopped working a few days later and I was told to just give him the full dose of baytril for the 6 weeks and to see what happens then and if they need to prescribe him a new medication. Well, the baytril still doesn’t work and now I am out of it so what is the plan now? What should I ask for and/or talk to the vet clinic staff about? His vet said before that she can’t prescribe azithromycin for whatever reason but I don’t want to give him doxy since I have heard that it isn’t as good/powerful as azithromycin. Hopefully since we last talked to her, she has done some more research and can prescribe it this time around along with more baytril. His breathing is rough and it breaks my heart. Sometimes I wake up and have to wake him up so it stops or else I can’t sleep because I worry so bad, but again, I was told to just finish the 6 weeks to see what happens.
Someone said a long time ago that my rat may have become immune or something to the baytril because he has had to take it so much but I’m not sure if that is the case. Someone also said that it may be allergies but I am not sure what he would be allergic to. I stated previously that I was going to change the laundry detergent I use to see if that would maybe reduce his symptoms. I did switch to a non scented laundry detergent but I have not seen any changes. I also said that I was going to purchase a humidifier because it is winter and I have a space heater which could make the air very dry and I wanted to see if that could also help reduce his symptoms and moisten the air a bit. I did order a cool mist humidifier but sadly I have not received it yet and apparently it is supposed to be coming in around April 1st, 2019 which is kind of frustrating because I want it now.
I think I had other things that I wanted to include in my update but I can not remember them at this moment. If I remember what I was going to say at all, I will try to edit this post or do what I can.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.
Lise Patterson
Well-Known Member
If you can't get arizromycin very soon, definitely get doxycycline - it has always worked very well for me, and has also done for many, many others. The Doxy/Baytril combo has had my rats living to a very old age despite respiratory problems. It would be MUCH better than leaving him on Baytril alone.
Sorry for sounding like a broken record but if is vet were to be able prescribe him the doxycycline and baytril combination, how long should I get it for? Another 6 weeks? What do I do if that combination doesn't work either? I don't really want to give him doxycycline since i have read about a lot of people having to switch to azithromycin because doxycycline isn't strong enough and it is just eiser to have it work on the first try but if that is all i have access to, I guess that is what i'll have to use.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you have noting nice to say, don't say it.
I will see if I can get the doxycycline and baytril combination. What sucks is that the vets office here isn’t open on weekends so it will sadly have to wait until Monday unfortunately. Cross your fingers that hopefully his vet will know enough about the combination to be able to prescribe it.
Not so fun fact: The person that I live with doesn’t know a lot about rats and thinks that my rat with respiratory issues just wants to make noise and that if he were having breathing problems he would be doing it non stop, so I always have to explain that that isn’t the case and that rats aren’t supposed to make any noise other than a squeak when they are scared or hurt. They just don’t understand how serious it is.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.
Not so fun fact: The person that I live with doesn’t know a lot about rats and thinks that my rat with respiratory issues just wants to make noise and that if he were having breathing problems he would be doing it non stop, so I always have to explain that that isn’t the case and that rats aren’t supposed to make any noise other than a squeak when they are scared or hurt. They just don’t understand how serious it is.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.
UPDATE:
I am going to try to call the vet today and see if she can prescribe doxycycline and baytril for a few weeks, maybe around 5 weeks and I can get more if needed/recommended. With my luck, she will probably know nothing about the combination and just tell me to give him more baytril to ¨see if that works¨
I woke up multiple times last night to him breathing so each time I got up and tried to calm him down because when he is near me, it usually helps him to calm down. I talked to him with a soft voice and tried to calm it down but it kept happening, so here is to hoping that she can prescibe him the medication. It breaks my heart that he had to go through that but there was nothing i could do as the vet he goes to is closed on the weekends for some reason.
I will update you guys if anything comes of it.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.
I am going to try to call the vet today and see if she can prescribe doxycycline and baytril for a few weeks, maybe around 5 weeks and I can get more if needed/recommended. With my luck, she will probably know nothing about the combination and just tell me to give him more baytril to ¨see if that works¨
I woke up multiple times last night to him breathing so each time I got up and tried to calm him down because when he is near me, it usually helps him to calm down. I talked to him with a soft voice and tried to calm it down but it kept happening, so here is to hoping that she can prescibe him the medication. It breaks my heart that he had to go through that but there was nothing i could do as the vet he goes to is closed on the weekends for some reason.
I will update you guys if anything comes of it.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.
I still haven’t gotten the doxycycline and baytril combo. I had asked someone if they could call the vet for the past few days and both days they said that they had “forgot”. Hopefully, we are able to contact the vet today and see if she can prescribe doxycycline and baytril.
What do I get? The doxycycline that comes in tablet form?
How many tablets do I need to get?
I did research and read that doxycycline is cheaper than azithromycin but other sources where saying that it was more expensive.
Around what price do I have to expect?
All replies are appreciated. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.
What do I get? The doxycycline that comes in tablet form?
How many tablets do I need to get?
I did research and read that doxycycline is cheaper than azithromycin but other sources where saying that it was more expensive.
Around what price do I have to expect?
All replies are appreciated. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.
UPDATE:
We called the vet clinic earlier and we got an appointment at 3 PM on Monday. I am going to try to talk to them about both azithromycin and baytril and doxycycline and baytril as treatment options. The worker who answered said that everyone there loves rats and that she has previously owned rats so that somewhat makes me happy and gives me hope. We are taking him in to get assessed again and see what is going on and why the baytril hasn’t been working. My poor boy keeps having to go through this so hopefully it will work this time around.
Also, hopefully he won’t get treated so aggressively this time.
We called the vet clinic earlier and we got an appointment at 3 PM on Monday. I am going to try to talk to them about both azithromycin and baytril and doxycycline and baytril as treatment options. The worker who answered said that everyone there loves rats and that she has previously owned rats so that somewhat makes me happy and gives me hope. We are taking him in to get assessed again and see what is going on and why the baytril hasn’t been working. My poor boy keeps having to go through this so hopefully it will work this time around.
Also, hopefully he won’t get treated so aggressively this time.
What do you mean by that?
EDIT:
I realized that you probably meant to write vet. No, this is the same vet as before as it is the only one where I live.
If this doesn’t work out I may need to travel a few hours to a different vet but it would be a pain to have to travel hours away every time I need more medication or need to see the vet for whatever reason and it would also be stressful on my rat to have to travel that distance in an unfamiliar environment.
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Yes, that's what I meant. LOL. Did they give an explanation as to why they haven't been very helpful so far? Hopefully they will do what's right and what's needed for your poor boy, and he gets to feeling better soon! Keep us updated!
No, they did not give me an explanation as to why they haven’t been helpful. I hope that he is able to receive proper care this time around.
UPDATE:
We went to the vet and she did all the normal things like check his temperature, listen to his heart, listen to his breathing, and so on. He did really good during his check up and only squelled once. He was snuggled up to me before she came in to start his check up. She is assuming that he has mycoplasma and that it can not be “cured”. She said that she had to check the prices of the medication she wants to give us and how much it will cost to get them made to be suitable for a rat and she will call us tomorrow when they get back to her. She wants to prescribe him bronci something. Sorry, I don’t remember what she said, she was saying a bunch of different things and it is hard to remember all of it. She said that if he is put on azithromycin it would have to be prescribed for the rest of his life as an ongoing situation. She said something about how it is not made for rats. Previously on this thread I was told that I could use azithromycin that is used on babies (I think). I don’t remember what she said about doxycycline, sorry. She also said something about how some people mix a bunch of medication like azithromycin and doxycycline. I showed her the video of his breathing that I have previously posted on this thread and we talked about that. She said his heart is good but his lungs are raspy. She also said that it is good that he is gaining weight. She says that she thinks I take really good care of him also so that made me feel good.
Some of my recall of the information may be incorrect or mixed because, again, she said a lot of information and I couldn’t remeber every last detail. Sometimes I wish I could just have a recording so that I could listen back to the information.
I want to be able to trust people on a rat forum online because they have previously or currently own rats and they would try to help me to find what is best for my rat because they want whats best for the rat but I am told to trust what a vet has to say but even then I don’t know what to do.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.
We went to the vet and she did all the normal things like check his temperature, listen to his heart, listen to his breathing, and so on. He did really good during his check up and only squelled once. He was snuggled up to me before she came in to start his check up. She is assuming that he has mycoplasma and that it can not be “cured”. She said that she had to check the prices of the medication she wants to give us and how much it will cost to get them made to be suitable for a rat and she will call us tomorrow when they get back to her. She wants to prescribe him bronci something. Sorry, I don’t remember what she said, she was saying a bunch of different things and it is hard to remember all of it. She said that if he is put on azithromycin it would have to be prescribed for the rest of his life as an ongoing situation. She said something about how it is not made for rats. Previously on this thread I was told that I could use azithromycin that is used on babies (I think). I don’t remember what she said about doxycycline, sorry. She also said something about how some people mix a bunch of medication like azithromycin and doxycycline. I showed her the video of his breathing that I have previously posted on this thread and we talked about that. She said his heart is good but his lungs are raspy. She also said that it is good that he is gaining weight. She says that she thinks I take really good care of him also so that made me feel good.
Some of my recall of the information may be incorrect or mixed because, again, she said a lot of information and I couldn’t remeber every last detail. Sometimes I wish I could just have a recording so that I could listen back to the information.
I want to be able to trust people on a rat forum online because they have previously or currently own rats and they would try to help me to find what is best for my rat because they want whats best for the rat but I am told to trust what a vet has to say but even then I don’t know what to do.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.
UPDATE:
She called and said that she is going to order in doxycycline for us to try him on. I think she said she is getting enough for 3 doses of 14 days but I am not 100% sure.
She was also saying that azithromycin wasn’t as beneficial as doxycycline which is the opposite of what the members on here have told me. Although she is meaning without baytril paired with it.
Again, as I have stated near the beginning of this thread, she isn’t specialized in rat treatment, she is a DVM which to my understanding is when they get schooling for a variety of different animals and not focus on one specific animal for too long so they may need further educating on treatment and such.
Unless any of you have a different suggestion or have anything that you want me to talk to her about then hopefully treating him with doxycycline works. She said that she talked to someone else and they said that prescribing him doxycycline is his perfessional opinion.
The information that I have provided may be twisted as agin, she did say a lot of information and it is hard to keep track of it all. I tried to ask as many questions as I could and even asked about pairing azithromycin and batgirl or doxycycline and baytril.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.
She called and said that she is going to order in doxycycline for us to try him on. I think she said she is getting enough for 3 doses of 14 days but I am not 100% sure.
She was also saying that azithromycin wasn’t as beneficial as doxycycline which is the opposite of what the members on here have told me. Although she is meaning without baytril paired with it.
Again, as I have stated near the beginning of this thread, she isn’t specialized in rat treatment, she is a DVM which to my understanding is when they get schooling for a variety of different animals and not focus on one specific animal for too long so they may need further educating on treatment and such.
Unless any of you have a different suggestion or have anything that you want me to talk to her about then hopefully treating him with doxycycline works. She said that she talked to someone else and they said that prescribing him doxycycline is his perfessional opinion.
The information that I have provided may be twisted as agin, she did say a lot of information and it is hard to keep track of it all. I tried to ask as many questions as I could and even asked about pairing azithromycin and batgirl or doxycycline and baytril.
Thank you. All replies are appreciated. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.
