Respiratory Issues - where to go from here?

[Joanne]

My rat Kira started wheezing in Dec, so she was started on Baytril. The wheezing went away, but she seems to be working harder to breathe (can see her sides moving.) We started her on Azithromycin Feb 12, so now she's on both. I would expect to see some change by now in her breathing but there doesn't seem to be any improvement with the addition of the zithro.
So where do I go from here?
Give it a few more days?
Should I be looking at cardiac issues? Where the wheezing went away, at least part of the problem was microbial, but maybe it's a combination?

 

[jorats]

I'd give it a few more days but it might not hurt to try lasix.

 

[SQ]

If the present combo isn't working you might want to discuss trying her on baytril + doxy, or baytril + azithromycin with your vet.
If these combos don't start to help within 3 to 5 days (since it doesn't sound like a secondary infection), you can test dose her with an ACE inhibitor. The Rat Health Care book suggests enalapril. If the ACE inhibitor helps then atenolol is added and I always get an x ray done to see if the heart is enlarged. If the heart is enlarged, then digoxin is added.
Rats with heart problems often need lasix to deal with fluid that accumulates in the lungs.

Hope that Kira is soon feeling better.

( If your vet, like mine doesn't usually have these meds, you can get them from Shoppers Drug Mart with a perscription from your vet. They will need to mix it up and the one I went to in Halifax can provide instructions.)

 

[Godmother]

My Ronnie is in a similar situation. He's had all the standard antibiotics, alone & in combos, and his breathing is still rapid. I think that his lungs have sustained permanent damage.

Because he didn't respond much to benazepril, the vet suggested a small dose of lasix to control the gurgly breathing. I was thinking of asking the vet about Pred. They use corticosteroids for human lungs, to ease inflammation. I am cautious about Pred because of the effects on the immune system, but perhaps the dose could be reduced once there were results? (or discontinued if it did not help)

 

[SQ]

If it is because of lung damange, I wonder if a brochiodialator would help?

 

[Joanne]

If the present combo isn't working you might want to discuss trying her on baytril + doxy, or baytril + azithromycin with your vet.

She's on Batril and Azithromycin now. It's been 5 days...

So maybe give it a couple more days, and then try enalapril? Or should I try lasix first? I don't have either on hand... (My ferret Roo YEARS ago was on both for CHF...)

 

[SQ]

lasix will help if there is fluid in her lungs ... do her lungs sound conjested when you hold her up to ear and listen to each side of her chest?
If fluid is building up in her lungs then I would see the vet about lasix asap.

The enalapril is to test to see if it helps ... to see if there is a heart problem

 

How is she doing now?

 

[Rattus]

My boy cain has been on Antibiotics(baytril & Doxy for 2 weeks and 2 days.. his breathing has not improved at all.. but I cannot hear any fluid in his lungs at all but hes breathing like crazy!!. I'm almost out of meds so I'm kinda freaking.. but they dont seem to have helped anyway... is there anything else I can try or do?

 

My first Girl, Alice (R.I.P) was like this, turned out she was anemic. She was kept on pedipred for the rest of her life.

 

[Rattus]

My first Girl, Alice (R.I.P) was like this, turned out she was anemic. She was kept on pedipred for the rest of her life.

hmm that is something to think about... Im think hes sick but the meds just dont seem to be helping what so ever, Im getting scared for him.. his sides are so sunken in I can see his hip bones :shock:

 

Poor guy!
Pedipred will decrease inflammation.
When Alice went on prdipred she was first on a high does, and we gradually went down to the smallest amount that we could with it still having an effect.
Pedipred decreases the immune system, thats why we kept decreasing has much as we could.
We wnt through all kinds of meds before discovering she was anemic ..from meds to xrays ..one night she started peeing blood ..thats when we found out she was amemic ..she was with use 3 months after that ..then life got too bad for her

 

[SQ]

You could see if your vet would try Cain on Clavamox + baytril, or Azithromycin + baytril.
I would take him back to the vet asap and would probably try the clavamox combo first and then the other if no improvement after 3 days or so. If he has fluid in his lungs he will likely need lasix for awhile.

You may want to feed him soft foods like mushy lab blocks with a drop of olive oil or baby cereal.
He may not be eating because he is trying so hard to breath.
If he is unable to eat soft food out of a dish, you may want to put a bit on your finger and see if he will lick it off.
Make sure he is well hydrated.

 

[SQ]

Joanne, how is Kira doing?

 

[Rattus]

You could see if your vet would try Cain on Clavamox + baytril, or Azithromycin + baytril.
I would take him back to the vet asap and would probably try the clavamox combo first and then the other if no improvement after 3 days or so. If he has fluid in his lungs he will likely need lasix for awhile.

You may want to feed him soft foods like mushy lab blocks with a drop of olive oil or baby cereal.
He may not be eating because he is trying so hard to breath.
If he is unable to eat soft food out of a dish, you may want to put a bit on your finger and see if he will lick it off.
Make sure he is well hydrated.

Will do :thumbup: , I'm hoping he will hold on until I can get an appointment. I wasn't sure what to get him.. hes the most picky rat I've EVER HAD.. I bought some instant oatmeal with apple and cinnamon in it, I know a lot of rats like that stuff and the oatmeal is good for them.

 

[Joanne]

Joanne, how is Kira doing?

Well, we are running through a course of antibiotics (Baytril and Azithromycin), and we have put her on Enalapril to see if that would help her. It did seem to help a bit as she seems perkier, but she is still breathing quite fast. She is bright, and her appetite seems OK (always eager for that teaspoon of yogurt + meds).
Weight wise, she had lost 14g since Nov when I weighed her two weeks ago, but she has gained that back as of today.
She seems normal except for her rapid breathing. I'm still not sure where to go from here. If it was a heart problem, I would have expected to see more of an improvement with the enalapril. She's not sneezing, and there are no 'wet' sounds with her breathing. I dunno...

 

[Rattus]

Well, we are running through a course of antibiotics (Baytril and Azithromycin), and we have put her on Enalapril to see if that would help her. It did seem to help a bit as she seems perkier, but she is still breathing quite fast. She is bright, and her appetite seems OK (always eager for that teaspoon of yogurt + meds).
Weight wise, she had lost 14g since Nov when I weighed her two weeks ago, but she has gained that back as of today.
She seems normal except for her rapid breathing. I'm still not sure where to go from here. If it was a heart problem, I would have expected to see more of an improvement with the enalapril. She's not sneezing, and there are no 'wet' sounds with her breathing. I dunno...

this is exactly what is happening with Cain.. He sleeps a tiny bit more.. because he gets tired out from breathing so fast.. but he still eats a bit and drinks but he never sneezes and his lungs sound very clear.. he never makes any sounds except when hes sleeping i hear a bit of strain.... but Im so lost as to what is going on with him.

 

[SQ]

If a rat improves on the heart meds, then we add atenolol.
If that helps then we xray to see if the heart is enlarged.

Paul was helped by the heart meds but we don't think he had a heart problem.
He had kidney failure but the heart meds gave him a life for almost a year.

 

[Rattus]

Cain ate up a fair sized amount of the oatmeal cereal, this is a lot compared to the small amount he was eating in his food bowl, I'm happy he got that in him! :dance: He's running around exploring right now... poor guy hes breathing so hard though.

 

:happydance: yay for eating ..not yay for breathing hard tho ..poor thing :heart: