I was thinking this week that I would update to tell everyone how well Sophie's doing, then this afternoon I popped my head in the CN to say goodbye to the rats when I was leaving for the farmer's market and I discovered the tumour had burst again.
I recently bought them an Oxbow Timothy Tunnel that they LOVE. I wasn't intending to put it in the cage but more than once I had to fight with a rat to come out and go back to the cage so it ended up in the cage and is now the spot to sleep. I noticed blood stains on the blanket I use to line it and knew what happened right away. I shooed the rats I could out of it and I picked it up with the two remaining rats in it and coaxed Sophie out to have a look.
Unlike the first time when Sophie was clearly in pain, this time she couldn't understand what the fuss was about. Last night I noticed the blood around the tumour was creating pressure again - her poos were flat on one side (like they were for the weeks leading up to the first burst) and the area was hardening and very blue like the last time. This leak is from the same hole as the first time (it was very close to completely healing - a small cut about 2mm long) and not nearly as messy, although it looks like she may have lost more blood, or at least lost it faster than before. I cleaned the small amount of blood on her fur and tail with a moist cotton ball, patted her dry, changed the blanket in the tunnel and put her back. It was very close to closing time at the vet and there was no way we would make it across town in time, so I didn't even bother to call - I doubt they could have done anything anyway. If anything urgent comes up before Monday, we'll go to the emergency clinic at the faculty but I don't think anything will.
The last few weeks since the first burst have been full of ups and downs. Before the first burst, Sophie was showing signs of pain and was on Metacam. After the burst she seemed to be in more pain initially, but after a few days she stopped needing any Metacam (or Advil, since I did not want to fight with her everyday and try to give her meds and risk reopening the wound) at all. She did start wheezing in her sleep a few days after my last update so she was put on Batryl for two weeks, which got rid of the wheezing right away and she finished this week.
Hydrotherapy went a lot better and worse than expected - she did not mind it (a huge surprise) but she would reopen the wound grooming after each time I cleaned it. I tried just antiseptic and ointment (as per the vet) but I got the same results, so I just left it. (Because the first time this happened there was so much dried blood, I never knew how big the hole was. I didn't want to clean off the blood - about the size of a dime - and reopen the wound, so I just waited until she groomed it off on her own.) I know the vet wanted me to do the hydrotherapy to increase blood flow to the area and encourage healing but I figured since she was grooming regularly it would be fine. When she got a fair amount of the blood cleared off and I was satisfied there was some sort of scab, I put some antiseptic followed by the topical ointment just to speed healing along.
Sophie seems so much happier lately, her eyes are so much brighter too, but she has slowed down a lot. She spends most of the day sleeping deeply. I have to nudge her awake when I feed them or give treats so she doesn't miss out on the good stuff. Once she's awake and knows there's food, she busts a move over to the bowl. She manages to get around very well despite all her lumps, gets into hammocks I never thought would be accessible to her, although I see one of her lumps is getting in the way of one of her hind legs. She comes out for playtime but only to make her way over to us and to sleep beside us or at our feet.
She hasn't lost any weight but she feels a bit skinnier. This concerns me because I worry that much of her energy is going to feed the tumours and she is not getting enough. As it is, her cage mates (except for Monty) are packing on the pounds thanks to the supplementing I've been doing. It's been mostly soaked blocks with a little bit of vegetable baby food and/or cooked whole grains, healthy cereal (puffed kamut, millet, rice, etc.) and veggies and fruit a couple times a week (bananas, apples, blueberries). A few times a month they will also get a special treat like cooked egg, almonds, or potatoes. They also get Danactive (I hate it's sweetened but have found it to be the most effective with antibiotic associated diarrhea), Booster, Greens + (I usually mix it in oatmeal and it also has probiotic strains and they love it), Melatonin (only Sophie, whenever she is cooperative), and fish oil because Monty is showing the early signs of HED. Between the Danactive and baby food I think they are getting too many readily available sugars and for two of my other girls with benign tumours it seems that they are growing faster (in addition to the weight gain) but I'm torn on what is best. If I take Sophie out to feed her individually, she will not have the freedom to eat whenever she wants but I also do not what to do harm the other rats. She has not been eating blocks since the end of January - I believe in part because one of her tumours makes it hard for her to hold them and they are too hard for her - but I have caught her a few times recently gnawing at them, if she finds a way to prop them up somewhere.
What does concern me is the close proximity of the two bursts. I know Chris said Lollipop had three busts over a 4-5 month period but there wasn't even a three week buffer here. I worry she is also using a lot of energy to produce the blood that accumulates around the lump that is replaced after each loss. I bought spinach, broccoli, and kale today and steamed some up for them to try to replace some of the lost nutrients and I think I will give Sophie some cooked egg tomorrow for the extra protein and calcium. I really hope I'm not missing anything. We have Ensure at home but I don't like the idea of giving it regularly because of the sugar and I hate the idea of Glucerna and it's artificial sweeteners more, so I'd like to avoid both of those if possible.
At playtime tonight she acted as though nothing had happened, so that's a plus. She looks a bit like a rat with PT trying to move around the hardwood floors :sad3: but she takes it all in stride. Manages to climb into the litter boxes and all. This week was Annabelle's 2nd birthday and I remember thinking in January when Sophie had her stroke that I should prepare myself for the distinct possibility she wouldn't be with us to celebrate it. I am very grateful for every day we have because I truly believe it's borrowed time.
ETA: Ugh. Finished typing and posting this and I went to say goodnight to everyone. Sophie hopped up the ramp to come say hi and then she started leaking blood. (It was actually pouring out :cry: ) I held her with a tissue against the "hole" for a few minutes (she was happy chilling in my palm, sort of like a human hammock) and then put her back in the cage. There was a small puddle of blood on the liner that I think I managed to wipe up pretty well and there was no blood in the hammock she was sleeping just before I said hello, so I think she must have opened it hopping (she can't really walk up the ramps properly anymore - 3 tumours are in the way plus her foot is partially paralyzed) up the ramps. I'm wondering if I should put her in a different cage... I think she would be so sad away from the other girls, even with Monty for company. Maybe I can find an enormous bunny/GP cage large enough for 6 rats to borrow.
