URGENT INFO RE: Steroids for daisy... very ill :(

[debzratties]

I've got an appt this afternoon as Daisys chronic resp problems have became a lot worse since early this morning,
we lost one of our healthy girls very suddenly to a suspected virus 2 weeks ago so we've been treating the whole group with Baytril/Doxy just incase,
Daisy was already on these meds anyway and whereas a couple of our other rescues were sneezing and lethargic after losing
Poppy, Daisy seemed fine so i'm not sure if she she's been hit with a virus or whether her long term problems have now deteriorated further.

I've been expecting and dreading this day for nearly 12 mths, she was extremely ill when she came here and has had numerous health problems ever since,
so know our only option now is to try a steroid injection/tablets to see if she improves at all,
I know she may not get the chance to try these as the vet may suggest having her pts but if he thinks steroids might help I need to know which
particular one to ask for, the dosage...she's 285g and if it's an injection, how long do the effects last as I know it's usually a shorter period for rats.

The vet i'm seeing today doesn't like to prescribe steroids for infections in fear of making them worse so I thought i'd try and get as much info as
possible so that I know exactly what to ask for and why as this has really helped get her better treatment in the past, we've had to fight so hard for her and
she's fought so hard to be here that I need to know i've done everything first before letting her go

Debz

[hlcasey]

What are her symptoms? I have in the past had two girls with heart/lung issues, she was very lathergic and had a crackling when she breathed. She had a cocktail of meds which helped.

[debzratties]

Atm she's fluffed up, lethargic, breathing is very tight and she's eating very little, she's currently on Fortekor/ Frusemide, Doxy, Baytril and Bisolvon but she's had
numerous coktails of drugs in the past, She's been treated for suspected heart failure for around 2-3mths and on and of since we got her for her resp problems

Debz

[hlcasey]

My girls were on fortekar and frusimide permenantly for theirs. I cannot think of any others I have tried that you have not listed, other than Rhea who used to have breathing difficulties used to have some kind of steroid injection every two weeks, however, I dont know the name. I hope you find something that works, thinking of you both, best of luck! x

[smellll]

prednicare seemed to really work well for my Peppa for a while anyway.

[Jird]

I think dexamethasone is the strongest steroid - it's definitely a bit stronger than prednicare anyway If you ask for a quick-acting dex injection, the vet should know what you're on about. I have no idea of dose I'm afraid, but I expect a good vet will be able to figure out something appropriate.


You may also want to look into different antibiotics - if she's had a lot of trouble in the past, baytril and doxy might not work particularly well on her any more. Some possible alternatives - I've found clavaseptin to be good where doxy and baytril won't work anymore, and once that stops working I've recently had success with terramycin and zithromax. I've heard draxxin is excellent too, but as it's a livestock antibotic (used for pneumonia in calves I think) your vets may not stock it - mine don't.

[debzratties]

Thankyou for the quick replies, we've seen the vet and he thinks she may have a silent pneumonia, she's had pneumonia before but i've never heard of silent pneumonia so not sure if it's similar or something totally different.

I asked his opinion on whether we should pts or try a steroid shot first and he's given her a Voren injection, I presume it's Dexamethasone as thats what he said he'd give but it said Voren on the reciept, apparently it's supposed to last around 5 days but he said it's normally around 2 days for rats,does this sound about right? If she doesn't show any improvement by morning then we'll be saying goodbye and if she improves we need to go back on Thursday so i'll ask about changing her ab's then, she was really flat in the car on the way home and didn't think she was going to make it but she's a little brighter now, she's had a little wander and she's ate about 1 tsp of chocolate babyfood whereas she wasn't eating at all just before going to see the vet, also her heart was racing on the way home, could this just be a side effect from the steroid ? She's surprised us by pulling through so many times now that it's going to be so hard when we do finaly lose her

Debz

[Neotoma]

Just had a chat with my vet about this as well as we;re thinking about it in an old boy - he says steroids vary alot in how much they suppress the immune system and how long they hang around. He suggests dex for resp issues in the first instance as it is short acting, and has the least effect on the immune system. So it sounds like you got the right one, it's just a case fo wait and see...

I'd certainly try draaxin with advanced resp problems - we use a dose of 0.1 ml / kg (your vet can adjust that for the precise weight). However, as mentioned not all vets will carry it or want to use it.