Sore, swollen leg; ibuprofen dose?

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simonsmom

Junior Member
Joined
May 28, 2014
Messages
193
Location
Barrie, Ontario
My oldie has a sore, swollen leg. The swelling isn't too bad, but it's noticeable. He walks on the leg but it's obvious he'd rather not. He tries holding it up but I don't think he's strong enough to walk on 3 legs. He does jump with it, he just jumped from the seat of the couch up the back to sit on top.

I assume he needs ibuprofen to feel better. I'm not sure of the dose. He's 375g and the pediatric advil is 200mg/5ml.
 
His leg seems to be getting worse. He's putting less pressure on it, having a bit of trouble getting around and it hurts. I very gently touched the leg and he quickly jerks his head back. I touched the elbow/knee and he squealed.

Is the ibuprofen still good enough or should we take him to the vet? He's only had two doses so far. Usually swollen legs don't worry me much and they get better quick, but he's my old man baby so I worry a bit (okay a lot) more. The injury happened yesterday morning sometime so maybe it has to get worse before it gets better. I think it's just a sprain because there is no discolouration, hard spots, wounds, etc.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzdouFq0doo&feature=youtu.be[/ame]
 
Ohh that video told me a LOT more about his breathing issues, those lungs are constricted, he probably has pulmonary abscesses (I bet his chest is hard?). Have you tried dexamethasone? I find it gives a lot of relief to end-stage PA.

As for his foot, he's old and wobbly right now. He might have pulled a muscle higher up the leg as well. If you are going to start dexamethasone, stop giving the ibu 24 hours outside of the dose of dex.
 
Ohh that video told me a LOT more about his breathing issues, those lungs are constricted, he probably has pulmonary abscesses (I bet his chest is hard?). Have you tried dexamethasone? I find it gives a lot of relief to end-stage PA.

As for his foot, he's old and wobbly right now. He might have pulled a muscle higher up the leg as well. If you are going to start dexamethasone, stop giving the ibu 24 hours outside of the dose of dex.

We haven't tried dexamethasone, the vet didn't even mention PA. I can definitely get that for him if it will give him some relief. His chest is hard.

Is he better off being on the dexamethasone and not getting ibuprofen? There is no cure for PA right?

If it's PA should he still be getting the baytril + doxy + amox combo? Or should I just stop it since he hates it so much.

Here is another if it helps. This was after he got his meds.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs0hOLa7UF4&feature=youtu.be[/ame]
 
Definitely get him on dex and a broad spectrum antibiotc just to prevent opportunistic infections
.
It can really open up those lungs and help him be more comfortable, it also is a good anti-inflammatory for that injury as well.

What a darling boy!
 
Oh, no! The gasping and accessory muscle use say a lot. He needs immediate help breathing. Sorry, I know these are rats, and I take care of humans, but any person breathing like that would need to be tubed to breath. Are you able to take him into a steamy bathroom? Or maybe see if a cold freezer would help at all? He's beautiful, btw. How old is he?
 
He is 36-37 months old.

Definitely get him on dex and a broad spectrum antibiotc just to prevent opportunistic infections
.
It can really open up those lungs and help him be more comfortable, it also is a good anti-inflammatory for that injury as well.

What a darling boy!

We've got a vet appointment so he'll get the dex. How does it work exactly? I tried looking it up. Is it an injection or a daily oral dose? What would his dose be (375g)? I want to make sure he gets what he needs.

More related to his leg... He pooped in bed today (he's never done this) and it was soft. He stepped in it and it was all over his back legs and belly. I used a baby wipe to get it off his one leg and belly but the other leg I can't touch because it's sore. I don't want to bath him because he's sick, I don't want to make it worse. Should I just leave it and let him or his buddy groom it off?
 
I have used injectable dex orally as well as injected. It can also be nebulized. I cannot give you a dose yet since I don't know the concentration. Some vets don't like to give out dexamethasone and will try to pawn you off with prednisone but this takes DAYS to show any effect and dex can show it in hours.

The inflammation in the lungs is reduced, there's a lot more airflow and the rat can breathe easier and be more comfortable :) Dexamethasone works very fast and can last a few days so you might not need to give it every day although for him I would give it once a day for about 2-3 days until you see him definitely doing better.
 
I have used injectable dex orally as well as injected. It can also be nebulized. I cannot give you a dose yet since I don't know the concentration. Some vets don't like to give out dexamethasone and will try to pawn you off with prednisone but this takes DAYS to show any effect and dex can show it in hours.

The inflammation in the lungs is reduced, there's a lot more airflow and the rat can breathe easier and be more comfortable :) Dexamethasone works very fast and can last a few days so you might not need to give it every day although for him I would give it once a day for about 2-3 days until you see him definitely doing better.

He got a shot of dex this morning. The vet wants me to take him back Thursday and Friday for another shot, then he says he'll need a shot or to take it orally every 3 days. He also said he should stay on the doxy + baytril. He was injected with 0.17ml and is 373g. Does this sound right?

So far he hasn't gasped this afternoon and he is walking on his sore leg with a slight limp. He's also grooming with it and got all the poop cleaned off himself.
 
I'm so glad he has started on the Dex - I hope he responds well to it. It may be something you want to keep him on indefinitely. I did have one girl whose breathing was awful and we decided to try steroids as a last ditch effort to save her. She lived many more months comfortably before we had to say goodbye.
 
I'm so glad he has started on the Dex - I hope he responds well to it. It may be something you want to keep him on indefinitely. I did have one girl whose breathing was awful and we decided to try steroids as a last ditch effort to save her. She lived many more months comfortably before we had to say goodbye.

I'm really hoping he does well on it. He's 36 months so I don't know how much longer he'd have even if he were healthy, but the more time we have the better.

Is dex a steroid or is there something else we should try if the dex doesn't work for him?
 
Yes, Dexamethasone is a steroid. So are Prednsone and Prednisolone.
Dex seems to be the fastest acting so is good in a crisis or when you want results ASAP.
Most times you do not want them on a steroid for an extended period of time, but occasionally it is really the only thing keeping them comfortable. For my girl Lily, the choice was to be on Pred indefinitely or be dead, so it was an easy decision.
 
His breathing is a lot better but his leg is still swollen and sore. Sometimes he walks on it, sometimes he doesn't. The vet looked at it and said it was a sprain. But it's been swollen for 16 days now, even with anti-inflamatory medicine.

Is there something else that could be wrong?
 
He is on dex, baytril and doxy.

Here is his leg today (bottom of post). It doesn't look bad but it's still swollen a bit and he limps on it sometimes, occasionally not using it at all. He can stand up on it though as seen in this video:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XMeiE8AnmI&feature=youtu.be[/ame]

And he's started sitting like this since quite frequently his leg injury. I'm not sure if they are related or not.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBSB3tTYX7I&feature=youtu.be[/ame]

DSC_0452.jpg
 
He is still working to breathe, but it seems better than initially. He has no muscle mass in his haunches. (Looks like my 17 year old cat!) He is probably to the point where he can't sit normally any more. Let me see if I can find a pic of Petunia for you...
I think he will probably need to be on the meds for the rest of his life.
 
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