Eldora blood work bad/surgery good/boy time

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dspch911

dspch911

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2012
Messages
7,963
Location
Chicago, IL
Going to start new thread for her since I think this is getting lost in there general one.

Got blood results back and the little one has an ALT of 208 which should be 80 or lower. She also has a low white blood cell count. I guess this means she probably has some form of cancer. She is recommending an xray to she if she can see a tumor. If its in her uterus that isn't a problem it can be removed with the spay, BUT we need to know if it has spread already. I wonder if this is why she is so tiny. They all show dehydration, but all organs are functioning properly.

Any suggestions for the little one would be appreciated.
 
I'm sorry to hear about Eldora's lab results. I'm curious to know what her symptoms were that prompted you to do the bloodwork in the first place.

I would definitely do an Xray. Why not?! Is there a reason (such as money) that it's a question on whether or not to do the Xrays?

I recently lost a girl on whom I had multiple Xrays taken and even an ultrasound done in order to determine the exact nature of the problem. Unfortunately she had a thoracic mass, pushing her heart to one side. Chest masses are inoperable for our pet rats. I really felt so much better, though, knowing what the problem was. I wouldn't have known had I not done the Xrays and then the ultrasound.

A side note on the ultrasound: I work in a vet clinic and was very fortunate that an ultrasonographer who had experience with exotics volunteered to "take a peak" when she was in to ultrasound one of our dog or cat patients. Unlike Xrays, ultrasounds can be extremely expensive.

Just thought of something else: Many veterinarians send out Xrays (usually digital) for radiologist consults. They're sent to board certified radiologists. If your vet does this, it really does make a difference who reads the radiographs. My girl with the chest mass, Nora, had a radiologist read her Xrays who was a board certified zoologist but not a board certified radiologist. I was not satisfied with the interpretation---especially since the report kept referring to rabbit physiology! I had a second person who is boarded in radiology interpret her radiographs and his report was completely different.

Thinking of you and Eldora and wishing you both the best!
 
so sad to here. As if you don't have enough weighing on your heart .
I might have missed it - but how old do you think she is?
 
I'm sorry to hear this. You've had a lot on your plate with rattie illnesses, and that can be very difficult to deal with. Hoping that ,if it is a tumor, it can be removed with the spay. Please keep us updated.
 
AboutPetRats said:
I'm sorry to hear about Eldora's lab results. I'm curious to know what her symptoms were that prompted you to do the bloodwork in the first place.

I would definitely do an Xray. Why not?! Is there a reason (such as money) that it's a question on whether or not to do the Xrays?

I recently lost a girl on whom I had multiple Xrays taken and even an ultrasound done in order to determine the exact nature of the problem. Unfortunately she had a thoracic mass, pushing her heart to one side. Chest masses are inoperable for our pet rats. I really felt so much better, though, knowing what the problem was. I wouldn't have known had I not done the Xrays and then the ultrasound.

A side note on the ultrasound: I work in a vet clinic and was very fortunate that an ultrasonographer who had experience with exotics volunteered to "take a peak" when she was in to ultrasound one of our dog or cat patients. Unlike Xrays, ultrasounds can be extremely expensive.

Just thought of something else: Many veterinarians send out Xrays (usually digital) for radiologist consults. They're sent to board certified radiologists. If your vet does this, it really does make a difference who reads the radiographs. My girl with the chest mass, Nora, had a radiologist read her Xrays who was a board certified zoologist but not a board certified radiologist. I was not satisfied with the interpretation---especially since the report kept referring to rabbit physiology! I had a second person who is boarded in radiology interpret her radiographs and his report was completely different.

Thinking of you and Eldora and wishing you both the best!
Click to expand...

Here is the thread from when I got them and there background.
http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32002
They wanted blood work done because they are so tiny, malnourished, miss hair in spots, and we are going to have them spayed. She wanted to make sure all their organs were functioning properly since they are suppose to be around 10 months or older, but look like babies.

Money is starting to become an issue. We will have the x-ray taken most like on Wednesday during their follow up appointment.

Unfortunately, we are all too familiar with thoracic masses compressing the heart. We lost two last year to that - medication helped for awhile, but one ended up with a cardiac tamponade. Both ended up being pts.

My vet has sent stuff out to other vets or specialist for their opinions. Perhaps this explains why she is so tiny compared to the other two.
 
dspch911 said:
Here is the thread from when I got them and there background.
http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32002
They wanted blood work done because they are so tiny, malnourished, miss hair in spots, and we are going to have them spayed. She wanted to make sure all their organs were functioning properly since they are suppose to be around 10 months or older, but look like babies.

Money is starting to become an issue. We will have the x-ray taken most like on Wednesday during their follow up appointment.

Unfortunately, we are all too familiar with thoracic masses compressing the heart. We lost two last year to that - medication helped for awhile, but one ended up with a cardiac tamponade. Both ended up being pts.

My vet has sent stuff out to other vets or specialist for their opinions. Perhaps this explains why she is so tiny compared to the other two.
Click to expand...

Thanks for providing the link. Now I have a much better understanding of what you and your little ones (literally) have been going through.

I am extremely impressed by how much you are doing as well as how you're able to remain objective when faced with reality.

Sounds like you have an amazing vet!

I hope the Xrays that will be taken on Wednesday reveal a problem that can be resolved. :)

That's so terrible when people feed rats junk food as their main staple. Two of the girls I recently rescued were being fed huge amounts of beef jerky. (Just imagine all the nitrates, let alone all the other yucky ingredients.)

Sorry to hear you're familiar with thoracic masses, too. That was one of the saddest health problems I've encountered yet.

Fingers crossed for you and Eldora. Keep up the amazing rattie work you're doing!!!
 
I opted against the x-ray since it wasn't a guarantee it was going to show anything anyway. They will get their spays on the 3rd of March She will call us when she opens her up and let us know what she sees. If it's really bad we'll make a decision at that time.

The girls did lose a few grams but they have also grown in their hair so you can't see the pink of their skin anymore. So they are not patchwork rex that was just malnutrition - not surprised.
 
I don't mean to sound negative, but isn't waiting until March 3rd a little far away for Eldora if she does have cancer? I could be wrong, but it seems like the sooner the surgery the better the chance any cancer in her uterus will be removed......and the better the chance it won't have spread beyond the uterus if it's in the uterus.

You've probably already thought of all of this....just had to put it out there. I completely understand why you'd skip the Xrays if they're not guaranteed to show anything. It's just that cancer, as you know, can spread quickly.

That's interesting they've lost a few grams. Any idea why?

Continue to keep us posted and know that all of your babies are in our thoughts!
 
That was the earliest we could do it with her schedule and our work schedules. At this point I don't think 2 weeks will make that much of a difference.

I don't know about the weight loss. Perhaps because they are more active being in a large cage where they can climb and run around.
 
I would be curious to see if the bloodwork comes back normal after Eudora has been on a proper diet for a while. What are the odds that it is off because of her malnutrition and not anything else?
 
Joanne said:
I would be curious to see if the bloodwork comes back normal after Eudora has been on a proper diet for a while. What are the odds that it is off because of her malnutrition and not anything else?
Click to expand...

That elevation apparently means there is break down in the muscles (I think that is what she said) and most likely, in this case, means she has cancer somewhere. However, she has seen it before and been unable to locate an underlining reason - so that is what I'm hoping for. Hope for the best and expect the worse.
 
dspch911 said:
That elevation apparently means there is break down in the muscles (I think that is what she said) and most likely, in this case, means she has cancer somewhere. However, she has seen it before and been unable to locate an underlining reason - so that is what I'm hoping for. Hope for the best and expect the worse.
Click to expand...
When your body does not have enough energy coming in through diet (ie starvation) it will start breaking down muscle tissue in order to survive.
 

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