Gwen almost certain PT, but head movements stopped

[Godmother]

Gwen is about 17 months old. Her sister Katie died suddenly, and with no apparent cause, in November. Her sister Susie is active and seems normal. Gwen has been quiet and withdrawn for several days, and I've been watching her. When I coax her out, she eats, and she has been walking normally.

Tonight there is a change. She is bruxxing a lot, and she is making strange head movements: moving her head up and down repeatedly. It reminds me of SQ's rat Psalty, who had a very severe inner ear infection as a baby. One of Joanne's rats also does that movement.

So I am pretty sure that Gwen is in pain, even though her balance is OK. She is not circling, and she can hold food in her paws.

I don't know when I will be able to get her to the vet, so I decided to start her on an anti-inflammatory (Pred) and an antibiotic ( Chlorpalm). I thought it best to wait for my vet's opinion before trying Bromo. Yesterday I found an old email from lilspaz with something Dr Munn had written about Bromo. The thought at that time was that most neurological problems in rats are due to PT and that Bromo was worth a try.

If any of you have thoughts on any of this I would be glad to hear them. I am a bit spooked after Gwen's sister's sudden death at only 16 months.

 

[Joanne]

It could very likely be an inner ear infection. I don't know the etiology of Dixie's head movements - she was like that when she came, and three weeks of meds didn't make a difference. The movements get much worse when she is agitated, just like Daffy gets more tilty when she is agitated, so it seems similar in that respect to inner ear problems.
It does sound like Gwen is in pain - if it is an infection, it may take a few days before you see any improvement, but hopefully the Pred will work its magic and relieve some of the inflammation. (And either way, Pred is good to start...)
Sending healing vibes for your girl!

 

[lilspaz68]

I found the funny involuntary head lifts to usually be the starting of PT

 

[jorats]

Stress seems to bring on PT, or at least make it progress faster and grief is stress. I too would suspect PT in this case.

 

[Godmother]

OK, I've got Bromo... After 13 months, looks like PT is the most likely source of anything other than URIs and UTIs.

Thanks!

 

[SarahA]

Poor little lady. Thats good you have the medicine at the ready, I hope you can keep her comfortable for as long as possible. :hugs:

 

[Godmother]

Gwen is feeling better today. She comes out to greet me instead of hiding in a hammock. That's the good news; I'm happy to see her relieved of pain.

Bad news is that, although I haven't seen the odd head movements this evening, I notice that she can't eat normally. So I added Bromo to the mix.

Thanks so much for feedback. I think I'm on the right track now.

 

[SQ]

Hope she is soon feeling better.
Hope you added pred and an antibiotic as well.

Are you still planning on taking Gwen to the vet?

 

[Godmother]

Hope she is soon feeling better.
Hope you added pred and an antibiotic as well.

Are you still planning on taking Gwen to the vet?

Yes to all.

 

[Godmother]

Well, the Pred took away the pain very fast. The Bromo got her able to hold food in her paws after two doses!
She was able to defend her kidney bean successfully when Susie tried to steal it from her. :bliss:

She's not totally normal, but I have more headroom with the Bromo.

Such a relief that Susie still has a sister for a while longer! She looked so lonely when Gwen was isolating herself.

 

[RattusNorvegicus]

Keep improving Gwen!!

 

[Joanne]

I'm glad she has responded to the medications. I'm sure she feels a WHOLE lot better!

 

[patchesboo]

Awww, sounds like you're doing the right things. glad to hear she's feeling better.

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