Pituitary tumor, what can I do to make my rat comfortable?

[squishy]

Hi people,
My rat Squishy has a pituitary tumor, and she really doesn't look good... I don't know what to do :cry:
I took her to my local vet about five times over the past few weeks, and she just got weaker and weaker (and the vet didn't seem to know what was going on) until out of frustration I took her to another vet on friday (an exotic animals vet), who diagnosed her with this tumor.
She's on prednisone and vitamin b12 at the moment. I've been trying to hand-feed her peanut butter, chocolate spread, baby food, yoghurt, bananas, and scrambled eggs (all her favourites) because she can't hold her food or chew very well on her own any more and I can't really get her to drink any water... should I force-feed her water with a syringe?
She bruxes more than usual too. I was wondering if that was an effect of the tumor or is she happy when I pick her up? at the moment she's just sitting wrapped up in a blanket on my lap, very thin and hardly moving, and when I stroke/feed her she bruxes...
Does any one know if pituitary tumors are painful for rats? Is my rat in pain?
She also has a lot of porphyrin around her eyes; it's all crusty and she looks like a panda... I tried to clean it off with warm water but she kept pushing my finger away... I was wondering if a bath and getting all the porphyrin off her would make her feel better or if it would just traumatize her more...? (she can't clean herself anymore either...)
The vet told me that I could take her in on monday and have her put to sleep... :cry: I know she's suffering, but she really hates the vets (every time I took her there she just got really stressed out and I don't think it did her much good...) so if she isn't in too much pain, perhaps I could just let her go peacefully in her sleep without having to take her to the vets...?
What do you think is more humane? Is death from a pituitary tumor a horrible, drawn-out process? or do you think she'll go peacefully quite soon, given the fact she's not really eating or drinking any more and can't really move...?
Any advice from someone who's been through the same thing would be great... I just want to do the right thing for Squishy...

 

[lilspaz68]

A lot of us have dealt with PT too many times and right now I have a girl who has it right now.

The difference is we were able to diagnose faster and able to get the right meds for our babies.

Pituitary symptoms are as you know, inability to grasp items with front paws (Calla shows a great pictorial of failing the cheerio test in this thread)

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=8652&hilit=calla

The tumour pressing on their brain causes a lot of strange but often classic symptoms...like excessive bruxxing, head bumping up when you stroke over their head, a limpness,wobblies and a confusion about where things are located. They often push their forelegs stiffly out in front of them and sit withtheir hind feet way under them and splayed to either side.

Now when I see PT, I tell people to try to get a dexamethasone injection (very fast acting) then get oral prednisone for the long term. Some rats will respond to steroid therapy, others sadly will not. Your girl only started oral pred yesterday? It can take a few days before you see any improvements. :/

The steroid therapy can really give you back some quality time with your rat. Now we have discovered a new treatment that might be a lot better for some rats,but your vet has to be willing to try something new. We are now using bromocriptine which seems to remove almost all the symptoms of PT and allow them a lot longer of normal life. My Shade has been on bromocriptine for 2.5 months, and Godmother's Stella is at a wonderful 5.5 months!

I would pick up Ensure and baby cereal to syringe feed your girl...you can add some water to the mix of Ensure and baby cereal and theywill be getting food and liquids at the same time.

 

[squishy]

thanks for your advice! yep, Squishy has all those symptoms you mentioned... and Calla is inspiring!!! I hope that Squishy will start improving and have a few more weeks of a good quality life...
As for the treatment she's on, she has been on prednisone for about a week and a half (my local vet actually prescribed it not realizing that Squishy had a PT, but I suppose the vet had a hunch that it was a tumor, because we'd tried every other treatment imaginable and nothing had worked...), and Squishy did get a bit better for a while, she could lick her food up and I didn't have to hand feed her like I do now, but even then she didn't start holding her food again and behaving normally like Calla did...
Anyway, she really spiralled downhill yesterday morning, so I took her to an exotic animals vet because I didn't want her to waste away and die without knowing what was wrong with her, I thought if I found out what was wrong with her she could get the right medicine and get better...
The vet gave me some vitamin b12 to go with the prednisone, and to come back on monday if Squishy isn't better...
The bromocriptine sounds great but can rats come back from the brink with the bromocriptine...? Because Squishy is in a really bad way since this morning... she spent the entire day lying down with her eyes half closed and hardly ate anything

 

[temblabamomo]

Hugs and kissies to your little one. I don't have much experience with PT. I hope your little one will be comfortable.

 

[lilspaz68]

Ahhh she's been on the pred long enough...it doesn't sound like its doing enough for her now She should be improving not worsening at this stage

 

[SQ]

Bromocriptine does not help all rats with pt but for those it does help,
yes, rats can

come back from the brink with the bromocriptine

Bromo can cause rats to have GI problems so some refuse to take it.

I hope you can keep Squishy from becoming dehydrated .... that is a huge danger.
If she becomes dehydrated, she may need sub-Q fluids.

Here is Stella's thread: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=28917&hilit=bromo

When I asked Godmother awhile ago about the dose for bromo, she wrote:

Bromo dose(full) is half of a 2.5 mg pill per day. So I start with 1/4 dose and work up. I also divide the dose into twice a day, to lower the chance of GI symptoms.

I hope this info helps.

 

[Godmother]

Yes, my Stella was close to dead. The Pred had not helped her, and she could not eat or groom herself. I tried Bromocriptine because I had nothing to lose-- and Stella is alive and well five months later. It was a miracle. I had two other rats who lived three months after Bromo. They only had it for a few days, because their stomachs reacted badly to it and then they refused to take it. Thereafter I started with a low dose first. Even the two girls who just had a few doses got considerably better. They were wobbly but could groom and eat.

Worth trying for sure. Meanwhile your girl would appreciate liquid by syringe and wiping with a damp cloth to keep her clean.

Wishing her the best.

 

[jorats]

You are getting great advice already, I just want to push the Ensure or Boost or the equivalent in Switzerland. It's a meal replacement packed with nutrients. It's a milk like substance so she would get her water intake from it. I'd stop anything with lots of protein, it can be taxing on the kidneys for now.

 

[SQ]

I just want to push the Ensure or Boost or the equivalent in Switzerland.

or soy infant formula

 

[squishy]

thanks for all the advice.... but sadly Squishy passed away last night :cry: :cry:

this morning when I found her I noticed her bottom teeth were very long... that's why she had so much trouble eating and chewing her food; they were so long she could hardly close her mouth... I s'pose she was too lethargic & wobbly to gnaw much and keep her teeth in check... could the vet have clipped her teeth or something so she could carry on eating and didn't get so thin so quickly..?

 

[Aida]

I'm so sorry. Poor baby.

 

[mamarat]

I'm so sorry for your loss. RIP sweetie.

 

[wonderrodent]

Oh my! I am so sorry for your loss :sad3: I was just about to suggest Dostinex (I think it's called Cabergoline in Europe).

 

[squishy]

thanks again for all your advice... i'm just so sad that I couldn't do more for my Squishy, i feel like I failed her
if another one of my rats get the same symptoms, i'll know exactly what to do... prednisone then bromocriptine!

rip my Squishy ='(

 

[Bundyrats]

I'm so sorry to hear about Squishy

 

[Courtney_ann]

Hi, i just found this and i believe my rat has a tumor of this sort she has all the symptoms for it! I took her to a vet which said her abdomen is full of fluid and he thinks her heart is giving out so i decided that i tould do some research and found that her symptoms match this.

Is it worth asking for that medicine and continuing her life, would she be in pain? Is it cruel?

 

[lilspaz68]

Hi, i just found this and i believe my rat has a tumor of this sort she has all the symptoms for it! I took her to a vet which said her abdomen is full of fluid and he thinks her heart is giving out so i decided that i tould do some research and found that her symptoms match this.

Is it worth asking for that medicine and continuing her life, would she be in pain? Is it cruel?

You might want to start another thread Courtney, so we realize a new member is asking for advice.

PT doesn't cause the abdomen to fill with fluid, so I am not sure what is wrong with your baby, can you post your own thread and tell us ALL her symptoms and history?