please don't be PT

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mollyandbinx'smum

Member
Joined
May 2, 2008
Messages
17
Hi- as per usual, I only come to the site to get help when the girls have problems. Sorry I don't stop by with anything happy!

Molly is not doing well. I think I know what it is, but I want to give you all the info because maybe someone will be able to tell me it's something else.

Binx has had little scabs for a long time and I thought it was just because Molly is a dominatrix of a groomer. A few weeks back I saw the same on Molly and realized they probably had mites or lice. (Ew.) Unfortunately, the vet I use is way overbooked and only sees small animals once a week, and then my appointment got bumped- twice. By the time I got them in to try and get Revolution, Molly had developed crazy symptoms of something else.

She is extremely weak. She slid right off the edge of the table she was playing on and fell to the floor. She didn't seem to have any injuries, but things got 100% worse a day or two after that. She can't hold food and run with it like she loves. She seems confused and unsure. She walks right up to the edge of things like she's going to go right off.

But the symptom that confuses me is that she's gained a lot of weight in the last two months. Not hard bumps, like tumors, just fat rolls.

If this is a tumor, shouldn't she be losing? Does anyone know what else this might be?
I'm so very sad right now and I'm really hoping it's something else...
I saw the vet yesterday and she gave me Metacam which doesn't seem to be doing much at all. I've got a follow-up next week.

... I guess I just want someone to tell me it's not Pituitary Tumors, because Molly's always been my sweetest girl. I don't want her to go that way.... and I've got days to go before we can get back to the vet.

thanks....
-cami

p.s. anyone know a good vet for ratties in NE Ohio? I can't handle getting bumped like this again because I've "just got" small animals. Angry. :cry3:
 
I'm not sure of the weight gain with Molly, unless its part of the natural weight gain of a middle aged rat. They often get "middle-age spread" :lol:

The confusion, the trouble grasping, etc...do sound like PT. Is she knuckling or clubbing her feet at all? Thats a neuro symptom.

Here's the link to one of my experiences with PT...take a deep breath and see if the symptoms match up at all...try to look at it all objectively.

http://ratguide.com/health/figures/pitu ... gure_2.php
 
I'll keep an eye out for clubbing; I haven't seen that yet. (She's sleeping right now, or I'd check.)
I don't know about CHF, but the vet said her heart and lungs sounded good....
Her appetite seems fairly normal, she's still going straight for the food (in her sluggish, jumbly way) when I set it down, but she's sticking with the soft foods. I haven't seen her eat anything crunchy in over a week. I'm all stocked up on baby food now. She's also been bruxing almost constantly, which I thought was a good thing, but realize now it may be pain. :sad3:
Since I still have a few days before I can get into the vet, is there anything I can give her to make her more comfortable? Do human pain relievers work? (I realize as I type that's probably a really bad idea...) I just couldn't stand it if she's hurting and I'm letting her suffer.
Thanks for all your help, by the way :hugs:
 
Oh boy, I've noticed with those with pt, they sure do brux a lot. But on a better note, I do find that those suffering from PT never show any pain.
 
I'm so sorry your Molly is not doing well and that you can't find a quick fix for her. I've been watching and you are in my thoughts, just didn't want to post til I heard what the more savvy think is going on as I didn't know what to think about her confusing symptoms or chances.

Not a positive question but is it possible that she has not only a pt but internal tumors that make her swell as well? Not neccessarily an external tumor you could feel as a tumor, but maybe a small one affecting some internal part that is causing the weight gain? I haven't heard of other tumors being more prevalent with pt's, they seem to be in a class of their own, but we all know about one body tumor often being an indication there will be (or are) more.
 
Also any tumor will grow and may affect things around it. Perhaps a PT could grow in such a way as to affect the part of the brain that controls weight gain?

I'm sorry if this sounds like I'm more interested in researching Molly's body than caring about Molly's life but that's not so. Sounds like you've tried everything you can think of. I've had kids that I couldn't find answers for and more than anything I wanted something to try to fix rather than just feeling helpless about what I couldn't.

Any chance your vet might prescribe some pain meds sight-unseen just for the couple days til her appointment? Even if she had an unpainful PT there is still the weight gain so maybe something else causing her pain if you believe she's in pain?
 
If a tumour affected the satiation part of the brain, the rat could be hungry and eat more than needed. SQ's rat Hannah must have had something like that, because she overate to the point where she looked like one of the rats they show in first year Psychology textbooks (rats with damage to the ventromedial thalamus, who don't feel sated when they eat so they just keep eating and eating... they have bodies that balloon out).

Yours doesn't sound that bad, but it could be the type of problem.

Hope she does better while she's waiting for a vet appt.
Good luck.
 
I just had her out to play for a while. She doesn't really seem to be showing signs of pain... I think. Does bruxing=pain? She doesn't pull away or squeek. She's just moving superslow and is very weak. On a brighter note, after she'd been out for a while, she seemed a little more active, like she wanted to explore and play. She just got tired so fast that she had to lean more than walk. She does have porphyrin and can't balance to clean herself. I gave her a washcloth bath and did the best I could. I'm not feeling any lumps anywhere so if it is a tumor, it's deep and/or small.
Whatever it is, it's progressing very quickly, and I think I'm starting to accept that this is how it goes with our little ratties. The vet was closed already when I called, so unless she starts showing signs that warrant an "emergency" I suppose I should wait til Monday to call again.
If anyone has tips on how to make her as comfortable as possible for the next few weeks (which is, I assume, how long she'll have) please let me know.
Again, thanks so much to everyone. I'm feeling much better knowing I have support from you guys. :cuddle:
 
Medicine question- if I give her Baby Motrin, how much do I give? I've been trying to figure out the conversions from the rat guide, but I'm scared I'll give her too much. :scratch:
 
I guess I don't really know how to tell if she's in pain. When I scritch her behind her left ear, she jerks away a bit, and her left eye is squinted almost closed with lots of porphyrin. I guess I assume that would indicate discomfort... the infant motrin I have is 50mg/1.25ml.
 
Also, can I just say I'm FURIOUS at the vet we've been using and I'm never going there again. I called to get an emergency visit. I listed all her symptoms over the phone (no muscle coordination, cannot feed herself, isn't taking water from her bottle but will drink copious amounts of apple juice from a syringe, porphyrin, and now I think she can't see much at all) and they "got me in". I waited TWO HOURS after my appointment time. The vet came in, squished her belly til she pooped, and said they don't have the facilities to treat rats like this and I'd have to go somewhere else because he wouldn't be able to figure out what's wrong. I was LIVID. He couldn't have told me that over the phone so I could have taken her somewhere else tonight!? He then gave her an injection of- crap, I can't remember what it's called I was so upset. It was to make her not dehydrated and it puffed her sides up like balloons. I was so mad. If he doesn't know what's wrong with her how can he know it's safe to turn her into a water balloon!?
I'm terrified this is going to make her worse. I'm furious that he had the gall to tell me to come in just so he could say he didn't have a clue. (The normal woman I see is on vacation.)
I'm beyond being scared for Molly and into full on rage. :redhot: :rant:
He gave me the name of an exotic pet vet about 45 minutes away, and I made an appointment for tomorrow, but now I don't know who to trust. raaaaaaaaa!
 
Is she head bumping? a quick little head movement when you touch over her head? That is a neuro symptom, almost like a reaction to the pressure and a classic sign of PT.

Did the vet give her sub-q fluids? Ringers Lactate maybe? With subcutaneous injections the fluid goes under the skin and the body will absorb the fluids gradually. Fluids given this way is a good thing if she's dehydrated and it will cause a "bubble" under her skin depending on how much he gave her.

She sounds like she needs antibiotics and a steriod at this point.
 

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