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Ongoing respiratory problem

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Flower_Girl said:
That's very kind Debbie, thank you. I'll call the vet tomorrow and see what's going on, I did give him the phone number and he said he would call but he may have had time off over the past week or just not had the chance to speak directly to Simon. When I've spoken to him I can think about what to do next. If there's a chance this may still be treatable, coming up to Northampton to see Simon is an option.
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Keep me posted. I really hope something can be done to help Indy xx
 
The vet isn't in today but I've left a message for him to call me tomorrow, hopefully we'll have some progress somewhere, I feel like I'm stuck in limbo at the moment!

Thank you Pebble, we have already tried a short dose of steroids (plus baytril) as both of the vets I've seen think it's now unlikely to be an infection. It didn't make any difference though, I'm hoping that Simon Maddock can advise my vet on azithromycin and whether or not that's worth trying, otherwise I will try to make the journey to see Simon personally.
 
My vet only managed to speak to Simon this evening but he's now written a prescription for azithromycin which I'll go and collect tomorrow morning. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high but I have everything crossed for a positive response this time! Indy is, thankfully, still fairly bright and alert in herself, despite the awful breathing.
 
Hi I understand where your coming from. My squirrel sounds simular to what your little piggie is going through.I took her to vet in peterfsfield and they said she had a ovarian cist and to give her pain relief till she can longer cope. I was not happy with that and knew it did not sound right.So took her to vet in maidstone kent which is a 1 our 45 minutes drive from me amd it was the best thing I have done. She does not have a cist and has pnuemonia which started by chest infection.She has been at Trinity vets at kent since monday and is doing well (fingers crossed) . She was not eating the vet said she was choosing to breath rather then eat bless her. Trinity maidstone vet is brilliant phone number is 01622 726730 .Give them a ring and ask for Mark .He has my squirrel at the moment and she is doing alot better.
 
I have the prescription for the Zithromax but I was told they didn't have it in stock, went into two other vets and a chemist on the way home, no one has it! I can't find it on any of the usual vet websites either. I did get quotes from two nearby clinics for ordering it in, the earliest would arrive on Tuesday so I may just have to do that unless I can order it from a chemist online...not sure if this is an option!

Michell, thank you for those details, I have been recommended Trinity before and will be keeping their details for future reference. Good luck to your Squirrel, I hope she continues to progress well!
 
I've just found this: http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/zithromax-suspension-15ml_4_17382.html

I have no idea if this is the right product (I only checked as one of the nurses I spoke to today suggested trying a pharmacy as it's also used in humans) - I've emailed them to ask about the strength and whether or not I can order with a veterinary prescription, anyone know if this is the same as would be dispensed by a vet?
 
Flower_Girl said:
I've just found this: http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/zithromax-suspension-15ml_4_17382.html

I have no idea if this is the right product (I only checked as one of the nurses I spoke to today suggested trying a pharmacy as it's also used in humans) - I've emailed them to ask about the strength and whether or not I can order with a veterinary prescription, anyone know if this is the same as would be dispensed by a vet?
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Yes that looks right. It's a human antibiotic, but not sure whether you would get with a veterinary prescription. Have always got mine from the vets.
 
Yes you should be able to get it from a pharmacy with a veterinary prescription. I have done this with both Zithromax and Nystatin. Zithromax is dispensed in our pharmacy under the full name of azithromycin.
 
Yes, managed to get it today. The box says to use within 5 days, is that normal and will it still be alright for the full course? The vet just said 3-4 weeks, 0.4ml once a day, does that sound about right?
 
Flower_Girl said:
Yes, managed to get it today. The box says to use within 5 days, is that normal and will it still be alright for the full course? The vet just said 3-4 weeks, 0.4ml once a day, does that sound about right?
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Simon normally splits the powder into two bottles and then each can be made up as needed by adding 4.5 mls of tap water to each bottle. It does keep longer than 5 days though. Dose very low. How heavy is your piggie? Dose is 1 ml per kilo weight.
 
They mixed all the powder with water before dispensing which is why I'm now worried as it'll need to last at least three weeks. She's currently about 750g, should I increase her dose?
 
Flower_Girl said:
They mixed all the powder with water before dispensing which is why I'm now worried as it'll need to last at least three weeks. She's currently about 750g, should I increase her dose?
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0.75mls would be the dose Simon would prescribe. It'll be fine for a couple of weeks. I will ask Simon if it'll be ok for longer. X
 
That would be great, thanks so much. I'll increase the dose to 0.75ml.
 
She had her third dose yesterday, unfortunately she doesn't like the taste at all and is producing quite a lot of this yellowish fluid (the stuff that the vet thinks is 'sitting' in the back of her throat) and so probably losing some of the azithromycin, I will syringe some water beforehand tonight to hopefully reduce what she can spit out.

She does seem to be be breathing slightly easier today but I'm not sure if that's just wishful thinking!
 
Flower_Girl said:
She had her third dose yesterday, unfortunately she doesn't like the taste at all and is producing quite a lot of this yellowish fluid (the stuff that the vet thinks is 'sitting' in the back of her throat) and so probably losing some of the azithromycin, I will syringe some water beforehand tonight to hopefully reduce what she can spit out.

She does seem to be be breathing slightly easier today but I'm not sure if that's just wishful thinking!
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I wonder what this fluid is. If there isn't any significant improvement soon I would consider a CT scan. Simon has access to a CT scanner once a month and it's really affordable. I think £80 at the very most. Just something to think about. Don't worry too much about losing some of the antibiotic. I had a chat with Simon last night and he said the dose you have been prescribed is the recommended one, but he has found the larger dose works better. However, it should work in smaller quantity, so if you are giving the larger and dose and losing some then you should still see an improvement if it's going to work.
 
furryfriends (Excellent Adventure Sanctuary) said:
I wonder what this fluid is. If there isn't any significant improvement soon I would consider a CT scan. Simon has access to a CT scanner once a month and it's really affordable. I think £80 at the very most. Just something to think about. Don't worry too much about losing some of the antibiotic. I had a chat with Simon last night and he said the dose you have been prescribed is the recommended one, but he has found the larger dose works better. However, it should work in smaller quantity, so if you are giving the larger and dose and losing some then you should still see an improvement if it's going to work.
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That's reassuring about the dose, thanks for talking to Simon about it. I gave her 1ml of water before the antibiotic today and it seemed to help, there was none of the really thick liquid that came up yesterday.

I will definitely consider the CT scan as a next step if this doesn't help. Do you think there is a time by which I should definitely notice some improvement if it is going to work? She hasn't had any really noisy periods today which is encouraging but she quite often has one late at night (maybe it's just more noticeable when it's quiet) so we'll see.
 
Flower_Girl said:
That's reassuring about the dose, thanks for talking to Simon about it. I gave her 1ml of water before the antibiotic today and it seemed to help, there was none of the really thick liquid that came up yesterday.

I will definitely consider the CT scan as a next step if this doesn't help. Do you think there is a time by which I should definitely notice some improvement if it is going to work? She hasn't had any really noisy periods today which is encouraging but she quite often has one late at night (maybe it's just more noticeable when it's quiet) so we'll see.
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I've always seen quite a quick improvement when using zithromax, so I wouldn't leave it too long. For example, I have a piggie here at the moment who arrived last Friday with a huge jaw abscess that was discharging huge amounts of pus. Within a couple of days of starting zithromax the abscess had shrunk and the amount of pus was reducing and by today there is no pus whatsoever and the jaw looks normal. I will ask Simon tomorrow when he is likely to have access to the CT scanner again.
 
So it seems like Indy's quiet couple of days was only temporary, she was noisier over the weekend and I really haven't noticed any overall improvement. As she's been on the zithromax just over a week I think it's safe to say this probably isn't going to work? I'll carry on with it while I decide on what to do next. Her appetite is fairly good at the moment and she's quite bright in herself though, I would say that at the moment she's doing better than she was at her worst - I'm hoping that's a sign that this might be treatable yet.
 
You always want the best for your pets, health and happiness. These things take time but glad you have posted about it and hoping for the best.
 
I thought I'd post an update for anyone still following Indy's progress.

I've been speaking to Debbie over PM and took Indy to see Simon a couple of weeks ago. She was quite snuffly when we were in there so he managed to have a good listen to her breathing. He thinks it's nasal. She has a heart murmur but no sign of heart disease, and there was no sign of anything else untoward and her teeth are good. Unfortunately he didn't think it'd be worth doing a scan, though he said he would be willing if it got worse, but he did remind me that she is old and told me to enjoy her while she's still doing okay so I don't know that there would be anything else that could be done for her even if a scan did show up anything.

Unfortunately I feel like she's gone downhill a bit in the last week or so. Her weight has gone down to about 700g, which I'm sure is due to her eating very, very little on her own apart from veggies and some treats. Her appetite isn't bad - she is coming to me to be fed in the cage and takes 15-25ml of critical care at each feed, so possibly the breathing problems are making it harder for her to eat her hay and pellets. I have increased her critical care feeds and started tracking amounts again and she has stayed stable over the past few days so I'm hoping she won't drop any more - I was wondering if anyone has suggestions to anything I can add to the critical care which might give her a few extra calories at each feed? I've been adding small amounts of fruit smoothie which she likes a lot. The only remotely hay-like thing she will eat is the excel dandelion nature snacks, I'm wondering if their herbage is worth trying? She won't eat readigrass, are they similar?

Her breathing isn't louder but I feel like she is having the rasping/drawing sort of breathing much more often and she's spending more time in one place in the cage. She does seem more like a poorly pig now. :(

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