Mycoplasma: Another treatment?

Question
Answer     Baytril is more for dogs than cats but wow....it doesnt sound as if
she was super experienced with rats to not know baytril is one of the most
widely used drugs for rats esp for mycoplasmosis.



I watched the video. Its so hard for me to watch even though I deal with this
daily.  How is she doing now?
She needs better treatment.  Your rat is gasping,I can hear the clicking as she
breathes. I suspect pneumonia and she needs to be on oxygen and have
amakacin and baytril given through the nebulizer. She needs albuterol
nebulized to her to open her airways and it wouldnt hurt for steroids to be
given via injection to help with the inflammation in her lungs.

I am so worried about her....I hope she is still OK today.  I have been on
vacation and tried to keep up with all of the questions that come in and I fear
I took too long to reach yours.

Please tell me she is alive still....


MY REPLY: She's still alive but its difficult to bare it because off and on, I see
her unable to get a breath, excessive panicking like a suffocation and then I
want to plan to put her down the next morning. And whenever she's calm and
still breathing, I feel hope that she can still get better. And it's a cycle and its
hard to deal with. And even when she's calm, she has to bear with suffering
becuase it hurts even at calm. I think those are tears I see in her eyes (if rats
cry, I dont know if they do).  She's stopped eating and getting skinnier/
Baytril doesn't seem to be working because All I've seen is it get worse.

I revisited the vet on the same day I last emailed you. I wanted to see another
vet other than Sheperd, I saw Jason Hutcheson and he informed me more
detail about the mycoplasma. The bacteria is in the lung tissue and when the
body fights it off, the tissue scars. When it happens over and over, it scars
over and over until its like a plastic wall, depriving the lungs to elastically
expand. It sounded as if the damage has already been done and Baytril
cannot repair those lungs, only help kill off the bacteria. Based off this
conclusion, I feel there's no other way but to put her down now. I was actually
going to put her down this morning, but i found your email with another
possible treatment. BTW, Jason also said how Baytril is the most subscribed
antibiotic they issue to everyone.

You mentioned that she needs better treatment. And I didn't even know there
was another kind of treatment. I read your method of treatment with oxygen
and have amakacin and baytril given through the nebulizer and etc. How can I
find a vet who will do this? Should I just hop around different vets? I'm afraid
that if I tell them of the method, they'd be unsure themselves, or will just tell
me how it won't work or something. I would like your input on the theory of
the walls of the lungs and scaring up tissue that deprives the lungs from
expanding because if that is so, I wonder if any treatment will work.

Answer
I would like your input on the theory of
the walls of the lungs and scaring up tissue that deprives the lungs from
expanding because if that is so, I wonder if any treatment will work.
___________________________

As per my website on myco, I also say the same thing about the scarring and blistering of the lungs.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/mycoplasmosispage.htm

This is why it is critical that when rats first show signs of mycoplasmosis infection during a respiratory infection, it is important to follow the proper procedures to try to avoid relapse. Each time the rat relapses the lungs take a direct hit and start to scar and blister like the vet told you. Baytril should be used for at least 21 days, I prefer 30  and now some vets are even going for a full 6 weeks. After that, if the rat should relapse, this is when the decision is made to keep the animal on baytril as a prophylactic measure to try to prevent another respiratory infection.  If your rat has scarring and blistering of the lungs now as we speak, the vet is 110% correct that not much else can be done.  However, if she has pneumonia and doesnt have scarring/blistering of the lungs, she has a chance the infection will clear up with proper aggressive antibiotic treatment.  However, if she has had chronic bouts of mycoplasmosis infections in her lungs, I do fear that she has scarring and agree with the vet that she should be let go before she dies on her own. You do NOT want to see this little girl die on her own because she will suffocate and panic. It would be horrible.
If the vet, upon thorough examination, determines this girl doesnt have pneumonia and it is indeed advance lung disease caused by myco, I would let her go in peace. Just be sure that she is put under anesthesia totally before a cardiac injection if they go this route.
I hate to talk about it but its important to know the proper way to put a rat to sleep so it is not painful. She has had enough already.
My heart goes out to you but I do think it is time to let her go if she has scarring.