Hamster with Cushing's came down with a cold and isn't recovering

[WorriedMom]

Sadly, my hamster started sneezing and having problems within 24 hours before I started to. He has had 4 days of Baytril because the vet said she thought he had a URI. He's not getting better. The day he came down with symptoms he has started wobbling and losing his balance while walking or standing up. He's sneezing and has been breathing hard off and on. His eyes had been getting crusty repeatedly a while after I'd clean them. Now only one eye is getting crusty. He's still sneezing and is sleeping all the time except when he's munching on his food. He isn't drinking enough on his own and his blood test showed no low blood sugar which the vet was worried about with how disoriented he is. He gets Benabac a couple hours every day after the antibiotics. He was diagnosed with Cushing's half a year ago. We tried a medication that I can't remember the name of but it made him very tired for a few hours and his urination went up. Took him off and he went back to normal. I'm asking the vet to prescribe it again. I've been giving him thyme tea at .5 ml every so often. He had dried out small poop last night but after staying up all night giving him the tea that he said smells icky and doesn't understand why I'm making him drink it his poop is back to normal. I'm still giving the tea and I put some of the leaves in his nest and I'm sure he doesn't appreciate that. I bought some strawberry flavored Pedialyte in case I need to give him it since a mix of water, salt, and sugar that I found online for hamsters was snubbed by him. I'm fighting tooth and nail to get him recoveres but I'm having some serious trouble with that. I myself am getting worse by the days due to lack of sleep. I can take him to ER but they've almost killed a family pet before by giving too much fluid and somehow missed the bronchitis on the x-ray that my ferret had that my vet was shocked they could miss. She even said it was apparent by listening to his lungs. So, yea I don't like that place but I do NOT want to lose my perfect crazily kind child to a stupid cold that I gave him myself. I'd probably never forgive myself since it likely came from a family member I live with. Any ideas and suggestions for recovery are super welcome cause I really need the help. My doctor said I could try giving him .02 ml of metacam and see if it helps.

[cypher]

It does sound as though he has a respiratory infection & if he's wobbly & losing his balance it may also be affecting his ears, that's often a sign of an ear infection.
The baytril should be helping if it is just a respiratory infection but it can take some time & some cases may need more than one course, 4 days probably isn't long enough for it to have done the job yet.
I wouldn't give thyme tea to a hamster or put thyme leaves in the cage, the scent of those will be much too strong & won't really be doing anything helpful, he'll probably be more comfortable without those.
Metacam isn't usually given for this kind of thing although I guess it may give him some pain relief if he is in pain.
If you're concerned that the baytril isn't working I would go back to the vet that prescribed it & see what they say.
I'm not sure there's much more you an do at the moment other than keeping him warm, quiet & comfortable.

Regarding the Cushing's disease you might find this thread of interest.
Cushings and Treatment

[WorriedMom]

His low abdomen just above his testicles is swollen now as well as his penile sheath is sticking outward and his anus is swollen as well. I got the dried semen out of his penis but I'm at a loss as what to do. I think I should head to the animal hospital.

[cypher]

He definitely needs to go back to the vet as soon as possible, there does seem to be a lot of symptoms & only a vet can guide you really.
Good luck, I hope they can help him.

[WorriedMom]

Thank you for responding. I was so upset I didn't get any responses all day. I love him more than anything. He is my son and I can't help but feel like this is all my fault somehow. I didn't know it got down to 66 degrees one night even though I monitor the temp several times a day
I just happened to wake up in the middle of the night and checked. I turned the heater on right away. I'm trying to make the decision to go now or wait. I'm not sure if he can wait till morning. My vet is off on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday so I'm out of luck there. I'm going to try to stop crying like MY life is the one ending (might as well be my life, feels the same) and talk to my parents on what to do. I lost a chinchilla to pyometra when I was told she was a male for five years and even asked a vet for confirmation. Her death was super tragic and could have been avoided if I had a good vet at the time. It has caused me trauma and well this is feeling like my fault all over again. Sorry to unload. I just want to try one more time to help to exhaust all options. He's old but he's the sweetest most gentle animal I've ever met.

[WorriedMom]

I'm pretty positive he isn't going to make it. He isn't pooping any more so I'm betting the swollen abdomen is built up stool.

[souffle]

I think you need to take him in as it will be painful for him. It's not your fault. These tiny creatures are so fragile and their innards so very small there is nothing you can do when something major goes wrong. He sounds like he may have a tumour or something inside his bowel. The other symptoms will be secondary to this. The greatest gift is peaceful rest and you must be very brave and strong to put him before yourself. Accepting that your decision, made from love, is always the right one is the way forward. I hope his path is gentle.

[WorriedMom]

I know you're right but I think I'm going to throw up and low key wish I went with him. Grief by itself is horribly painful but mixing in these frequent panic attacks of full body intense tingles ans chilled feeling isn't helping. It's just making my panic more. Can someone turn off my adrenaline? I'm wait till 8 to call his normal vet office since I know another vet there. I want to talk a lot about what is going on and I want to know as much as I can. I want to know there is literally nothing more I can do and that I didn't do something to cause this.

[Pebbles82]

Souffle is right. Cushings, in its later stages is extremely nasty and can be a slow painful death. It usually leads to the hamster having to helped on his way. So stressful and painful but think with love - to help him so he doesn't suffer.

If his belly is swollen and there is some prolapse it will be either organ failure or a tumour and it could burst. I had all this with our last Syrian and you sort of deny anything nasty and think it could be constipation when deep down you know there is something very wrong.

I wouldn't give Metacam if the diagnosis is Cushings - it is contraindicated. The way the Metcam works actually worsens Cushings and speeds it up. This was what I found so hard when our Hamster was diagnosed with it (although it was only suspected) - that I couldn't give him the only pain relief available for hamsters. And then the only option is to help them on their way to prevent further suffering.

It may not be a cold - respiratory distress is one of the later stages of organ failure.

I am so sorry. I also wanted to try herbal things - but don't - the scents are too strong for them and it puts them off eating and drinking. Likewise don't put anything in the drinking water, they can sense it and stop drinking. I did buy some white willow bark pieces - very tiny bits and left the odd one out to see if he would eat it as it's a natural pain relief (the source of aspirin) and safe to give to hamsters - but I don't know if it helped.

How old is he? Over 18 months? In which case he is considered old. It is heart wrenching I know as our last Syrian was my baby too. I felt like a murderer taking him to the vets to help him on his way, but it was the kindest thing - he was suffering and unconscious by then.

There comes a point when we have to accept the grief for ourselves to do the right thing for them. And sometimes it is kinder to stop bothering them with regular meds and trying to get them to eat or drink special things and just let them have some peace and eat whatever they want - putting food and drink nearby the nest if they can't walk properly or keep balance. There are pet bereavement services who can help afterwards xxx

Only you really know how he is and whether he seems to be rallying or failing - but your heart will tell you if you listen.

I forgot to say - don't give Metacam. It is contraindicated with Cushings disease - your vet should know that. It speeds up the symptoms of Cushings and makes it worse. I found this an extremely hard thing not to be able to give the only pain relief available to hamsters and it usually does mean having to help them on their way. It is nothing you have done. It is just old age. If you think about it, humans are the same - if you live long enough something starts to fail and disease takes hold.

[WorriedMom]

He's no longer has a swollen abdomen and his anus is going back down. The vet thinks he was just so constipated at the time. He is pooping again. She said to give him baby food since he doesn't want the fluids I tried. He's getting fluids again and she thinks he isn't so far gone that there is no hope and not worth trying. He's also switching antibiotics in case he built up a tolerance to this one since he's had it a few times in the past. I got him in the beginning of june of 2016 so yes he's an old boy. He's such a trooper though and was standing on his hind legs looking at the tech in the face when he was getting weighed. He has a love for food so I'm gonna do my best to make him happy and comfy. I've been advised to switch to a flat bedding such as fleece and to have a couple spots with the carefresh for him to use for the bathroom. And to obviously keep the fluffy bedding in his house. He has a far easier time walking on flat ground. My baby just wants to eat his yummies and sleep. I can so relate. I have chronic illnesses and sleep at least 12hrs a day and am super fatigued. Anyway the vet feels there is still more that can be tried before deciding if it's too much for him. Thank you, I'm currently at the vet and waiting to talk to her again since she's with another patient already. I'm not ready to give up if he isn't. I agree with him, food is a big reason to live. I personally could use a chocolate glazed donut for comfort right about now. My dad is going to start helping me care for him so that I can start resting. My cold is just getting worse from only a few hours of sleep a day. Started losing my voice yesterday. I've been lucky so far to not have to put an animal down, but I realize eventually he'll hit that point where he is too immobile and I will have to do somwthing, but I'll deal with that when I have to. My dad is even being super kind and helping with the vet funds since I've had probably around 4k vet bills in 6 months. 8 animals and everyone wants to take their turn being sick. Sadly my oldest cat and my oldest ferret had to have very expensive things to treat. I need to add that she knows he doesn't have too much longer. She also feels like he's in enough pain/discomfort to warrent the metacam despite it speeding it up. She said to think about quality of life. Can I get an opinion on that? Give it or dont?