A treatment programme for remission (pituitary tumour)

History

Blossom's first real symptom was weight loss and a slightly spikey appearance. She then showed signs of slowing down, her movements became sluggish and her gait low and creeping. At the same time she began to look vacant and distracted. She was still eating dry food, but was having difficulty holding it between her front paws.

Diagnosis and treatment

Blossom saw our vet and we discussed treatment options and decided to experiment with Galastop, which had been recommended by Vic who had already used it in this situation a number of times. The following treatment regime commenced.

Day one dexamethasone injection plus Galastop 4 drops (just over 0.1ml) twice a day - Blossom is a large and rather overweight rat.

Day two (a bit brighter) Galastop 4 drops (comes with a glass dropper) twice a day.

Day three (a bit worse again) Galastop 4 drops twice a day plus 0.5 mg prednisolone once (I would have had a second dex injection at this point had it not been the weekend, and I was away from home, Blossom came with me).

Day four (much brighter) - it takes a few days for the Galastop to kick in - Galastop 4 drops twice a day plus prednisolone 0.5mg once.

Day five - reviewed by vet. Treatment to continue unchanged. Decrease prednisolone to alternate days after another 4 or 5 days. Then stop.

Progress

16 days - just on twice daily doses of Galastop 4 drops (if I miss a dose I give 8 drops once a day). She is looking good. I am really thrilled. The stuff is so easy to give (oily but doesn't taste unpleasant) in nice food. From past experience most rats of her age (21 months), treated with just steroids, wouldn't have made it 16 days post diagnosis.

At this stage I also ordered some Agnus Castus (berries are most potent, leaves can also be used) which is a plant that is well recognised for its effects in balancing reproductive hormones, especially high levels of oestrogen – which are often seen with pituitary tumours. Fluid preparations from the berries are available, which is what I have ordered. Will add that in as soon as it arrives as Vic (who told me about Galastop) has also used this herb and tumeric.

I am adding/removing things one at a time so that I know what makes the difference. For instance I saw no deterioration when I stopped the prednisolone, but would consider using steroids again when she deteriorates in the future, but I have since been advised to use only dexamethasone when the need arises as this is more effective.

Day 20 - commenced Agnus Castus at 8 drops (approx 0.2ml) twice a day. Blossom will stay on the current regime until she deteriorates. Initially I will respond by increasing the dose of Galastop as this can go quite a bit higher than she is currently having.

The beauty of the treatment is that I have my lovely rattie back... she's not struggling along - she's pretty much back to normal in terms of her awareness. Her motor skills vary quite a bit from day to day - but she has been climbing again, and Is generally more active. She still has some front leg weakness and stiffness. She no longer seems like a sick rat, but is back to being integrated and involved within her cage group, and enjoying her time.

I would consider this a treatment that induces remission (at least to a degree), rather than palliative care. If the remission lasts for two months the rat has gained a significant chunk of happy living. Vic tells me that remission in rats who are younger when diagnosed can go on for many months.

I didn't use antibiotics initially as she's home bred and they don't suffer from respiratory issues as a rule - but any vulnerable rat should really be given antibiotics during steroid treament - and they also can have a small effect in shrinking swelling/inflammation around the tumour - so might actually increase the response in the first days before the Galastop kicks in.

Day 23 - Blossom showed a big deterioration, becoming sluggish again and leaning slightly to one side. Consulted the vet and she received a high dose of dexamethasone by injection, and I increased the Galastop to 0.2 ml twice a day. Sadly she had no response to any of this by day 26 and in view of the lack of improvement with the dexamethsone injection we decided it was time to let her go. I am extremly grateful for the extra 3 weeks of good living that we shared.

Points for the future

Blossom was the fist rat with a pituitary tumour that we had seen for a while and in all of the newness of this situation and the experimental treaments there are some things that I would definitely do differently the next time. These include:

• Treating immediately PT is suspected. My diagnosis was slow in Blossom's case because I was looking for other causes of her general weight loss and spikiness. I understand that the sooner this kind of treatment is commenced the better the outcome in the medium term.
• Treating more comprehensively with dexamethasone at the outset. I would ask for a repeat of the dexamethasone injection until the galastop kicked in, and then continue on oral dexamethasone for a period.
• Treat with antibiotics whilst on the steroids.
• Start the Agnus Castus straight away.