Aww I am sorry to hear about Thistle! Let us know what the doc says. Maybe its not as bad as it seems today. I'll hope for that.

Best wishes!

Amy

Yep, what lilspaz said.  *hugs* and many healing thoughts going your way.

You both will be in my thoughts. ((hugs))

The antibiotics will get started on the infection.  Pred is normally given for ear infections to help reduce swelling.  She'll be fine with the pred.   Keep us posted!!  *Healing thoughts heading your way*

Awww lovely news Noki

huh, weird. great that shes okay tho!

thistle's labs are back and they are remarkably unremarkable.  the vet and i went over the timeline and here's what we came up with: 
1/27 ms kara pts for suspected myco,
1/28 everyone goes on doxy and bayril,
2/11 thistle flops over,
2/12 thistle goes to the university vet's--gets an all clear (besides being "the most delightful rat [they've] met") continues on with doxy and baytril,
3/1 antibiotics are finished,
3/18 thistle gets weak on one side, sits way back on her haunches, doesn't look good at all--i give her .1 ml pred,
3/19 thistle goes to the vet's, gets a through exam including bloodwork--has a blast eating treats while holding them in BOTH paws, and getting snuggles, comes home starts doxy and has another .1 ml of pred,
3/20 doxy and pred does even better, 
3/21 totally normal has doxy only. 
3/22 doxy only. bloodwork comes back..."remarkably unremarkable." 
3/30 here we go again.  thistle is dragging herself along by her front footies.  i start pred.  she continues doxy. 
3/31 thistle is almost back to normal.  she goes to the vet  and gets azithromycin added to her cocktail.  he doesn't want me to continue pred, but i do anyway.
4/4  thistle goes to the new vet.  melatonin added by new vet.  last dose of pred today. karo syrup to be given at the first sign of symptoms, if nothing then i can give pred. 
4/10 thistle is doing it again. she's been lying there, not suffering, but with very shallow respiration  and she's had two seizures. i hit her with karo then pred (increased dose of pred)
4/12 thistle greets me at the cage door and wants her foodies!  continue pred, azithro, melatonin, doxy, and karo.  she's a little hesitant walking but she's almost back to normal. 
does she just want a field trip every month?  can anyone ask her if it's ok if we just stop by to say "hi" to the vets?  maybe get weighed, have a treat and a cuddle--and not scare me to death? 

I'm starting to wonder if she may have a very slow growing PT. 

she was only on pred the 1st time for three days.  as soon as i saw symptoms again (this afternoon), i gave her pred.  i don't think she's going to make it this time, though i pray she fools me. 

so thistle went from lying on her side scarcely able to move all yesterday up until 8 am and now she's up and fighting over chicken bones.  she is walking albeit a bit slowly.  she has a vet appointment today and i'm getting her antibiotics changed to tmz-sulfa and we are going to keep her on pred.  the bad news is i've heard bad breathing from noki and koko, so i'm putting the mischief on antibiotics again--it'll be easier if i have them on the same thing but whatever.  i'll update postvet!

so at the vet, i pointed out that one of thissie's eyes is bigger than the other and how well she responded to the prednisone and that i think she has a tumor. he agrees with the tumor idea, but he doesn't want to give pred because of the increased chance of infection. he said it could have been coincidence that thistle responded so well twice on pred. end result: we have doxy and zithromax. WE NEED PRED!

i'm going to ask the vet who took care of rani, or i'm going to take her to another vet.  thistle will have pred.  one way or the other. 

Yes, pred suppresses the immune system, which is why you always give antibiotics with it, which ... she's ON antibiotics!  Yes, she needs the pred.