Fionabun
Mama Doe
Hello there,
I'm looking for some advice from you good people at RU.
My 8 year old bunny Sumi ('Soomi') developed GI stasis on Saturday and started to show some improvement on Tuesday. He was fully syringe fed and offered all fluids va syringe until Tuesday evening. He's a fantastic little syringe feeder and he maintained his weight throughout all of this. He got all of his meds and pain relief and the vet took bloods on Monday afternoon. Those of you who know or remember me might recall that Sumi was one of my recurrent GI stasis bunnies many years ago, thought to be linked to mild EC and the (relatively unknown) effect it can have on bunny guts.
He has picked up well and back to his usual cheeky self now, though continues to have spells where he lies oddly pushing his tummy into the ground. He remains on pain relief via Metacam twice daily.
His blood test results came back today and I got the sorry news that all of his liver function results are abnormal. The vet is suspicious, given his age, that he may have a liver tumour. He was also very tender in that area during examination on Monday. We are pressing ahead to treat with antibiotics at the moment to see if there is a chance of an infection of some kind, given that he has perked up greatly. We'll also be trying lots of milk thistle and tender loving care to see if he keeps improving. The plan is to repeat his blood tests next week to see if there is any improvement, and failing that, will xray and ultrasound his liver to check in more detail. He has lost 0.35kg in the last four months, though stable at the moment (will be checking weekly).
My questions are:
1) Does this sound like an okay plan? Should I rush to xray/ultrasound this right now or wait a week or so to see if the antibiotics make a difference? Please bear in mind he's getting old now so I need to bear in mind his quality of life in all decisions about investigations and treatments.
2) What are other people's experiences of dealing with liver problems in their beloved bunnies?
3) What dosage of milk thistle do I offer him? He's a little super star when it comes to syringe feeding so I can make up a solution to give him via an oral syringe. I can't find an ideal dosage anywhere though.
4) Does anyone know if EC has a known impact on the liver? We're certain Sumi has battled EC throughout his life, without any of the major and more well known symptoms.
4) Any other advice people may have?
Many thanks to you all,
Fiona
I'm looking for some advice from you good people at RU.
My 8 year old bunny Sumi ('Soomi') developed GI stasis on Saturday and started to show some improvement on Tuesday. He was fully syringe fed and offered all fluids va syringe until Tuesday evening. He's a fantastic little syringe feeder and he maintained his weight throughout all of this. He got all of his meds and pain relief and the vet took bloods on Monday afternoon. Those of you who know or remember me might recall that Sumi was one of my recurrent GI stasis bunnies many years ago, thought to be linked to mild EC and the (relatively unknown) effect it can have on bunny guts.
He has picked up well and back to his usual cheeky self now, though continues to have spells where he lies oddly pushing his tummy into the ground. He remains on pain relief via Metacam twice daily.
His blood test results came back today and I got the sorry news that all of his liver function results are abnormal. The vet is suspicious, given his age, that he may have a liver tumour. He was also very tender in that area during examination on Monday. We are pressing ahead to treat with antibiotics at the moment to see if there is a chance of an infection of some kind, given that he has perked up greatly. We'll also be trying lots of milk thistle and tender loving care to see if he keeps improving. The plan is to repeat his blood tests next week to see if there is any improvement, and failing that, will xray and ultrasound his liver to check in more detail. He has lost 0.35kg in the last four months, though stable at the moment (will be checking weekly).
My questions are:
1) Does this sound like an okay plan? Should I rush to xray/ultrasound this right now or wait a week or so to see if the antibiotics make a difference? Please bear in mind he's getting old now so I need to bear in mind his quality of life in all decisions about investigations and treatments.
2) What are other people's experiences of dealing with liver problems in their beloved bunnies?
3) What dosage of milk thistle do I offer him? He's a little super star when it comes to syringe feeding so I can make up a solution to give him via an oral syringe. I can't find an ideal dosage anywhere though.
4) Does anyone know if EC has a known impact on the liver? We're certain Sumi has battled EC throughout his life, without any of the major and more well known symptoms.
4) Any other advice people may have?
Many thanks to you all,
Fiona
