GS

hi all, i am up at this time as i can not sleep thinking of my poor bun in hospital. She was said to have GS (i have just joint medi vet in watford due to reading about a man called Guy but do not think he is there this weekend) they say they can not feel any blockage and she seems comfy. However they will NOT no matter how much i bring it up give her pain relief and i can tell i am annoying them now every time i bring it up which is starting to worry me as every one i have spoken too and all i have read suggest that this is one of the musts!! They said if they thought she was in any pain they would give it her in a shot but to much meds may be worse however i am not pleased with this at the mo. So far they have given her recovery, a pro biotic and Metoclopramide is being injected multiple times a day and they have just started giving her liquid parafin. She is drinking water and has started eating again (hay and veg) but no poop in 4 days) 6 very small dark droppings were left before i took her in but nothing normal. I am very scared we have not had her long but i already love her with all of me and hate thinking of her not getting what she needs any advise would be be great. I am not sure how to handle vets as at the mo i just feel like i am annoying them plus i have no real knowledge to back what i am saying up being a new rabbit owner. However i do have to say a couple of people have been a FANTASTIC resource who i owe so much too already (helen and elizabeth) sad times and thank you to all who take the time to read this xx

I'm sorry that I can't give you any advice but have cross posted in General Chat so hopefully someone knowledgeable will be able to help you xx

I have had this argument with my vet before too. My bun had head tilt very badly and i knew she was in pain, but like your vet, he didnt want to overload her with drugs :?
I just kept on at him im afraid to say He may well have thought I was a complete pain in the backside but at the end of the day you are PAYING them to do their job. If you want your bun to be on painkillers, then she should be. In the end we came to an agreement to have Mimi on Metacam for 3 days, then off for 3 days, then back on again. So we both compromised abit.
I totally agree that this is a situation that your bun almost definatly needs pain relief, especially as she hasnt pooed for 4 days :shock: Unfortunately alot of vets dont realise that buns will not eat if they are in pain
The only advise I can give you really is to keep asking. Explain that you KNOW she is in pain from how she is acting, and that you really feel that pain relief might encourage her to eat again.
Sorry I cant be of any more help, this must be a horrible situation for you, on top of your lovely bun being poorly
Sending loads of vibes that she makes a swift recovery :wave:

Oh dear

Well I have to agree that pain relief is essential and I honestly cannot think of a valid reason not to administer some sort of analgesia to a Rabbit exhibiting the symptoms you describe.

The thing about Rabbits is that they do not show signs of pain in the more obvious ways. Sometimes the only sign is a refusal to eat.

I think you just need to be polite but assertive. Explain that you do not feel happy with the lack of analgesia and that you feel you now need to insist that some is administered.

Is your Rabbit having fluid therapy ? Dehydration of gut contents plays a BIG part in cases of GI stasis. So fluid therapy (IV or subcutaneous) is essential and can often mean the difference between recovery and a poor outcome.

I would be more than a little shocked if GC was the Vet in charge of this case :?

If you continue to have problems then I'd suggest seeking a second opinion from another Vet

I highly recommend either Christabel or Laura here

http://www.twickenhamvets.com/homepage.aspx

Although I fully understand that transporting an already sick Rabbit may not be the best idea.

Try not to feel intimidated by the Vet, you have every right to question what they are doing and why. You are PAYING for their services after all. It is not necessary to be rude to get your point across, but sometimes with *some* Vets you do have to stand your ground and make sure they do not dismiss your concerns by trying to make you feel inferior to them.

Good luck and please keep us updated xx

ETA I'd print out the link below

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=500

Im afraid i dont have any advice as i dont have any knowledge on the medical side of things.

Just wanted to say i go to the same vet & they managed to get both my bunnies through stasis at Christmas. They were both at the vet for several days at different times and both recovered, it took a whilevto get their systems fully working again (eating and pooing as normal prob took about 10days) but they got there.

With mine also Guy wasn't around, they do have a couple of other rabbit savvy vets there so your bunnies should be in good hands. I dont understand the lack of pain relief but as i said, i dont know much about that side of things.

Hope your bunny is feeling much better soon, i'll try & locate my bills, see if they gave mine paim relief.

I just found a bill & it seems Peter wasnt given pain relief (cant find Poppy's), just metaclopramide & liquid paraffin once :?

It seems v. strange because i have been happy at this vets, especially with Guy.

My mini-rex, Fiver, went into sudden GI stasis about two months ago, very late one evening (about midnight) and I had to rush him into an ER vets to have him tended. I knew they had no rabbit-savvy vets on board, but to their credit-since it was a 30 minute drive in to town-the lady who was on call that night read up as much as she could on how best to care for Fiver. Pair that up with what I've known having gone through it a few times before, we managed to get everything done for him that was possible.

I insisted on pain relief for him because his tum was so tight it felt like it would burst and I was thinking the whole way in to town he was in bloat and I'd be putting him down, not treating him. They gave a shot of buprenorphine and I was also handed a bottle of metacam to take home with me, doses of 0.3 ml every few hours as needed for pain. He had a bag of fluids and a shot of reglan to get him moving. (They took an xray and found no blockage.) By the time we got home he was chilly from the fluids, but began to nibble and by morning was much improved. I completely credit the pain relief, because if a bunny is hurting, eating is the last thing on their mind, much less eliminating properly.

Granted, I'm in the USA and maybe our vets just do things differently, but even though this ER doctor wasn't certain about pain meds, I asked for them regardless and she did seem to agree after a little urging. It was clear Fiver was much more comfortable after the buprenorphine, and relaxed enough they could xray him without fear of him bolting. A rabbit is instantly on alert from the time you pick them up to go in the carrier and will not 'appear' ill to the vet because they are in defense mode. It is possible they simply do not 'see' that your rabbit is in pain, due to it's 'prey animal' response.

I have also been told that rabbits can handle more metacam than either dogs or cats because their systems are so different. Their pain management is considered essential here when dealing with digestive disorders.

thank you so much for all of your time, they should be phoning me soon to discuss an xray if she has not produced any droppings over night is this the norm?

No they are not giving her fluid but she is drinking and has not stopped even with GS, she is also eating again another reason why they say she is not in pain. She is also not with me so i can not really say i can see shes in pain as i am not with her. (which i am hating)

I will bring it up again but I am sure I will get the same answer (i can but try)

Also when i asked what may have brought it on she said its just one of those things. They have checked her teeth and say they are looking great but i do know it is a symptom of something which i want to get to the bottom of so in the hope she does make it, i can prevent it from happening again.

i am just keeping my fingers crossed that she has pooed in the night at least then we are on the right track.

Thanks again

Hayley

ps: is it wrong to ask when Guy is back and to get him to call me if he is in as i would rather speak with him knowing he knows rabbits and is highly recommened? (thank you thank you thank you)

Hi Hayley, Helen here.

I won't repeat myself, but just wanted to say I do hope that you can get them to explain why they are doing what they are doing.

I'd keep on at them if she hasn't improved since yesterday and I would add that even if she is drinking, if she is being considered for a sluggish or stopped or blocked gut, then they must in my opinion still give fluids by injection or by IV (intravenus - spelling?) because it's key to recovery. Same as it is with any animal/human when they are unwell.

Looking forward to some good news in a while. nose rubs for Bella.

at last... a vet phoned (a male one but i am sure he did not say his name was guy) however he seemed to really understand how i was feeling and also seems to have treated many rabbits and mores to the point sounds like he understands them. He has started her off on metacam and will phone in a few hours to let me know how she gets on. Helen I will get onto them about fulids too. Thank you all for helping me through this worring time.

Excellent news that pain relief has now been given

Hope she will soon make a full recovery xx

me too lily i just want her home so much, the house is so quiet with out her. We have not had her long but she is already one of the family. I miss having her running around my ankels when i try to do anything I even miss the constant hoovering to keep up with her fav game of placing hay in every place possible.

I think ill ask if i can visit her tomorrow as i just want to give her a little nose rub and see shes okay. Do you guys think this will be more distressing for her, for me to go and see her then just leave her again if she needs it?

I would like to say to you all, that i am completely overwhelmed by how supportive all you guys have been. I never new when getting a bunny I would be getting a whole new group of wonderful people too. Another plus side to getting my beautiful belle. I am not sure how i put pictures on here but when i can i will put some up so you can view my little stunner. Of course i may be bias

I don't think it would upset her if you went to see her. If you are calm and not upset by seeing her, she would benefit from your hands on and nose rubs. She will recognise your smell, voice, aura etc.

Can't wait to see pictures - and she is a stunner x

Is there a favorite toy of hers you can take with you when you visit? Or a blanket perhaps that you wouldn't mind leaving with her so she has a familiar scent?

I hope she gets to come home soon!

MimzMum said:

Is there a favorite toy of hers you can take with you when you visit? Or a blanket perhaps that you wouldn't mind leaving with her so she has a familiar scent?

I hope she gets to come home soon!

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She came home last night. Hoping for an update from Hayley soon this morning.

hello all, yes she came home last night lovely to have her back.

I did take her fav ball in and her blanket in as the nurse also said it would be a good idea.

But still not a well bun, still no real poos and grinding her teeth a lot. I am just about to see if i can tempt her with some herbs. thank you for your support and vibes.

Lots of positive vibes for your little one. Glad she's now home.

I've been through the pain of being a new bunny mummy and have your little one go through gut stasis - this happened with Sherlock earlier this year. From my knowledge now, having a rabbit savvy vet is a must; as sometimes they sound like they know what they are talking about and reality don't which can lead to disastrous consequence (which was the case in my circumstances) - I wish I'd found this group then. I would definitely say that if your little one goes into the vet again spend as much time as you can there - I spent several hours sitting on the floor with Sherlock and it's the best thing I did in his final days - he was so happy and he was able to stretch out and snooze (with an eye and ear on me to make sure I didn't disappear).

hayley2126 said:

hello all, yes she came home last night lovely to have her back.

I did take her fav ball in and her blanket in as the nurse also said it would be a good idea.

But still not a well bun, still no real poos and grinding her teeth a lot. I am just about to see if i can tempt her with some herbs. thank you for your support and vibes.

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Sorry if I've missed it, has she had pain relief? Grinding teeth is a sign of pain and if she's in pain she's not really going to eat.

eating nothing still and now not drinking i am rubbish at this syringing stuff to. Wish there was a home call service that could come and do it i would be happy to pay. My OH is fantastic with her and does it well but he can only do early morns and night. But i get upset and she can sense it (i know i need to man up) but finding it hard.

A week today it started

Will she not eat any greens at all? Are there any stomach noises? How tight is her tummy?
Do you have anything to relieve gas if she is full of air? Did she have xrays? Did they find anything blocking her insides? How much pain relief did she receive?
Really if she's stopped drinking as well as eating and there are no eliminations, she should be seen by the vet again. This is what I would do. Did they have her eating and drinking?
I'm sorry, I know this must be dreadfully nerve-wracking. Sending healing vibes in huge doses! ((((((((((((((((((((vibes))))))))))))))))))))) Please keep us updated.