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Arthritis help please....

G

Gem

Wise Old Thumper
I have searched the forum and read all the previous threads on arthritis and what people have used to help them :thumb:

But I have a few questions,

Am I right in thinking steroid injections might help? What sort of frequency should we be looking at?

Are there any herbs I could use to support her?

Bandit is steadily getting worse with her hips, and the joints on her back legs :cry: She is on a daily dose of metacam but it doesn't seem to be helping her, she is very stiff on both back legs. My next step is to give her a heatpad over night to try and ease some stiffness.

Anyone got any other advice or experiences?
 
I am also interested in hearing if there are any herbs that can help arthritis in rabbits. Julie is also on a daily dose of metacam which does seem to be helping her. She has arthritis in her hips. Now I am in the process of cutting back her dose until I find the lowest dose that works. Her vet said that was the best course of action for her. She had said that she would only give her the steroid injections if the metacam alone did not work.
 
Steroids are really only used as a last resort in Rabbits. This is because Rabbits are exceptionally sensitive to the side effects of steroids- suppression of the immune system and ulceration of the GI tract to name two of them.

What dose of Metacam is she having and what is her weight ?

Acupuncture can be very helpful for arthritis, if the individual Rabbit does not get overly stressed by the procedure.. Does your Vet provide this as a treatment option ?

Some Rabbit pellets now have Glucosomine added, something which may help arthritis

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/rabbit-suppl...50/vetpet-rabbit-food-with-glucosamine-p-4071

http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/pr...d_CA3034.htm?gclid=CJTP-_36xLICFeTHtAodQHEA7A

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Bone_diseases/Osteo/arthritis.htm
 
We have Muesli on daily metacam, we also give him some glucosamine liquid every day. He loves to jump on things and climb the stairs, despite his arthritis so I try to encourage this and general moving about as much as possible, and through the winter try to keep him warm (he's a housebunny).

He had a course of acupuncture at our vets and tolerated it really well, we could see a difference in him by the time it was finished. She could also feel a difference in him. Maybe your vets might be able to offer this or refer to a vets that can? I recommend it if it can be done.

Afraid I don't know about any herbs that would help though.
 
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