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Piccolo has been diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy - please help/advise!! :(

T

toffee

Mama Doe
Piccolo was diagnosed with emphysema a few months ago and had approx monthly flare ups of pneumonia which seemed to respond well to treatment with baytril and steroid injections.

On Thursday the pneumonia flared up again so he went back on the baytril and went to the vet for some steroid. By Saturday there was no improvement so he went back to the vet and stayed there until today on the nebuliser.

The vet did an xray and ultrasound and noticed his heart is very enlarged (it's pushing up on and constricting his trachea!) and diagnosed dilated cardiomyopathy. He came home on Baytril and Dimazon (Frusemide) but is still struggling with his breathing (although better than before - his head is a lot less up in the air). The vet has ordered ACE inhibitors which I'm picking up tomorrow.

My boyfriend (who is very stressed today) and Piccolo's girlfriend Preya (who is very hyperactive) have been ordered into confinement in the office while Piccolo and I create an oasis of calm in the sitting room. The peace seems to be doing him good, his breathing is more relaxed.

I would like to give him extra diuretic as his breathing is very rattly from the fluid in his lungs and he's not eating well because he's uncomfortable (the vet gave metaclop while he was in hospital). The vet prescribed 0.25ml (5% frusemide solution - Dimazon) daily and he's already had that today. Does anyone know if it's safe to give an extra smaller top up dose? What's the maximum dose we can give? (I'm speaking to the vet tomorrow so could recommend a higher dose) Piccolo weighs approx 1.3kg.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
We cant advise you re the Frusemide, only your Vet can do that. Could you call the Out-of-Hours service ?
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for replying Jane. The out of hours service is PDSA and tbh they're useless - they won't advise unless I take him in and pay £200 out of hours fee which I'm not going to do as Piccolo is much better than a few days ago. I'll ask the vet when I call him to update him in the morning.

Does it sound like they're doing all the right things? I trust my vet and I know they care very much about all the animals they treat but a lot of the treatments they give my rabbits are treatments they haven't given rabbits before. They know I'll let them try anything to make my animal friends better so they use it as an opportunity to try out treatments that they've not done before (and medicines that they've heard are suitable for rabbits but are usually cat, dog or farm animal meds).
 
Have you any idea what the prognosis is for a rabbit with cardiomyopathy? How long do they usually live after diagnosis? Piccolo is 6 and a half.
 
The diuretic's working - Piccolo just did the BIGGEST WEE I've ever seen a rabbit do!

AND... TWO POOPS!! (we haven't had any poo all afternoon since he's been home so this is exciting) The poops have made me less worried about his eating :)
 
toffee said:
The diuretic's working - Piccolo just did the BIGGEST WEE I've ever seen a rabbit do!

AND... TWO POOPS!! (we haven't had any poo all afternoon since he's been home so this is exciting) The poops have made me less worried about his eating :)
Click to expand...

Diuretics can help a great deal :)

The cases of cardiomyopathy I have seen have had about 11 months of good quality life once on treatment. But really each case is unique, so it is impossible to give a hard and fast timescale. I would say just take things one day at a time, live in the moment. That is what Piccolo will be doing. He wont be worrying about how long he has left, as long as he feels comfortable within himself he will not know he has a problem xx
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Diuretics can help a great deal :)

The cases of cardiomyopathy I have seen have had about 11 months of good quality life once on treatment. But really each case is unique, so it is impossible to give a hard and fast timescale. I would say just take things one day at a time, live in the moment. That is what Piccolo will be doing. He wont be worrying about how long he has left, as long as he feels comfortable within himself he will not know he has a problem xx
Click to expand...

Thanks Jane,

He's back in the hospital tonight. I wasn't comfortable with how his guts were working (or rather not working) so I took him in at lunch time and asked the vet to give him metaclop and a painkiller. The vet agreed but after listening to his guts and chest decided they would keep him in on the nebuliser tonight. He's also told the nurses to syringe feed him some pineapple juice. Piccolo did poop while he was at the vet and the vet agreed it was a good poop for a rabbit of his size so hopefully his guts will be better soon. The vet has also been on the phone to the drug company about ACE inhibitors - there's one that he routinely gives to rabbits with cardiomyopathy but Piccolo is so small that the dose would be an eighth of a tablet which the vet thinks would be impractical. The vet has asked the drug company about another ACE inhibitor where the dose would be 1 tablet and is hoping that, although it's not licensed for use in rabbits, that the drug company will tell him there's no contraindications for use in rabbits.

I feel so helpless. I just want him at home so I can look after him but I know the nebuliser is the best place for him. I've been redecorating for him - I got him a new fleece for his house and made it look nice and made him a cushion to lie on if he wants to when he's out in the sitting room. We've moved his house a little nearer to the radiator as well to make sure he'll be warm enough.

The vet said that Piccolo will probably be home for the weekend. I hope so. I want him to get all the treatments he needs but I know I can nurse him better than the vet nurses can.
 
toffee said:
Thanks Jane,

He's back in the hospital tonight. I wasn't comfortable with how his guts were working (or rather not working) so I took him in at lunch time and asked the vet to give him metaclop and a painkiller. The vet agreed but after listening to his guts and chest decided they would keep him in on the nebuliser tonight. He's also told the nurses to syringe feed him some pineapple juice. Piccolo did poop while he was at the vet and the vet agreed it was a good poop for a rabbit of his size so hopefully his guts will be better soon. The vet has also been on the phone to the drug company about ACE inhibitors - there's one that he routinely gives to rabbits with cardiomyopathy but Piccolo is so small that the dose would be an eighth of a tablet which the vet thinks would be impractical. The vet has asked the drug company about another ACE inhibitor where the dose would be 1 tablet and is hoping that, although it's not licensed for use in rabbits, that the drug company will tell him there's no contraindications for use in rabbits.

I feel so helpless. I just want him at home so I can look after him but I know the nebuliser is the best place for him. I've been redecorating for him - I got him a new fleece for his house and made it look nice and made him a cushion to lie on if he wants to when he's out in the sitting room. We've moved his house a little nearer to the radiator as well to make sure he'll be warm enough.

The vet said that Piccolo will probably be home for the weekend. I hope so. I want him to get all the treatments he needs but I know I can nurse him better than the vet nurses can.
Click to expand...

It sounds as though he has a very cosy home waiting for him :love: Hopefully he will be able to return to you tomorrow xx
 
Jack's-Jane said:
It sounds as though he has a very cosy home waiting for him :love: Hopefully he will be able to return to you tomorrow xx
Click to expand...

Thanks. :)

I hope he can come home tomorrow - I'll phone the vet at lunchtime when he starts work. I hope Piccolo likes what I've done with his house, I just felt like I should be doing something for him as I can't nurse him.

I should have known - I've always thought Piccolo had a very big heart :love: and now I know he has :(

He's so sensitive bless him - this all started in March last year (initially pneumonia) the day after his partner Michelle died. I thought then that he was so sad it had made him ill :( But knowing what I know now it seems that losing her literally broke his heart. :cry:
 
toffee said:
Thanks. :)

I hope he can come home tomorrow - I'll phone the vet at lunchtime when he starts work. I hope Piccolo likes what I've done with his house, I just felt like I should be doing something for him as I can't nurse him.

I should have known - I've always thought Piccolo had a very big heart :love: and now I know he has :(

He's so sensitive bless him - this all started in March last year (initially pneumonia) the day after his partner Michelle died. I thought then that he was so sad it had made him ill :( But knowing what I know now it seems that losing her literally broke his heart. :cry:
Click to expand...

Bless him :cry: Some Rabbit bonds can be exceptionally strong.
 
HE'S COMING HOME!!!!! Yay!!

He's on baytril, a diuretic and Enalapril (quarter of a tablet every other day). The vet's also giving me a couple of doses of metaclop to take home in case he doesn't eat.

Good news for Piccolo - he can breathe :)

Bad news for Piccolo - He has to have 2 injections every day and a bit of tablet every other day

Good news for Piccolo - He gets a bit of banana with his tablet :)


I'm picking him up at 5 o'clock - can't wait!! :)
 
toffee said:
HE'S COMING HOME!!!!! Yay!!

He's on baytril, a diuretic and Enalapril (quarter of a tablet every other day). The vet's also giving me a couple of doses of metaclop to take home in case he doesn't eat.

Good news for Piccolo - he can breathe :)

Bad news for Piccolo - He has to have 2 injections every day and a bit of tablet every other day

Good news for Piccolo - He gets a bit of banana with his tablet :)


I'm picking him up at 5 o'clock - can't wait!! :)
Click to expand...

Brilliant news :D I bet he will be really happy to be home :love:
 
Good to hear Piccolo is better enough to come home. I'm sure he will forgive you for the meds if he gets a tasty bit of banana at the same time :D x
 
He's at home and seems relaxed. He's breathing easily but quickly. He's much better than Wednesday night.

The heart meds he's been prescribed are fortekor - a quarter of a tablet every other day (he's only 1.3kg - probably less now as the breathing problems have made him lose weight).

Does anyone know how long it takes for fortekor to take effect?
 
His breathing seems a bit slower now. I don't know if it's the meds though or just that he's more relaxed.
 
Just read through your thread and wanted to wish Piccolo well. Thank goodness he has such a dedicated owner and vet :)

Hope having the injections isn't too stressful, sending loads of vibes xxx
 
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