Diuretic

I can't find the post but I know Jacks Jane has mentioned this and I have googled it, is this what is given to get liquid off lungs? Would it be worth me asking the vet to give Leo some as he either has liquid on his lungs or scarring. Can anyone give me details on this drug on what it is used for and what it does etc

please

many thanks xxx

I have just found this article which I will print off and take with me on Monday

http://www.lagomorphs.com/heart.pdf

in particular

Diuretics. If there appears to be excess fluid in the chest cavity, a diuretic such as Lasix® (furosemide)
may be prescribed. Be aware that with a diuretic, your rabbit will urinate more frequently and more
profusely — and he may not be as good about using the litter-box. Be patient with him and be prepared
for extra cleanup. Depending on how severe the problem is, you may consider diapers and/or wee-wee
pads to help keep your rabbit dry.

Fluids. If your rabbit is on a diuretic, it is important to ensure that sufficient fluids are being consumed
(either orally or subcutaneously) to keep your rabbit from becoming dehydrated. Depending on the health
of your rabbit’s kidneys and any antibiotic therapy being used, your veterinarian may suggest
subcutaneous fluids. It may take some time — and close monitoring by both you and your veterinarian —
to find the right fluid/diuretic balance.

Oxygen. If your rabbit’s breathing is particularly labored, your veterinarian may want to hospitalize your
rabbit for a short period (usually one to three days) and place him in an oxygenated incubator. Normally,
oxygen is required only until the diuretic has time to clear out excess fluids and the fluid/diuretic balance
has been adjusted.

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I'm using a diuretic with Pebbles at the moment called Frusemide. I'm not sure of all it's uses, but Pebbles has it to remove lung fluid caused by his enlarged heart.

This is normally what is given http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furosemide :wave:

Anyone with experience with this please comment on your experiences thank you

thank you fruitcake and rhian :wave:

How is your bunny reacting to it/how long has he been on it. Is it oral medication or injection?

UsagiYojimbo said:

thank you fruitcake and rhian :wave:

How is your bunny reacting to it/how long has he been on it. Is it oral medication or injection?

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It can be given both orally or by injection

I have used it in cases of Congestive Heart Failure and also in cases of Pneumonia

The therapeutic effect is pretty rapid. I have had Rabbits on it for many months (all due to CHF). In combination with other medication the diuretic bought each Rabbit a few more months of good quality life.

UsagiYojimbo said:

I have just found this article which I will print off and take with me on Monday

http://www.lagomorphs.com/heart.pdf

in particular

Click to expand...

That was very interesting to read. The first sign I saw, was Pebbles being unable to eat soft food like leaves, but able to eat harder foods like pellets. This was complicated due to his dental problems, but I was going back to my vet every week as I knew he wasn't recovering from the dental the way he normally does. Only the sudden coughing confirmed (to me) it was definitely not teeth this time.

UsagiYojimbo said:

thank you fruitcake and rhian :wave:

How is your bunny reacting to it/how long has he been on it. Is it oral medication or injection?

Click to expand...

OK, it is a bit soon to really tell yet. Pebbles is on Baytril (antibiotic) once a day, metacam (pain relief), cisapride (gut stimulant) Frusemide (duiretic) and Fortikor (for heart) twice a day since last night ( I got home after lunch with him) he has been rather subdued and not really interested in eating. I struggled to get mashed up food laced with the crushed tablets in him last night but finally ate it at midnight. This morming, thanks to Janes advice, I crushed the tablets and suspended the powder in water and syringed him all meds, bunny burrito style, and it worked.

No coughing whilst drinking or when he does eat...but he has hardly eaten anything today. However he has eaten dandelion flower & leaves and carrot tops this morning, which he hasn't been able to do for weeks!

Jack's-Jane said:

It can be given both orally or by injection

I have used it in cases of Congestive Heart Failure and also in cases of Pneumonia

The therapeutic effect is pretty rapid. I have had Rabbits on it for many months (all due to CHF). In combination with other medication the diuretic bought each Rabbit a few more months of good quality life.

Click to expand...

Thank you Jane, I know my vet suggested trying it but wanted to give the antibiotics and penicillin injections a good go first to see if there was any improvement. The idea being we want to try one thing at a time to see what works, rather than trying multiple things and not knowing which drug is what is helping. Does that make sense?

In the case of Pneumonia did the bun fully recover? Did he/she end up with lung scarring?

He has either had/has pneumonia or a bad chest infection

fruitandnutcake said:

OK, it is a bit soon to really tell yet. Pebbles is on Baytril (antibiotic) once a day, metacam (pain relief), cisapride (gut stimulant) Frusemide (duiretic) and Fortikor (for heart) twice a day since last night ( I got home after lunch with him) he has been rather subdued and not really interested in eating. I struggled to get mashed up food laced with the crushed tablets in him last night but finally ate it at midnight. This morming, thanks to Janes advice, I crushed the tablets and suspended the powder in water and syringed him all meds, bunny burrito style, and it worked.

No coughing whilst drinking or when he does eat...but he has hardly eaten anything today. However he has eaten dandelion flower & leaves and carrot tops this morning, which he hasn't been able to do for weeks!

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Luckily Leo is still eating and drinking. I hope Pebbles starts eating more soon ! How long do you need to give him all that medication for? What is his diagnosis?

Glad to hear he is picking up hope he continues to get better x

Prancer (my 10 year old Dwarf Rex) has been on Furosemide for about a year now. He was diagnosed with an enlarged heart last Easter (why a bunny would want to spend Easter at the vet's is beyond me :roll.
He's been doing really well on it. A few months ago I thought he was going through another bout of heart issues but it turned out he had pain in his back. Xrays showed that his heart was back to normal size but the vet (a different one than the one that first diagnosed him) told me to cut the dose in half and put him on Metacam for the pain.
He's been doing fantastic! He's almost become the "bad bunny" he's so energetic and troublesome. But I'd rather have that than his quiet painful looks.
Once in a while I notice him "snoring" while he's relaxing but it certainly is much less than before the Furosemide.
When he was on the full course of Furosemide he peed like crazy and got most of his water from well-soaked greens and celery. Now that he's on the half dose he drinks more water from his bowl. But I also cut his greens down quite a bit to force him to eat more hay so he may have realized that he needs more water. Naturally he's not peeing as much but I keep a close eye on it to make sure he's not retaining water.
Prancer's Furosemide is a syrup and he readily (almost insanely :lol takes his meds from a syringe but then he'll eat almost any food I offer him.

UsagiYojimbo said:

Luckily Leo is still eating and drinking. I hope Pebbles starts eating more soon ! How long do you need to give him all that medication for? What is his diagnosis?

Glad to hear he is picking up hope he continues to get better x

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He is still eating, and still no coughing which is good. I have enough medication for 10 days in total, but will need to return to Mark next week for a check up and probably get a prescription for long term medication. I am assuming he will need further x-rays at some point to see if the heart is getting smaller, and the trachea is returning to its normal position, but I guess as he is not coughing now, his heart must have shrunk enough in the 2 days he has been on the heart meds & duiretic. I'm hoping his long term prognosis is good, but he will be on heart medication for the rest of his life now.