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Thymoma deterioration - how does it happen?

Julia123

Warren Veteran
... and what can I do?

My boy Fandango is having off days, tonight he didn't want his metacam and is just sitting quietly... I'm so worried :cry:

How do I know if its the tumour or the onset of stasis?

What can I do for him? I did manage to get him to take is metacam and Ive left him sitting quietly with Giselle but I'm so scared :cry:
 
I'm sorry to hear Fandango has thymoma.

He may be having an off day so keep a close eye on him and try to do the usual things of getting him to eat.

When my bun had thymoma it started with his eyes bulging and he then started breathing heavy and his eyes bulged more than when just eating. Some buns can live many months once diagnosed depending on the type of thymoma.
 
It might be Thymoma or Lymphoma, it was too risky to do the needle aspiration when he had his echo, they could not see his heart from one side but a solid mass tumor. Further Xrays confirmed it.

He wont eat and is just sitting 'nodding' I've just given him ranitidine in case its stasis, but he ate breakfast, and throughout the day fenugreek crunchies and grass. Since getting them in from the aviary he has gone down hill.... :(

I don't know what to do, the stress of an emergency vet visit will upset him and I'm not sure what they can do for him :(
 
I am not sure what to advise except maybe call the emergency vet for some advice.

I hope he will be OK. Sending him lots of vibes xxx
 
Poor lad. If he is off his food then this can be due to the fact that the tumour is now bigger and so there is less room for his stomach to expand-ie he will feel full most of the time even if he only picks at bits of food. He may also become a lot more lethargic as if the specific type of thymoma is invasive it can eventually effect heart and lungs.

I am sorry to hear that Fandango is not doing so well today, I hope it is 'just' a temporary blip. I know how special he is to you xx
 
He had an off day Friday too and then passed two drops of brown fluid with his poo, then he had a good day yesterday and this morning but has just started to go downhill :(
 
Vet says give him metaclop, if he is no better in the morning then to bring him up for them to check him over. He said leave him be tonight and not to syringe feed if hes eaten today which he has. He said that we need to be realistic and look at his good days and bad days and as long as hes having more good than bad then thats good. So. I'm hoping this is a blip.... will go and do metaclop now, hes not going to thank me for it :(
 
Hopefully he has continued to eat a little since your last post ?

What are your Vets thoughts about moving on to a corticosteroid instead of Metacam. Probably keeping him on Ranitidine too to protect his GI tract from the possibility of ulceration ?
 
He took his metacam himself this morning, has had some pellets and snatched a fenugreek crunchie and some dandelion root! Jane, he's under Marie Kubiak for his tumour and she says no to steroids. She says that they will not help him anymore than the metacam and therefore not worth the side effects.

I'm unsure on the ranitidine purely because it stresses him out so much to be given meds by force. If I thought I could get it into him without making him worse I would. I will however ask my vets opinion as it does seem a good idea with his high dose of metacam. I could try hiding it in a treat.

I've had Daisy in stasis for over a week, she's improved greatly but is still having off periods, she is still on metacam a low dose of ranitidine and fibreplex. Fandango is different, very sudden onset and even the way he came out of it was very sudden. I'm thinking he doesn't like being moved, with the warmer weather I've been weaning them back outside as conservatory getting too hot, but bringing them back in at night. There was a frost last night so I don't have the option of leaving them out all night yet.....
 
He took his metacam himself this morning, has had some pellets and snatched a fenugreek crunchie and some dandelion root! Jane, he's under Marie Kubiak for his tumour and she says no to steroids. She says that they will not help him anymore than the metacam and therefore not worth the side effects.

I'm unsure on the ranitidine purely because it stresses him out so much to be given meds by force. If I thought I could get it into him without making him worse I would. I will however ask my vets opinion as it does seem a good idea with his high dose of metacam. I could try hiding it in a treat.

I've had Daisy in stasis for over a week, she's improved greatly but is still having off periods, she is still on metacam a low dose of ranitidine and fibreplex. Fandango is different, very sudden onset and even the way he came out of it was very sudden. I'm thinking he doesn't like being moved, with the warmer weather I've been weaning them back outside as conservatory getting too hot, but bringing them back in at night. There was a frost last night so I don't have the option of leaving them out all night yet.....

I highly respect Marie's opinions. I'm glad Fandango is doing better again, long may that be the case. Poor you having Daisy poorly too, it is so stressful caring for one sick Rabbit let alone two. I hope that she will make a full recovery.
 
Thank you, and yes I trust Marie and will follow her instructions. I know many have used steroids, but I am not a vet and need to trust what I am being told.

Its been stressful to say the least, I cant remember when I last had more than 5 hours sleep! But Daisy seems back to normal now, we are down to zero feeds, one dose of fibreplex and less than half her ranitidine, we are keeping her on metacam in case the stasis was down to pain from arthritis, but I'm reducing the dose.

All bunnies, Daisy and Fandango included have gobbled a load of plantain, dandelions and bramble shoots that I picked today. I'm just about to start clean outs meds and dinners so fingers crossed every bun remains bright and greedy!

Thanks all x
 
Thank you, and yes I trust Marie and will follow her instructions. I know many have used steroids, but I am not a vet and need to trust what I am being told.

Its been stressful to say the least, I cant remember when I last had more than 5 hours sleep! But Daisy seems back to normal now, we are down to zero feeds, one dose of fibreplex and less than half her ranitidine, we are keeping her on metacam in case the stasis was down to pain from arthritis, but I'm reducing the dose.

All bunnies, Daisy and Fandango included have gobbled a load of plantain, dandelions and bramble shoots that I picked today. I'm just about to start clean outs meds and dinners so fingers crossed every bun remains bright and greedy!

Thanks all x

Lucky Bunnies having all that tasty forage picked especially for them ! I hope you manage to catch up on some sleep eventually.
 
He took his metacam himself this morning, has had some pellets and snatched a fenugreek crunchie and some dandelion root! Jane, he's under Marie Kubiak for his tumour and she says no to steroids. She says that they will not help him anymore than the metacam and therefore not worth the side effects.

I'm unsure on the ranitidine purely because it stresses him out so much to be given meds by force. If I thought I could get it into him without making him worse I would. I will however ask my vets opinion as it does seem a good idea with his high dose of metacam. I could try hiding it in a treat.

I've had Daisy in stasis for over a week, she's improved greatly but is still having off periods, she is still on metacam a low dose of ranitidine and fibreplex. Fandango is different, very sudden onset and even the way he came out of it was very sudden. I'm thinking he doesn't like being moved, with the warmer weather I've been weaning them back outside as conservatory getting too hot, but bringing them back in at night. There was a frost last night so I don't have the option of leaving them out all night yet.....

I respect Marie Kubiak's opinion and if she says no to steroids then she knows what she's doing. I've had bunnies who've experienced side effects from steroids, so am particularly cautious.

I was so sorry to hear about Daisy too. You know your rabbits better than any.

I was so pleased to hear how they had wolfed down their forage :D

Julia, I wish you strength, as it's obviously not easy for you with the undercurrent of stress ..... xxxx
 
Thank you, Nushka decided not to eat yesterday too! Thankfully after ranitidine, metacam and water she perked up. I think it was the water that did the trick to be honest.
Daisy is still on meds although she is now eating for herself, I had to put the ranitidine back up due to more string of pearls tiny poos. Thankfully my fibreplex order came today so she's on that too. But she started eating hay yesterday so I'm hoping she can come off the meds soon.

Forage is now part of my daily routine, I walk Lucky at around 4 and give them all some when I get back - allows me to see if any of them are 'off' while the vets are still open!!

Fandango is bright and perky and eating loads again. I'm struggling with the weather as its too hot in the conservatory during the day and too cold at night outside, so they are in at night and out during the day. Ive got some sail shades coming tomorrow. Marie has warned me he may not cope when the weather gets warmer. He's done really well today, I put my giant parasol up and clipped old curtains to it and the aviary to create complete shade over the front of the aviary (which has a roof) I also put 3 frozen water bottles in the shed and covered the window with therma wrap and it seemed to stay pretty cool in there. I've also made up an emergency pen in the garage in case he struggles as the weather gets hotter.

Here's a pic I took tonight, he was really snuggling into her and she started washing him :love: He's still got bald sides from where he had the echo.
 
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