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Ted's got gut stasis and isn't really improving

martlou

Warren Veteran
Hi all

Ted's had gut stasis before, but not for a while. Three years ago he was hospitalised for 3 days but eventually recovered.

On Friday he refused his breakfast after being fine when we went to bed. Took him straight to the vet, examined all the bits I would have expected, nice bloke but wasn't very savvy and I had to ask for the usual drugs to be administered (he had zantac syrup, loxicom syrup and emeprid injection). Didn't eat or drink anything all day, got meds inside him ok but spat out what looked like nearly all the syringe food. Took him back to vet 7.30 that evening, savvy vet this time who hospitalised him. They couldn't find a vein in either ear for a drip so they gave him subcut fluids, more gut motility drugs and opiate based pain relief along with syringe feeding him.

Went to visit him next morning, we had an hours visiting appointment and in that time he had a few tiny nibbles of mint and carrot tops and passed a few droppings. They said we could take him home if we were happy with the meds and stuff, so we did, as we were happier with him in our own environment. All day he ate a few bits of herbs and a couple of strands of hay, plus a green bean and some dried mix of plantain etc. Still no drinking or much success with the syringe feeding, so we took him back this morning for more fluids. Different vet this time, small animal specialist (he was actually on a course with FHB on Friday). He told us to up the dosage of zantac (from 0.25ml 3 times daily to 0.7ml twice daily) and the loxicom from 0.5ml once daily to 0.5ml twice daily. We've also got the emiprid still (1.4ml twice daily) and a tablet that I can't remember the name of but it's something like donemiprine (1 x 10th tablet twice a day). We've done better with the syringe feeding today (still only 5ml twice in the day) and 2 x 1ml of watered down pineapple juice. He's eaten some dandelion leaves soaked in water plus some more sprigs of herbs, a small amount of soaked curly kale, an almond and some more bits of hay. Still no drinking of his own accord.

It's now Sunday night and though he has improved a bit, there's no drinking, not much in the way of poos, he seems to be weeing ok, but he's just not really interested in eating. He will run around if we usher him about and he doesn't look uncomfortable. Vet has asked to see him again tomorrow morning at 9.

We're really worried about him. Apart from keeping on with the drugs, syringe feeding, chasing him about and trying to tempt him with nice fresh foods I'm not sure what else we can do. I don't even really know why I'm writing this. Be nice if people could send vibes for him though, or give any reassurance that this might not be as bad as it looks and that they've got bunnies that have come through this after this length of time. Ted's now 7 so he's not a young bun any more :cry:
 
Seding loads of vibes for Ted :love: I think the other tablet might have been Domperidone? The fact that he is eating a little for himself, is weeing and pooing would be positives for me, although I would obviously still be concerned. I hope he gets on OK at the vets tomorrow.
 
Poor Ted :cry: As he has been having SQ fluids he probably does not feel thirsty hence he is not drinking. He'll also be getting some water from any veg he eats and any syringe feeds he takes. So I would not worry too much about the lack of drinking at the moment.

I assume the Vets have ruled out Dental problems ? Did they do a blood glucose test ?

I have had a few Rabbits who have taken almost a week of treatment to recover from a bad case of gut stasis, so there is still a good chance of recovery. I really hope that Ted will start to make more progress very soon xx
 
Hi all

Ted's had gut stasis before, but not for a while. Three years ago he was hospitalised for 3 days but eventually recovered.

On Friday he refused his breakfast after being fine when we went to bed. Took him straight to the vet, examined all the bits I would have expected, nice bloke but wasn't very savvy and I had to ask for the usual drugs to be administered (he had zantac syrup, loxicom syrup and emeprid injection). Didn't eat or drink anything all day, got meds inside him ok but spat out what looked like nearly all the syringe food. Took him back to vet 7.30 that evening, savvy vet this time who hospitalised him. They couldn't find a vein in either ear for a drip so they gave him subcut fluids, more gut motility drugs and opiate based pain relief along with syringe feeding him.

Went to visit him next morning, we had an hours visiting appointment and in that time he had a few tiny nibbles of mint and carrot tops and passed a few droppings. They said we could take him home if we were happy with the meds and stuff, so we did, as we were happier with him in our own environment. All day he ate a few bits of herbs and a couple of strands of hay, plus a green bean and some dried mix of plantain etc. Still no drinking or much success with the syringe feeding, so we took him back this morning for more fluids. Different vet this time, small animal specialist (he was actually on a course with FHB on Friday). He told us to up the dosage of zantac (from 0.25ml 3 times daily to 0.7ml twice daily) and the loxicom from 0.5ml once daily to 0.5ml twice daily. We've also got the emiprid still (1.4ml twice daily) and a tablet that I can't remember the name of but it's something like donemiprine (1 x 10th tablet twice a day). We've done better with the syringe feeding today (still only 5ml twice in the day) and 2 x 1ml of watered down pineapple juice. He's eaten some dandelion leaves soaked in water plus some more sprigs of herbs, a small amount of soaked curly kale, an almond and some more bits of hay. Still no drinking of his own accord.

It's now Sunday night and though he has improved a bit, there's no drinking, not much in the way of poos, he seems to be weeing ok, but he's just not really interested in eating. He will run around if we usher him about and he doesn't look uncomfortable. Vet has asked to see him again tomorrow morning at 9.

We're really worried about him. Apart from keeping on with the drugs, syringe feeding, chasing him about and trying to tempt him with nice fresh foods I'm not sure what else we can do. I don't even really know why I'm writing this. Be nice if people could send vibes for him though, or give any reassurance that this might not be as bad as it looks and that they've got bunnies that have come through this after this length of time. Ted's now 7 so he's not a young bun any more :cry:

Sending loads and loads of vibes for Ted to get better soon.

It's early days. I have had buns that have been in stasis for well over a week and have come to no harm. It would seem you have a very good vet on the case, which is fabulous!

Is he still on sub-Q fluids? If so, then he won't need to drink. The fact that he's eating something is a brilliant sign, and the veggies and forage contain lots of water in themselves.

You're doing all you can, and it seems to be working with Ted. You mention opiate pain relief - bear in mind that this can affect their appetite.

Good luck and many many vibes x
 
Thanks to all for replying, it's really appreciated.

The fluids seems to be a bit of a vicious circle. He had 60ml subcut this morning, and probably about 15ml syringed from us in various forms. If we don't do that though then it could make his guts worse if he gets dehydrated ? And what if he still then doesn't want to drink? We get more SQ and he still won't want to?

Dental issues is an interesting one Jane. The first savvy vet we saw said his teeth looked really good. The savvy one we saw today said they looked really good for a 7 yr old bunny, but that there were still a few bits in one quadrant he'd prefer were burred down. He did say there was no sign of ulceration or discomfort with them so not sure it was contributing to the issue. Bearing in mind Ted is now 7, we're both a bit wary of him going under general but how do we know what's the right thing to do when the vets don't even agree?

They haven't done, or suggested any bloods yet.

And thanks, I didn't know the opiate pain relief could affect appetite. It's 48 hours since he had that though, would the effects have worn off by now?

We are pleased that he is doing some eating and pooping for himself, he just hasn't taken this long to improve before. It's really good news that this timescale is not unheard of though, thank you all.

Oh and yes it is Domperidone. I remember thinking it sounded like a mafia boss.
 
Tilly (7and a half) did this to me last month. Started on the wednesday so took her to vets who adminstered the meds . Brought her home to carry on with treatment but ended up taking her back Friday. She stayed in and had bloods taken and even though she's never been a dental bun, vet wanted a closer look at her teeth so she ended up having a dental on the monday. Brought her home that afternoon and I swear she's not stopped eating since :)
Hope Ted starts to improve soon xx
 
Oh and yes it is Domperidone. I remember thinking it sounded like a mafia boss.

:lol:

Ah it's so tricky to know what's wrong with them isn't it?

Tully had stasis for 5 days a couple of months ago. It must have been the Tuesday evening I went to give them greens before bed and he wasn't interested. Moreover, he was just sitting hunched in the shed, which is very odd for him - usually if we are in the shed, he is in the run and waits 'til we've gone to come up for food. He didn't even move when I stroked him which again is unusual. I gave him a couple of hours and got up again at midnight to check on him. No change - so took him to the emergency vets where he was admitted and fluids, painkillers and prokinetics given.

No change throughout Wednesday so he stayed in and was syringe fed.

No change overnight Wednesday. Thursday they decided to put him under and have a better look at his teeth. At this point they removed a small spur. The vet said it wasn't really big, and there was no evidence of damage to soft tissue, but that 'she wouldn't have wanted it in her mouth'. Hmm.

He didn't eat for himself after he came around and I went to see him on Thursday evening and took him some forage. At this point I honestly thought we'd lose him, as he was just sitting unresponsive in his litter tray. The vet let me stay with him though, and I managed to get him moving and to eat two pieces of plantain. At this point I asked to bring him home as given he really dislikes people, I thought being at the vets wouldn't be helping the situation. As he'd eaten a tiny bit, the vet agreed.

Friday was horrible. He was doing this thing where if I prodded him with some forage he would start eating it. But would manage about 20 seconds and then stop - mid-leaf often. I worked from home and kept prodding him all day and syringe feeding him. Through the day he gradually started to eat more (the 20s got a bit longer) but it didn't seem like it at the time!

We had to go away on Saturday morning, and some friends came to stay with him. They kept prodding him and syringe feeding him, and he started to pick up on Saturday. But the time we got home on Sunday he was eating forage fairly enthusiastically. He didn't start eating grass again until the Monday though - he was just sort of sniffing it before that.

Looking back, I actually don't think his teeth were the problem, and I wonder whether all the faffing at the vets actually set him back as he is a stressy bun. I think he ate a spider on that Tuesday morning, and I honestly believe that's what set him off (I know it sounds ridiculous, but I'm thinking toxins, or a bite, or just shock?). We'll never know what the reason was for sure, but the point is he was 5-6 days not at all normal.

Sorry for the long post!
 
Bunslave thanks, that is reassuring.

esupi Ted will occasionally eat things if we put them right under his nose, but not for 20 continuous seconds, less than 10 I would say. He has on occasion moved himself to eat something but only if it is very close to him (within a foot). He's not interested in things he usually loves. He's due some more pain relief and gut stimulant in half an hour, then more gut stimulant and pro-texin paste (which he spits out) and different gut stimulant at 11pm. That will be it then until 7am.

I really appreciate people sharing their stories as it is quite reassuring. I know there's no guarantees, but it's good to know other people have happy endings.

ETA Martyn has just gone and offered him a green bean and he's munched it all down.
 
Sending Ted trillions of healing vibes and hoping he is soon on the mend. I've read somewhere that it can take up to 2 weeks for bunnies to retun to normal eating and pooing after gut stasis, so I think yoy are still in early days. Also I know the opioid based pain killing injections unfortunately slow the gut down, so not helping the situation, but it's a trade off to alleviate the pain. My bun was also majorly drowsy for about two days after he had one when he had a bad case of stasis in July and would only eat if I hand fed him. Keep tempting Ted with foods he likes and hopefully he'll soon be on the mend. Patience, patience, patience is the key. Xxx
 
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Bunslave thanks, that is reassuring.

esupi Ted will occasionally eat things if we put them right under his nose, but not for 20 continuous seconds, less than 10 I would say. He has on occasion moved himself to eat something but only if it is very close to him (within a foot). He's not interested in things he usually loves. He's due some more pain relief and gut stimulant in half an hour, then more gut stimulant and pro-texin paste (which he spits out) and different gut stimulant at 11pm. That will be it then until 7am.

I really appreciate people sharing their stories as it is quite reassuring. I know there's no guarantees, but it's good to know other people have happy endings.

ETA Martyn has just gone and offered him a green bean and he's munched it all down.

20s might be an exaggeration - I suppose that's quite long when you think about it.
Yay for the green bean!
I bet you've been watching him all weekend too - hope you're both okay.
 
Sending Ted trillions of healing vibes and hoping he is soon on the mend. I've read somewhere that it can take up to 2 weeks for bunnies to retun to normal eating and pooing after gut stasis, so I think yoy are still in early days. Also I know the opioid based pain killing injections unfortunately slow the gut down, so not helping the situation, but it's a trade off to alleviate the pain. My bun was also majorly drowsy for about two days after he had one when he had a bad case of stasis in July and would only eat if I hand fed him. Keep tempting Ted with foods he likes and hopefully he'll soon be on the mend. Patience, patience, patience is the key. Xxx

Thanks for this. It's such a balancing act! Most of what he's eaten has been hand fed, or left under his nose, so maybe he's still a bit dozy as well.

20s might be an exaggeration - I suppose that's quite long when you think about it.
Yay for the green bean!
I bet you've been watching him all weekend too - hope you're both okay.

There's now been a big dandelion leaf as well :D Both dangled under his nose. The bean had been on his little mat for an hour or so, he hadn't moved from under the table so he either didn't know it was there or couldn't be bothered to go get it. Anyway they are now both in his tummy, yey indeed!

We're both quite tired and stressed. I have a headache, we've both cried about it. We got up at 2am last night for meds but we've shuffled the spacing a bit today so we can do the last at 11 and then next at 7am. We've spent the last 3 days with him, I will take him to the vets in the morning (Martyn has to take his car in for a service, bad timing but it's well overdue) and bring him home, then Martyn will look after him all day as he's working over 4 days at the moment.
 
Ted seems to have picked up a little bit this morning. We gave him his usual breakfast (in his litter tray, he didn't come looking for it) and he's eaten about half. He's also eaten his almond, which he loves. He hasn't had any hay or S'S but he's not hiding in his cardboard box either. He's taken his meds ok and looks a bit brighter. Will be setting off to vets in 10 mins. Thanks for asking, it's much appreciated
 
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