advice re repeat prescriptions please.

Benjie le Bun Bun has been on continuous Bisolvon for several years now. At 1st. he had to be seen every 6 months for further repeat prescriptions, but then the vet said that because it was obvious that he'd always need it, no further 6 monthly examination was required. It's been like that for about 2 years.
Today, because the Bisolvon is in an opaque sachet, I'd run much shorter than I wanted to. I need more tomorrow. Usually no probs getting it at 36 hours notice.

THIS time I was told "No Bisolvon until he's been seen. "It's a legal requirement that he has to be seen by a vet every 6 months to get repeat prescriptions".
It is not in Benjie's interests to be seen just now. He's having a small flare up of snuffles (stress of moulting + change to winter diet of dried forage with less of his usual fresh forage, stress of increased temperature changes over 24 hours) If I keep stress as low as poss we'll get through it with an additional saline nebuliser. The last thing Benjie needs is a trip to the vet for nothing! = huge stress, sometimes enough to give him bright red urine. When his nose is a bit bunged up, he's a bag of nerves. (His main way to detect danger is by smell & it's slightly impaired so he feels very vulnerable)

My answer "This puts us in the category of an emergency, he has to get more bisolvon before tomorrow night, because he's having a small relapse". Result - appointment today at 9.20 am.

My question of the forum is whether there is an actual legal requirement that an animal has to be seen every 6 months before a repeat prescription can be given, even when it isn't in the animal's best interests?
Or, is this just a rule made by the company which owns the vets & can therefore be rescinded when it can potentially damage the animal's health?

(As a complete aside.I've only recently realised that a bunny's nose is quite mobile at the tip & Benjie can actually twist it to either side to catch an interesting scent & presumably localise the origin better. Wow - sterioscopic smelling!!!)

Good morning. When my late Opera, bunny with enlarged heart, was on heart medication she had to have a check up every six months too. We collected her tablets every two months but she had check ups every six months. This went on for over four years

Sorry this will be a brief reply Judy

From the RCVS Website :

Under his care

4.9 The Veterinary Medicines Regulations do not define the phrase 'under his care' and the RCVS has interpreted it as meaning that:

the veterinary surgeon must have been given the responsibility for the health of the animal or herd by the owner or the owner's agent
that responsibility must be real and not nominal
the animal or herd must have been seen immediately before prescription or,
recently enough or often enough for the veterinary surgeon to have personal knowledge of the condition of the animal or current health status of the herd or flock to make a diagnosis and prescribe
the veterinary surgeon must maintain clinical records of that herd/flock/individual
4.10 What amounts to 'recent enough' must be a matter for the professional judgement of the veterinary surgeon in the individual case.

4.11 A veterinary surgeon cannot usually have an animal under his or her care if there has been no physical examination; consequently a veterinary surgeon should not treat an animal or prescribe POM-V medicines via the Internet alone.''

Full details here :

https://www.rcvs.org.uk/advice-and-...ons/supporting-guidance/veterinary-medicines/

I hope that Benji's snuffles improves soon xx

There is a notice up in my (independent) vet's saying that an animal must be seen every 6 months for a repeat prescription to be issued. It did used to be annually but changed a few years ago.

JJ's article is interesting, though....if you quote it at them, would they give you some leeway?

thumps_ said:

Benjie le Bun Bun has been on continuous Bisolvon for several years now. At 1st. he had to be seen every 6 months for further repeat prescriptions, but then the vet said that because it was obvious that he'd always need it, no further 6 monthly examination was required. It's been like that for about 2 years.
Today, because the Bisolvon is in an opaque sachet, I'd run much shorter than I wanted to. I need more tomorrow. Usually no probs getting it at 36 hours notice.

THIS time I was told "No Bisolvon until he's been seen. "It's a legal requirement that he has to be seen by a vet every 6 months to get repeat prescriptions".
It is not in Benjie's interests to be seen just now. He's having a small flare up of snuffles (stress of moulting + change to winter diet of dried forage with less of his usual fresh forage, stress of increased temperature changes over 24 hours) If I keep stress as low as poss we'll get through it with an additional saline nebuliser. The last thing Benjie needs is a trip to the vet for nothing! = huge stress, sometimes enough to give him bright red urine. When his nose is a bit bunged up, he's a bag of nerves. (His main way to detect danger is by smell & it's slightly impaired so he feels very vulnerable)

My answer "This puts us in the category of an emergency, he has to get more bisolvon before tomorrow night, because he's having a small relapse". Result - appointment today at 9.20 am.

My question of the forum is whether there is an actual legal requirement that an animal has to be seen every 6 months before a repeat prescription can be given, even when it isn't in the animal's best interests?
Or, is this just a rule made by the company which owns the vets & can therefore be rescinded when it can potentially damage the animal's health?

(As a complete aside.I've only recently realised that a bunny's nose is quite mobile at the tip & Benjie can actually twist it to either side to catch an interesting scent & presumably localise the origin better. Wow - sterioscopic smelling!!!)

Click to expand...

Hi thumps :wave:

I'm sorry you're in this position. Presumably you've now seen the vet with Benjie? It's always been my understanding (via vets) that yes the animal needs to be seen every six months prior to issuing a repeat prescription. However, if you've an arrangement with your own vet, will they not do that for you, or was it another vet in the practice who says not?

stereoscopic smelling - wow!!

Thanks every one, & particularly JJ for such a helpful reference.
Sorry I've been on the go all morning & just come to see your replies.
Please don't worry JJ. Benjie's snuffles is remarkably well controled. It's a horrid disease when there's a lot of irreversible damage & scarring to the nasal epithelium & cilia. I work from a personal principal of obsessional attention to detail - don't let the infection become invasive using very simple methods. a) keep the secretions runny so they can't build up infection inside, & b) do everything possible to keep stress levels low. What constitutes stress for Benjie defies credulity! If I leave a bag of shopping in the hall, Benjie is too frightened to go past it & go upstairs. I guess he thinks along the lines of "It wasn't there an hour ago, so it must have walked there on it's own = it's alive, & may eat me."
If we have to go to ABx (only 3 times in his life) - sure I can get then in, but it stresses him out so much that his eyes bulge, 3rd eyelid comes well across & his respiratory rate & heart beat are so fast I can't count them.

Although I couldn't quote JJ's article, I used a similar arguement that the regulation wasn't in Benjie's best interests when applied strictly. I saw a vet I haven't seen before. She was lovely, & will discuss exempting Benjie with the senior partners. It was so unusual that she understood how rabbits think & what's stressful for them remarkably well.
It's a long story to explain why Benjie is so nervous - his experiences before being rescued. Then explaining that he had haematogenous spread of pastuerella before puberty, = "this bunny isn't going to live very long", & why I do some weird things, eg his total forage diet to reduce dust going up his nose. I feel terrible, I've forgotten his age. I think he's just over 5 years.
Then there's the fact that Benjie doesn't have the text book signs of snuffles. He grooms using the bottom of his paws = no discharge on the side of them. In fact he usually licks any discharge away as soon as it appears in a split second. Problem for me. I'm above him & can't see him do it. He gets very little eye discharge these days. He doesn't sneeze much & it's very quiet. The bisolvon makes the discharge much easier for him to clear. Without it, he can take several attempts at sneezing it out & gets so distraught he claws at the side of his nose. He's an obligate nose breather. A blocked nose feels like suffocation to him.

All I can go by is that he is more nervous, & often runs away from me if he doesn't expect me. (rabbits recognise us by our individual smell, through any deodorant / soap etc! So if he runs away he can't smell me) He does more general facial grooming, & there is a tiny damp patch of fur in his nostrils, sometimes minimal fur loss. Benjie snores because of slight nasal obstruction. If there's an increase in obstruction, it's higher pitched. It has to be nasal because he can snores 2 notes at the same time. (I wish he'd tune his nose at times!)

I am so anxious. "Will the vet listen to me & believe me?" "Will the vet understand what I'm trying to do?" There's the forage side & why I do that, how it started with Thumper's scarred caecum, & my surprise that when offered forage, both my buns have been able to select what's right for their medical condition. Problem - I've no training whatsoever in herbal medicine & don't know what to give them. I just get an armful of all the local things rabbits can eat & to my astonishment my 2 have been able to sort themselves out. Forage diet gives mine a beautiful, soft, glossy coat = animal in "excellent health".
It takes some believing doesn't it? Way, way outside veterinary thinking! But this weird management gives Benjie a really good quality of life. He's just not got the temperament for a lot of medication all the time, which is what usually happens in snuffles.

So yes, there's a lot of good sense in the regulation that they should be seen regularly before repeat prescriptions in the majority of cases. Yes, with a cardiac bun, the dose may need adjusting to improve control. We need to assess whether medication needs to be continued or changed in many cases, but NOT Benjie. As I knew, there was nothing for the vet to do except see the small damp patch below 1 nostril. So lovely she sounded his chest & heart while he was still in the carrier. Thank God she didn't tell me that there was no reason to give him bisolvon & stop it!

Sorry totally irrelevant but so pleased you're posting again, haven't seen any posts from you for ages although I'm not online all the time. Nice to hear about little Benjie although not good to hear he's unwell. You were one of the first to help me help Doughnut with Jane

Doughnut is still under my specialist and will remain so until she goes to the bridge but I get my medicine from my local vets. They called me to say they weren't going to give me any ranitidine as the vet hadn't seen her for over 6 months so didn't know if she still needed it. I said she never saw him and if I bought her in he wouldn't be able to tell if she needed it anyway but she was on it indefinitely and Mark Rowland had prescribed it. I asked them to call up Trinity and said it was pointless me bringing her in, wasting his time and mine when looking at her he couldn't say if she needed it or not. They eventually called Trinity and now give me the medicine again. I know it's a different scenario but I'd never been asked in the 4 years she's been getting various medicines.

thumps_ said:

Thanks every one, & particularly JJ for such a helpful reference.
Sorry I've been on the go all morning & just come to see your replies.
Please don't worry JJ. Benjie's snuffles is remarkably well controled. It's a horrid disease when there's a lot of irreversible damage & scarring to the nasal epithelium & cilia. I work from a personal principal of obsessional attention to detail - don't let the infection become invasive using very simple methods. a) keep the secretions runny so they can't build up infection inside, & b) do everything possible to keep stress levels low. What constitutes stress for Benjie defies credulity! If I leave a bag of shopping in the hall, Benjie is too frightened to go past it & go upstairs. I guess he thinks along the lines of "It wasn't there an hour ago, so it must have walked there on it's own = it's alive, & may eat me."
If we have to go to ABx (only 3 times in his life) - sure I can get then in, but it stresses him out so much that his eyes bulge, 3rd eyelid comes well across & his respiratory rate & heart beat are so fast I can't count them.

Although I couldn't quote JJ's article, I used a similar arguement that the regulation wasn't in Benjie's best interests when applied strictly. I saw a vet I haven't seen before. She was lovely, & will discuss exempting Benjie with the senior partners. It was so unusual that she understood how rabbits think & what's stressful for them remarkably well.
It's a long story to explain why Benjie is so nervous - his experiences before being rescued. Then explaining that he had haematogenous spread of pastuerella before puberty, = "this bunny isn't going to live very long", & why I do some weird things, eg his total forage diet to reduce dust going up his nose. I feel terrible, I've forgotten his age. I think he's just over 5 years.
Then there's the fact that Benjie doesn't have the text book signs of snuffles. He grooms using the bottom of his paws = no discharge on the side of them. In fact he usually licks any discharge away as soon as it appears in a split second. Problem for me. I'm above him & can't see him do it. He gets very little eye discharge these days. He doesn't sneeze much & it's very quiet. The bisolvon makes the discharge much easier for him to clear. Without it, he can take several attempts at sneezing it out & gets so distraught he claws at the side of his nose. He's an obligate nose breather. A blocked nose feels like suffocation to him.

All I can go by is that he is more nervous, & often runs away from me if he doesn't expect me. (rabbits recognise us by our individual smell, through any deodorant / soap etc! So if he runs away he can't smell me) He does more general facial grooming, & there is a tiny damp patch of fur in his nostrils, sometimes minimal fur loss. Benjie snores because of slight nasal obstruction. If there's an increase in obstruction, it's higher pitched. It has to be nasal because he can snores 2 notes at the same time. (I wish he'd tune his nose at times!)

I am so anxious. "Will the vet listen to me & believe me?" "Will the vet understand what I'm trying to do?" There's the forage side & why I do that, how it started with Thumper's scarred caecum, & my surprise that when offered forage, both my buns have been able to select what's right for their medical condition. Problem - I've no training whatsoever in herbal medicine & don't know what to give them. I just get an armful of all the local things rabbits can eat & to my astonishment my 2 have been able to sort themselves out. Forage diet gives mine a beautiful, soft, glossy coat = animal in "excellent health".
It takes some believing doesn't it? Way, way outside veterinary thinking! But this weird management gives Benjie a really good quality of life. He's just not got the temperament for a lot of medication all the time, which is what usually happens in snuffles.

So yes, there's a lot of good sense in the regulation that they should be seen regularly before repeat prescriptions in the majority of cases. Yes, with a cardiac bun, the dose may need adjusting to improve control. We need to assess whether medication needs to be continued or changed in many cases, but NOT Benjie. As I knew, there was nothing for the vet to do except see the small damp patch below 1 nostril. So lovely she sounded his chest & heart while he was still in the carrier. Thank God she didn't tell me that there was no reason to give him bisolvon & stop it!

Click to expand...

Glad the info was helpful. I think that many Vets are not familiar with a Rabbit care giver who is 1- so 'in tune' with their Rabbit and 2- Is a qualified Medic, albeit Human Medicine. Hopefully now you will not have any problems obtaining the Bisolvon. The Vet may well have learned some useful Rabbit information from you !

A big thank you to everyone. I now understand the law about repeat prescriptions for animals. Surprisingly it is stricter than for humans who must only be seen every year.
Jane, my former job does have a bearing here. Rules are usually good for 99.99% of situations, but can be a disaster for an individual. I fess up, when the rules were a disaster for an individual, I'd find a way round the rules for them. My diagnoses "possible subclinical x" actually means "no other drug works for this patient but I'm not allowed to prescribe it for their real condition - I've just invented an excuse to keep them well the only way we know how"!!

It wasn't anything like as stressful for Benjie as I had expected. He's gradually getting less stressed if we wait in the "private room"or stay in the car park until the vet is ready. Today the vet saw us in the "private room"- another bonus because there's a less strong smell of predators around, than on an examination table.

Having been a doctor can be a handicap. Animals are very different species by species as well as similar. There are plenty of people on here who know far more about rabbit illness than I do. I always give credit to Biscandmatt1 for teaching me the basics about snuffles. She was right at the cutting edge of snuffles management, trying to get out of the 2 weeks ABx treatment, OK for 2 weeks, then needs ABx again. Why did they keep relapsing so quickly? & why weren't the ABx working more effectively? There's a beautiful teamwork between deeply committed people, with different skills, & each essential to moving foreward. If it hadn't been for Biscandmatt1 & the pain that it was too late for her own buns, Benjie wouldn't have made it through his 1st. 6 months.

By chance Benjie has been seen in the private room several times in succession for nail clipping. (Yep he's a dream bun for the vets & nurses because he "handles well" partly because he tries to disappear into their lap / table or whatever.) At long last he's beginning to understand that just because something was nasty once, doesn't mean it's always going to be that way - a lesson I need to remember too! Perhaps a suggestion for others whose buns freak out at the vet.
The "private room" is for distressed human carers.

I know 1 of the senior partners very well indeed. I've been with them since 1987 apart from the need for intensive exotics care for Thumper. Jacoba is special, a real pro. Vets had no training in rabbits when she qualified. They saw they had a gap in their ability to give good care to rabbits, & contracted a young vet who had just finished full exotics training to work with then for 3 years AND also to teach the older vets. Think about it. the "boss" prepared to learn from the "junior." because she knows she needs to know more than she can get from a few w/e courses. Jacoba, the most gentle, & quietly spoken person I have ever met, really does put animals 1st.

C.Payne Wonderful to hear from you & that Doughnut is still doing well. That news has made my week! Oh well done both of you. Cuddles all round.
I'm not around now. I've nothing more to say. I came here in the early days of trying to improve survival from GI stasis Jane got that sussed with the meds, & a few of us with stasis prone buns, tried to reduce the frequency & severity of the attacks, by using old fashioned forage. The truth is that I really care about you all on here & get too emotionally attached.

I'm still messing around with tin cans making rocket stoves & charcoal burners. (A project to help destitute people in areas of desertification) My rocket stoves make biochar which then makes charcoal briquettes without any tech at all. It seems never ending as the medicinal uses of activated charcoal are much greater than I realised & it's cheap & easy to make. (Benjie's shown some interest when dietary indiscretion gave him an uneaten caecal) Now it's never ending things to do with the wood ash. Sussed out making soap using a fresh egg as a hydrometer!! Currently using it to store eggs in. I should manage 80% sound eggs at 8 months in UK climate. I'm doing all my own cooking on them from bread making, to bangers & mash & pancakes. It's got a bit out of hand as I now meet many people from the former Soviet Union every month - exotic places like Kyrgistan. I suppose I'm back to simple human medicine again. Activated charcoal is such a powerful absorber of toxins it can stop diarrhoea being a baby killer.

Jane, What do vets think about activated charcoal? It's a fantastic absorber of gas too.

thumps_ said:

A big thank you to everyone. I now understand the law about repeat prescriptions for animals. Surprisingly it is stricter than for humans who must only be seen every year.
Jane, my former job does have a bearing here. Rules are usually good for 99.99% of situations, but can be a disaster for an individual. I fess up, when the rules were a disaster for an individual, I'd find a way round the rules for them. My diagnoses "possible subclinical x" actually means "no other drug works for this patient but I'm not allowed to prescribe it for their real condition - I've just invented an excuse to keep them well the only way we know how"!!

It wasn't anything like as stressful for Benjie as I had expected. He's gradually getting less stressed if we wait in the "private room"or stay in the car park until the vet is ready. Today the vet saw us in the "private room"- another bonus because there's a less strong smell of predators around, than on an examination table.

Having been a doctor can be a handicap. Animals are very different species by species as well as similar. There are plenty of people on here who know far more about rabbit illness than I do. I always give credit to Biscandmatt1 for teaching me the basics about snuffles. She was right at the cutting edge of snuffles management, trying to get out of the 2 weeks ABx treatment, OK for 2 weeks, then needs ABx again. Why did they keep relapsing so quickly? & why weren't the ABx working more effectively? There's a beautiful teamwork between deeply committed people, with different skills, & each essential to moving foreward. If it hadn't been for Biscandmatt1 & the pain that it was too late for her own buns, Benjie wouldn't have made it through his 1st. 6 months.

By chance Benjie has been seen in the private room several times in succession for nail clipping. (Yep he's a dream bun for the vets & nurses because he "handles well" partly because he tries to disappear into their lap / table or whatever.) At long last he's beginning to understand that just because something was nasty once, doesn't mean it's always going to be that way - a lesson I need to remember too! Perhaps a suggestion for others whose buns freak out at the vet.
The "private room" is for distressed human carers.

I know 1 of the senior partners very well indeed. I've been with them since 1987 apart from the need for intensive exotics care for Thumper. Jacoba is special, a real pro. Vets had no training in rabbits when she qualified. They saw they had a gap in their ability to give good care to rabbits, & contracted a young vet who had just finished full exotics training to work with then for 3 years AND also to teach the older vets. Think about it. the "boss" prepared to learn from the "junior." because she knows she needs to know more than she can get from a few w/e courses. Jacoba, the most gentle, & quietly spoken person I have ever met, really does put animals 1st.

C.Payne Wonderful to hear from you & that Doughnut is still doing well. That news has made my week! Oh well done both of you. Cuddles all round.
I'm not around now. I've nothing more to say. I came here in the early days of trying to improve survival from GI stasis Jane got that sussed with the meds, & a few of us with stasis prone buns, tried to reduce the frequency & severity of the attacks, by using old fashioned forage. The truth is that I really care about you all on here & get too emotionally attached.

I'm still messing around with tin cans making rocket stoves & charcoal burners. (A project to help destitute people in areas of desertification) My rocket stoves make biochar which then makes charcoal briquettes without any tech at all. It seems never ending as the medicinal uses of activated charcoal are much greater than I realised & it's cheap & easy to make. (Benjie's shown some interest when dietary indiscretion gave him an uneaten caecal) Now it's never ending things to do with the wood ash. Sussed out making soap using a fresh egg as a hydrometer!! Currently using it to store eggs in. I should manage 80% sound eggs at 8 months in UK climate. I'm doing all my own cooking on them from bread making, to bangers & mash & pancakes. It's got a bit out of hand as I now meet many people from the former Soviet Union every month - exotic places like Kyrgistan. I suppose I'm back to simple human medicine again. Activated charcoal is such a powerful absorber of toxins it can stop diarrhoea being a baby killer.

Jane, What do vets think about activated charcoal? It's a fantastic absorber of gas too.

Click to expand...

I asked Marie about this and she said whilst it may be beneficial getting enough into a very sick Rabbit could be a big challenge. Maybe it is something that could be considered if a Rabbit were deemed to be in the 'last chance saloon'. I know in cases of Enteritis in Rabbits Cholestyramine (Questran) can be used as a toxin absorber. It saved Bobbie's life.Dont know if you remember her.

I am in awe of all you are doing Judy, I think the mould was broken when you were made !! I just wish our paths had crossed when we were up in Shetland xx

Yes, I remember Bobbie well, bless her. We considered Questran for Thumper at one point too. The problem was getting the timing right so it didn't absorb his domperidone, so with fingers & legs crossed, we got through the crisis without it.
I'm sorry my mind sometimes jumps faster than I express myself. I was thinking of a very distended bloat bun when we have to put a tube down to relieve the gas anyway, - get out the gas & contents then put down a little activated charcoal to delay reaccumulation of gas. I think Marie will have looked into it carefully - volume too high.

As for Shetland, I spent a total of a month in Levenwick surgery, (your end), my introduction to the islands. Responsibility for 1,200 patients on the mainland, about 90 on Fair Isle, any medical emergencies in 5 miles of coastal waters + 18 hens, 6 ducks, 2 shetland ponies, an adolescent golden retriever, & Midge the border collie.
I was mistaken for the newly arrived lady vet when trying to visit an elderly gentleman. His son of the same name asked me to "gang hawd yon coo", which I thought a strange request of a GP. but with a rural childhood got "Yon coo" into a reasonable headlock, & started to ask about his Dad's health. At which point he realised I wasn't the vet, & I breathed a big sigh of relief!
There was complete incomprehension over the woman who "couldn't travel" but wasn't going anywhere. "Travel" on Shetland meant walk!!
Not realising that patients just walked into the house, I was found lying on the kitchen floor with the retriever pup playing the "Wurrah wurrah" rope game with my hair (long) & a completely unphased patient said "Ah doot du'll be the wife doctor".
Small failure in animal care - I let 1 hen go broody.
I wonder now whether we really did have winds gusting at 160mph or whether it was 160km/h. ? Whichever, I had to crawl holding onto tufts of grass to get to houses, feeling like tumbleweed, & waterfalls shot straight up into the sky!
Don't send me down memmory lane Jane. The local attempt to make amphibious vehicles & race them - the "Yell water taxis" is too much of a temptation!:lol:

thumps_ said:

Yes, I remember Bobbie well, bless her. We considered Questran for Thumper at one point too. The problem was getting the timing right so it didn't absorb his domperidone, so with fingers & legs crossed, we got through the crisis without it.
I'm sorry my mind sometimes jumps faster than I express myself. I was thinking of a very distended bloat bun when we have to put a tube down to relieve the gas anyway, - get out the gas & contents then put down a little activated charcoal to delay reaccumulation of gas. I think Marie will have looked into it carefully - volume too high.

As for Shetland, I spent a total of a month in Levenwick surgery, (your end), my introduction to the islands. Responsibility for 1,200 patients on the mainland, about 90 on Fair Isle, any medical emergencies in 5 miles of coastal waters + 18 hens, 6 ducks, 2 shetland ponies, an adolescent golden retriever, & Midge the border collie.
I was mistaken for the newly arrived lady vet when trying to visit an elderly gentleman. His son of the same name asked me to "gang hawd yon coo", which I thought a strange request of a GP. but with a rural childhood got "Yon coo" into a reasonable headlock, & started to ask about his Dad's health. At which point he realised I wasn't the vet, & I breathed a big sigh of relief!
There was complete incomprehension over the woman who "couldn't travel" but wasn't going anywhere. "Travel" on Shetland meant walk!!
Not realising that patients just walked into the house, I was found lying on the kitchen floor with the retriever pup playing the "Wurrah wurrah" rope game with my hair (long) & a completely unphased patient said "Ah doot du'll be the wife doctor".
Small failure in animal care - I let 1 hen go broody.
I wonder now whether we really did have winds gusting at 160mph or whether it was 160km/h. ? Whichever, I had to crawl holding onto tufts of grass to get to houses, feeling like tumbleweed, & waterfalls shot straight up into the sky!
Don't send me down memmory lane Jane. The local attempt to make amphibious vehicles & race them - the "Yell water taxis" is too much of a temptation!:lol:

Click to expand...

Oh those Shetland winds !! On here I only recently recounted how I was blown off my feet and over a stone wall by the Kirk near Dunrossness !! :lol:

When the wind was really bad it used to lift the carpet in our Bungalow :shock: First time I saw it happen I thought I was having problems with my eyes, but it soon became an all too familiar event.

As to people wandering into the house, on more than one occasion I gave the Postie an eyefull as he was coming out of our lounge where he'd left the post and I was en route from bathroom to bedroom dressed in a towel turban on my head and a pair of fluffy slippers. I expect the poor bloke is still in Therapy to cope with the trauma of seeing all my bits and pieces !! :lol:

I am think that Benjie will bounce back from his slight relapse of Snuffles, he could not be in better care that's for sure.

Well Benjie's had a hearty feast on the last fresh dandelions before the mildew sets in badly. He really was amazingly unphased by the vet trip yesterday.
Actually Jane, while we're chatting on "health" - (aren't the Mods being kind to us oldie reunions?) Benjie has a skin complaint we're not going to investigate, because it's obviously benign, non itchy, & he hasn't got mites anywhere (Jacoba spent about1/2 hour with a hand lens & mic over his skin & innumerable specimens of his non walking dandruff which shows so clearly on black fur, several times now. They are irregular patches of hyperkeratosis. After anything up to 18 months, fur starts to grow in the centre & pushes off the hyperkeratosis in dandruff like flakes leaving normal skin beneath. He's been getting them in different places all his life. Any ideas? I'm just curious.

So to return to our sojourn in the (technically) subarctic zone of the UK. Yep, sun doesn't set completely on midsummer's day - if you can see it without rain clouds!
Yes, I can visualise the Kirk at Dunrossness. Ah! pity the computer censor has such a dirty mind or we could speak Shetlandic! "Wall" is a D for Richard.
Ooo you had a proper bungalow!!! I had a semidetatched wotsit on Bressay when I wasn't working. You see the row of them looking over Lerwick harbour to Bressay. It's like a bungalow with a loft conversion, so actually placing a single bed leaving enough head room not to have repeated head injuries requires some ingenuity & there's all this space around with no height to it. (Good for rabbits though. I was NFA in those days so I looked after other people's furry friends)
1st house back from the island pub/hotel/restaurant/ meeting place. Jimbo, master of the ferry could never quite make it to his own home. The only resuscitation I ever did, was giving Jimbo a big mug of black coffee & a plate of toast - lots of times!

The moving carpet effect really spooked me because I was very tired, & also looked out of the window to see what was actually the reflection of my drift wood fire superimposed on a bush outside. I was seeing a bush which was burning but not being consumed & the floor was moving. This was seriously not nice!

I have to go out foraging now. Nice to hear your thoughts about hyperkeratotic skin conditions in rabbits though.

Hey don't be too much of a stranger. I love to hear about your adventures and all of your knowledge and also about Benjie.

Doughnut is only on ranitidine now twice a day for her acid reflux. I have metaclop, cisapride and metacam if she gets into difficultly with her slow digestive system and has an episode but no throat rubbing for nearly a year! She's been through so many different medicines but ranitidine is the way to go for her, although I don't like to jinx it!

Anyway happy foraging and hopefully speak soon xx

thumps_ said:

Well Benjie's had a hearty feast on the last fresh dandelions before the mildew sets in badly. He really was amazingly unphased by the vet trip yesterday.
Actually Jane, while we're chatting on "health" - (aren't the Mods being kind to us oldie reunions?) Benjie has a skin complaint we're not going to investigate, because it's obviously benign, non itchy, & he hasn't got mites anywhere (Jacoba spent about1/2 hour with a hand lens & mic over his skin & innumerable specimens of his non walking dandruff which shows so clearly on black fur, several times now. They are irregular patches of hyperkeratosis. After anything up to 18 months, fur starts to grow in the centre & pushes off the hyperkeratosis in dandruff like flakes leaving normal skin beneath. He's been getting them in different places all his life. Any ideas? I'm just curious.

So to return to our sojourn in the (technically) subarctic zone of the UK. Yep, sun doesn't set completely on midsummer's day - if you can see it without rain clouds!
Yes, I can visualise the Kirk at Dunrossness. Ah! pity the computer censor has such a dirty mind or we could speak Shetlandic! "Wall" is a D for Richard.
Ooo you had a proper bungalow!!! I had a semidetatched wotsit on Bressay when I wasn't working. You see the row of them looking over Lerwick harbour to Bressay. It's like a bungalow with a loft conversion, so actually placing a single bed leaving enough head room not to have repeated head injuries requires some ingenuity & there's all this space around with no height to it. (Good for rabbits though. I was NFA in those days so I looked after other people's furry friends)
1st house back from the island pub/hotel/restaurant/ meeting place. Jimbo, master of the ferry could never quite make it to his own home. The only resuscitation I ever did, was giving Jimbo a big mug of black coffee & a plate of toast - lots of times!

The moving carpet effect really spooked me because I was very tired, & also looked out of the window to see what was actually the reflection of my drift wood fire superimposed on a bush outside. I was seeing a bush which was burning but not being consumed & the floor was moving. This was seriously not nice!

I have to go out foraging now. Nice to hear your thoughts about hyperkeratotic skin conditions in rabbits though.

Click to expand...

Oh that did make me chuckle !! :lol: CPR can refer to 'Coffee Poured Rapidly' !! :lol:

Benji's skin condition sounds to be a bit of a mystery. I have seen something similar but only on a Rabbit who had to have a lot of subcutaneous injections (antibiotics/analgesia) for prolonged periods several times during his life. The hyperkeratosis occurred at the various injection sites.

I dont think I can shed much light on Benji's condition. If he has had it all his life and it causes him no irritation perhaps it is just an ideopathic oddity about him (no offence meant Benjie Bunny !!) ??