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Quality of life

Alicia

Alicia

Mama Doe
I believe Izzy had a stroke earlier this year although I don't know for sure. She eats plenty and loves her food but is now quite frail and thin and her balance is terrible, she tends to hop and then when she lands she falls on her side or her back. She's been on metacam daily and (up to 4 on the syringe) and she seemed fine on that. She also has a joint supplement every day. She has recently moved inside and since then she seems to have perked up a bit but I'm worried about her suffering. The vet hasn't mentioned PTS yet but she has good and bad days and I don't know if/when I need to make this decision. Today I got home and she's obviously fallen at some point as she was dirty, so I've thoroughly cleaned her cage and given her a wash off but it's made me very sad. She's such a sweet rabbit and I don't know if she's suffering
 
Any chance she actually had an ear infection and her disorientation is related to that? Was her ear swabbed on the side she falls?

Either way, trust yourself on it. Trust yourself to know her. Some bunnies can be ok with so much more going on than others. You know her and know how she is.

I personally believe it’s better to go a day early than a day late. If you make a decision with her best interests at heart, you will get it right.
 
She falls both ways so I don't think it's her ears. I could and will get them checked but her face has dropped on one side too so my first thought was stroke. We have been backwards and forwards to the vets a lot recently and the vet just wants to keep her comfortable. It's just so hard to tell whether she's in pain or not. I will make a vets appointment and ask about this but is the amount of metacam she's on the maximum she can have?
 
It's the cat metacam, the vet weighed her but it was quite a while ago and I'm not sure it's accurate now. She was 1.3kg when she was last weighed but I think she's lost weight since. I'll definitely make another appointment and speak to the vet, I can't bear to lose her she's such a lovely little bun :(
 
Alicia said:
She falls both ways so I don't think it's her ears. I could and will get them checked but her face has dropped on one side too so my first thought was stroke. We have been backwards and forwards to the vets a lot recently and the vet just wants to keep her comfortable. It's just so hard to tell whether she's in pain or not. I will make a vets appointment and ask about this but is the amount of metacam she's on the maximum she can have?
Click to expand...

All you describe sounds like she may have an inner ear infection, as mentioned by Sky-O. This can result in loss of balance, and a facial palsy ('droop') as you have described. There are other possible symptoms too. I would get her to the Vet again ASAP as the Vet may feel that starting her on a systemic abx is appropriate. The Vet is likely to examine Izzy's ear canals, but a middle/inner ear infection cannot be definitively diagnosed without Xrays/CT scans. However, it may be that th Vet will still treat as if it *might* be a middle/inner ear infection, without carrying out scans if Izzy is too frail for a GA.

Have you actually had a look into her ear canals? Is there any evidence of redness/gunk/offensive smell ?

Some additional information here :


https://www.petmd.com/rabbit/conditions/neurological/c_rb_facial_nerve_paresis_paralysis

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Differentials/facial.htm

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Otit/otitis.htm

https://www.petmd.com/rabbit/conditions/ears/c_rb_otitis_media_interna
 
Is Izzy a lop eared bun? It does sound very much like it could be a middle/inner ear infection to me. They're particularly common in lops because the bend in the cartilage means their ears don't clear/ventilate out as easily. Quite often, what looks like a 'drop' to one side of the face is actually it being pulled up on the other side, and almost always this seems to be associated with an inner ear infection on the side that the face is pulled up - because the infection affects the nerve which controls the facial muscles. If she's ok in herself I'd say it's worth investigating further; often in lops surgery is the only real solution but it may be possible to manage medically for a while. Best of luck with her x
 
Thank you, that's very interesting that you're all saying possible ear infection. I will ring tomorrow and get an appointment and ask them to look closely at her ears

ETA yes she is a lop eared bun, she's the white one in my signature
 
You were right! She has an inner ear infection, her ear was very blocked and the vet cleared a lot of horrible stuff out of it :( she has baytril and ear drops. Thank you for your help
 
Alicia said:
You were right! She has an inner ear infection, her ear was very blocked and the vet cleared a lot of horrible stuff out of it :( she has baytril and ear drops. Thank you for your help
Click to expand...

I'm glad you got a diagnosis. I hope she feels less wobbly soon & her meds do the trick
 
Sending lots of vibes for Izzy. I'm pleased that you've got some meds for her. Hopefully she'll soon be feeling a lot better.
 
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