Jack's-Jane
Wise Old Thumper
I am sorry that the infection appears to be worsening, but at least Charlie is happy within himself
I dont know what abx he is on ??
I dont know what abx he is on ??
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Charlie's jaw abcess/bone infection- not good-another abscess
- Thread starter natandfluffs
- Start date
natandfluffs
Alpha Buck
Thanks Jane. If i didn't know what was going on i'd say he seemed better, but the evidence suggests otherwise.
He's on amikacin injections twice a day. Bacteriology showed it had the best chance of working, but even that didn't do enough in tests really. We were given a 20% chance that seems to be shrinking... Possible side effects were deafness and kidney failure, hence the blood tests. He also has antibiotic beads (gentamicin i think- my spelling of that is probably awful) under the gums which are now closed. The gentamicin is more aggressive than amikacin i understand but is even riskier side effects wise which is why we are using it only in the beads.
Oddly the penicillin injections didn't seem to bother him at all but he doesn't like these. Its nit the needle size as i've experimented with that, I assume it must be something about the actual drug.
Does that make any sense?!
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natandfluffs
Alpha Buck
We had our last vet visit on Thursday- with the vet who did the initial surgeries. He has been on holiday for two weeks and said things looked better, particularly inside his mouth where teeth were extrated. The wound on the jaw was also better than he had expected :thumb:
However after my previous two visits where vets thought things appeared worse (so did I) I'm confused! There does appear more pus, but I am sometimes getting small amounts of blood on my swab which I understand means that blood supply is returning and implies antibiotics are working :?
I'm still flushing and packing with manuka honey, antibiotic injections twice daily, and metacam twice daily (reducing the dose slowly as he seems pain free- such a happy flop yesterday he had all his legs in the air and ended up rolling over!)
Next appointment is this Thursday (longest interval since the first surgery on the abscess!) and if it is still improving the vet wants to think about placing antibiotic beads in the wound and closing...
No idea which way its going to go but I'm trying to believe the more positive perspective!!
However after my previous two visits where vets thought things appeared worse (so did I) I'm confused! There does appear more pus, but I am sometimes getting small amounts of blood on my swab which I understand means that blood supply is returning and implies antibiotics are working :?
I'm still flushing and packing with manuka honey, antibiotic injections twice daily, and metacam twice daily (reducing the dose slowly as he seems pain free- such a happy flop yesterday he had all his legs in the air and ended up rolling over!)
Next appointment is this Thursday (longest interval since the first surgery on the abscess!) and if it is still improving the vet wants to think about placing antibiotic beads in the wound and closing...
No idea which way its going to go but I'm trying to believe the more positive perspective!!
shelley
Mama Doe
I had the exact same thing with Buster and the chance of him pulling through was pretty much zero but he totally turned around and has recently got through another abscess in his tear duct, i hope Charlie manages to pull through too! Whilst the odds are always against them it can be done and i know lots of people who have been in our situation who have had a good result.
natandfluffs
Alpha Buck
Thank you, thats really encouraging. I needed to hear a success story! I'm pleased Buster has done well x
bunnymadhouse
Wise Old Thumper
he a fighter isnt he bless him ...
I realy realy the improvement carries on ... try to keep positive ... he is such a lucky bunny to have found you .
I realy realy the improvement carries on ... try to keep positive ... he is such a lucky bunny to have found you .
natandfluffs
Alpha Buck
Thanks Angie
he's enjoying the sunshine today. We're out in the garden so the back door is open and I've fenced an area off for him. He's eaten my weeds
but is mostly sunbathing on the doorstep!
Has munched some hay too which he hasn't really done since the first op on the abscess
he's enjoying the sunshine today. We're out in the garden so the back door is open and I've fenced an area off for him. He's eaten my weeds
but is mostly sunbathing on the doorstep! Has munched some hay too which he hasn't really done since the first op on the abscess
natandfluffs
Alpha Buck
The vet was pretty pleased with him today- he was hoping to see no more pus inside the mouth, and there was some, but noticably less than last week.
The abscess site looked pretty gunked up but after a really good clean looked a lot better than previously. I've been really struggling because it sits so deep and is so tough- but the vet has it out and we're changing how I'm cleaning it.
Generally the vet was happy that there was a definite improvement
Check up in another 6 days... as I'll need a restock of antibiotic by then
I also actually saw him eating hay yesterday- which is only the second time I've ever seen him eat hay- I think he used to just eat it for something to do overnight. Hopefully he'll start eating more of that now too.
Fingers crossed as we're not there yet, but I'm feeling a bit lighter about it all today
The abscess site looked pretty gunked up but after a really good clean looked a lot better than previously. I've been really struggling because it sits so deep and is so tough- but the vet has it out and we're changing how I'm cleaning it.
Generally the vet was happy that there was a definite improvement
Check up in another 6 days... as I'll need a restock of antibiotic by then
I also actually saw him eating hay yesterday- which is only the second time I've ever seen him eat hay- I think he used to just eat it for something to do overnight. Hopefully he'll start eating more of that now too.
Fingers crossed as we're not there yet, but I'm feeling a bit lighter about it all today
natandfluffs
Alpha Buck
I've not updated this in a while but could really use more vibes and ideas...
The abscess site on Charlie's jaw looked much better at last check up but inside his mouth there was still pus. We continued treating as previously and the jaw is/was almost healef.
I've found flushing with a needle on the end of the syringe teally helpful- it gives a power wash effect and helps loosen stubborn pus. I'm keeping the needle about an inch from his skin and covering his eyes. And he's a star at staying still!
On thursday evening though, i found another abscess at the base of his ear. Vet said they tend to be related to ear infwctions here rather than tooth roots but couldn't be sure. It seems likely because when draoning it he squeezed it and it shot back and appeared in his ear. There is only sign of slight infection in the ear tho.
We're unlikely to treat this one surgically because of the complexity of the other one and the poor prognosis with both of them seperately let alone combined. We're treating the ear infection and watching what effect that has on the ear abscess refilling and if thats positive will consider surgery seriously.
Any brainwaves gratefully received x
So all in all not good. My poor boy. He's fine in himself though and havi g a good sunbathe right now.
The abscess site on Charlie's jaw looked much better at last check up but inside his mouth there was still pus. We continued treating as previously and the jaw is/was almost healef.
I've found flushing with a needle on the end of the syringe teally helpful- it gives a power wash effect and helps loosen stubborn pus. I'm keeping the needle about an inch from his skin and covering his eyes. And he's a star at staying still!
On thursday evening though, i found another abscess at the base of his ear. Vet said they tend to be related to ear infwctions here rather than tooth roots but couldn't be sure. It seems likely because when draoning it he squeezed it and it shot back and appeared in his ear. There is only sign of slight infection in the ear tho.
We're unlikely to treat this one surgically because of the complexity of the other one and the poor prognosis with both of them seperately let alone combined. We're treating the ear infection and watching what effect that has on the ear abscess refilling and if thats positive will consider surgery seriously.
Any brainwaves gratefully received x
So all in all not good. My poor boy. He's fine in himself though and havi g a good sunbathe right now.
RogerRabbit999
Mama Doe
Charlie is so, so lucky to have found you, and what a little fighter he is, to still be so content with all he has going on. I was in exactly the same situation about 3yrs ago, with abscesses in Roger's jaw and under his tongue. To be honest the prognosis didn't look good and my vet did warn me that we were likely to loose him, and it was the most awful day of my life, waiting to hear if he was still with us or not. But he survived, and it was a long hard slog if I'm honest. Initially Roger was being seen daily, every other day, because it was really that bad, and not sure how long you have been working on Charlie's abscesses, but it was 5 weeks before Roger suddenly turned the corner, and it was a really dramatic improvement. To be honest, I read it as the end, because I have previously experienced bunnies suddenly rallying round like this, only to then pass away within the next 24hrs, and so I was just with him the whole time, even sitting up with him and cuddling him all night, but he didn't pass, and started to go from strength to strength, it was like all of a sudden something happened inside Roger, and whatever resistance there was against the antibiotics was suddenly broken down, and they started to work how we hoped they would initially. So I guess, just don't give up, even though I can tell there is no danger of that whatsoever, but it can all still come right when things looked so bleak and I really hope this is what happens for you and Charlie. Roger had stayed very happy in himself and was still eating.
natandfluffs
Alpha Buck
Thank you both.
RogerRabbit we're about 10 weeks post tooth extraction now and the first surgery on the jaw abscess was 8 weeks ago. He's come along way since then- put weight back on and is obviously much more comfortable eating than he was (though he never stopped completely!) I guess I need to remind myself of that when all feels rubbish.
We haven't had that magic turn around moment yet though... I hope we do. I felt really optimistic earlier this week because all I was doing was soaking the scab off and giving a quick clean to the jaw abscess- all the pus came off on the back on the scab but underneath very little or no pus to remove. Then on Thursday evening I found the ear abscess and by Friday morning there was more pus to get out of the jaw too... I really hope this is a blip and that we're not on a downward spiral...
How was Roger after getting over those abscesses? Is he still with you?
RogerRabbit we're about 10 weeks post tooth extraction now and the first surgery on the jaw abscess was 8 weeks ago. He's come along way since then- put weight back on and is obviously much more comfortable eating than he was (though he never stopped completely!) I guess I need to remind myself of that when all feels rubbish.
We haven't had that magic turn around moment yet though... I hope we do. I felt really optimistic earlier this week because all I was doing was soaking the scab off and giving a quick clean to the jaw abscess- all the pus came off on the back on the scab but underneath very little or no pus to remove. Then on Thursday evening I found the ear abscess and by Friday morning there was more pus to get out of the jaw too... I really hope this is a blip and that we're not on a downward spiral...
How was Roger after getting over those abscesses? Is he still with you?
bunny babe
Wise Old Thumper
I have a friend who has been flushing her buns abcess with pineapple juice and it seems to have reduced it. This was on her vets advice. I had not heard of it before but thought I would mention it in case it is of any use to you or anyone else. Her vet is pretty bunny savvy so might be worth looking into.
