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EMERGENCY Bladder flush

KCG

KCG

Warren Veteran
Hello to everyone,
Cookie has had a urinary tract infection for 2 weeks. And he has been on antibiotics for 2 weeks.
He did a urine test again Tuesday and they said it looked very crystalline. But Cookie was never x-rayed, only had 2 urine tests.

The vet wants to bladder flush Cookie for tomorrow. The vet says he recommended this to Cookie. They said they'd give him an anesthetic. And they said they stayed him there until the evening. And they said that after the operation it will be checked with x-rays.

But I'm so confused. Does Cookie really need this action? How can they be sure to do this without even looking at it with X-rays?

I'm thinking of talking to the vet face to face first tomorrow. What do you think, what are your ideas and suggestions?

Also, is the operation too painful? Feel that pain because they're going to give him an anesthetic?? Will there be pain after the operation?
 
Hi KCG, no experience of bladder flushes here but I do know from urine tests on my bunnies they can determine crystal in urine from just a wee sample.
Lots of vibes for little Cookie
 
The Vet probably suspects that there is a build up of calcium deposits in the bladder causing ‘bladder sludge’. Bladder sludge can cause recurrent infections and cystitis. Xrays are needed to confirm the diagnosis and treatment might include inserting a catheter into the bladder via the urethra and flushing the sludge out. The sludge can be far too thick to pass out any other way and if not removed bladder stones can form. To obtain good X-ray images a GA is usually needed and the bladder would be flushed if appropriate during the GA. Medication is given after the procedure to address infection, pain and urethral spasms. Gut motility meds might be needed too.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/further-reading/urolithiasis/
 
I am surprised that he has not had an X-ray before deciding he needs the procedure but I don't have enough knowledge to say that he definitely should have.

My vets tend to do X-rays very often as they do them conscious whereas a lot of vets only do abdominal X-rays on sedated or anaesthetised rabbits. I am pretty sure my vets would have confirmed the need with an X-ray before carrying out the bladder flush. But, if your vet is one that only does abdominal X'-rays sedated/unconscious then maybe they just want to do it all at once instead of putting him through that twice.

I would think it comes more under the category of distressing/confusing rather than painful. As in bunny thinking, get off me, what the hell are you doing?... or, maybe, they need the muscles to relax to flush the bladder and that will happen with anaesthetic so the rabbit's instincts are not fighting against the procedure.

It will definitely be uncomfortable if he has a lot of sludge in his bladder but one of my rabbits has his bladder expressed every 6 weeks by the vet without any sort of sedation. Once the stuff that came out looked like clay so that must have been quite uncomfortable for him as it came out/sore for a while after.
 
Rodney has had a bladder flush before. They suspected, so sedated him as gently as possible then did the xray to confirm and flushed it straight away.

He needed gut meds and pain meds for a few days after but it made an absolute immediate difference in his presentation at the time. He'd obviously been very uncomfortable.

We haven't had to repeat the procedure since switching him to lower calcium veg and wetting everything down.

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
 
No experience with flush, yet had bunnies who had surgical removal of stones and they did well. I did have a disabled bunny who needed his bladder expressed sometimes and he passed some thick sludge a couple times.
Some vets sedate for x rays, so would make sense to flush at same time.
Sending you and Cookie lots of positive vibes for a fast recovery.
 
joey&boo said:
Hi KCG, no experience of bladder flushes here but I do know from urine tests on my bunnies they can determine crystal in urine from just a wee sample.
Lots of vibes for little Cookie
Click to expand...

Thank you so much xxx

InspectorMorse said:
The Vet probably suspects that there is a build up of calcium deposits in the bladder causing ‘bladder sludge’. Bladder sludge can cause recurrent infections and cystitis. Xrays are needed to confirm the diagnosis and treatment might include inserting a catheter into the bladder via the urethra and flushing the sludge out. The sludge can be far too thick to pass out any other way and if not removed bladder stones can form. To obtain good X-ray images a GA is usually needed and the bladder would be flushed if appropriate during the GA. Medication is given after the procedure to address infection, pain and urethral spasms. Gut motility meds might be needed too.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/further-reading/urolithiasis/
Click to expand...

Thank you Jane, all this information and link is very helpful, I read all of them. Thank you very much for your help xxx
 
Bunny Buddy said:
I am surprised that he has not had an X-ray before deciding he needs the procedure but I don't have enough knowledge to say that he definitely should have.

My vets tend to do X-rays very often as they do them conscious whereas a lot of vets only do abdominal X-rays on sedated or anaesthetised rabbits. I am pretty sure my vets would have confirmed the need with an X-ray before carrying out the bladder flush. But, if your vet is one that only does abdominal X'-rays sedated/unconscious then maybe they just want to do it all at once instead of putting him through that twice.

I would think it comes more under the category of distressing/confusing rather than painful. As in bunny thinking, get off me, what the hell are you doing?... or, maybe, they need the muscles to relax to flush the bladder and that will happen with anaesthetic so the rabbit's instincts are not fighting against the procedure.

It will definitely be uncomfortable if he has a lot of sludge in his bladder but one of my rabbits has his bladder expressed every 6 weeks by the vet without any sort of sedation. Once the stuff that came out looked like clay so that must have been quite uncomfortable for him as it came out/sore for a while after.
Click to expand...

X-rays, that's the only thing that makes me think. How are they so sure, I'll ask about the x-ray again tomorrow.
The vet said it was too much crystals and I think she's right, even his pee is muddy.
Thank you very much for all the information you have told and given, it has helped me a lot. Xxx
 
CarelessSquid07 said:
Rodney has had a bladder flush before. They suspected, so sedated him as gently as possible then did the xray to confirm and flushed it straight away.

He needed gut meds and pain meds for a few days after but it made an absolute immediate difference in his presentation at the time. He'd obviously been very uncomfortable.

We haven't had to repeat the procedure since switching him to lower calcium veg and wetting everything down.

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Good to hear from someone with experience. The X-ray thing is the most important thing I'm thinking about right now, I'll talk about it in person tomorrow And thanks to Grace, we have now started a diet change. I think he's going through this because of mistakes in his diet. My first priority is diet change and him getting rid of this problem completely.
Thanks for informations and helping xxx

bunny momma said:
No experience with flush, yet had bunnies who had surgical removal of stones and they did well. I did have a disabled bunny who needed his bladder expressed sometimes and he passed some thick sludge a couple times.
Some vets sedate for x rays, so would make sense to flush at same time.
Sending you and Cookie lots of positive vibes for a fast recovery.
Click to expand...

Thank you dear really xxx
 
Poor Cookie, I hope everything goes well, and he feels more comfortable soon. Sending him lots of vibes xx
 
Thinking of you and little Cookie today, try not to worry, I'm sure he'll be in very safe hands at the vets. Lots of vibes for Cookie and hugs for you xxxx
 
Thank you all so muchhh :) Your messages and support made me very happy :love:

We went to the vet today morning and spoke to the vet. And I said I wanted an X-ray before this procedure and I wanted them to be completely sure about it. The vet agreed and Cookie stayed there. 2 hours later the vet called me and when they X-rayed them, Cookie didn't need it. They didn't give me new medicine and just said I need to change his diet. Summary Cookie is fine, and with the help of Grace for a while, I started to change his diet. He is at home now and happy, no procedure today. :)
Thank you all so much again :love:
 
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