Fiver U/D post #65-still doing great! :)

[jerseygirl]

FWIW, I think the dose you were giving him should be fine. If i've worked this out right, he's getting a little over 0.5mg/12hrs. That falls within current dosage ranges often cited for rabbits now.

I found this thread from when I was trying to sort Gooseman's dose and have referred to it many times since.
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?437237-Metacam-doseage&highlight=varga+metacam

Quoting Santa from that thread:

The best, most up to date source of info you will find is probably molly Varga's textbook of rabbit medicine (it is an update on the original Frances harcourt-brown book of the same name). You might be able to find the relevant page on an online preview, it basically says that studies have shown that a dose of 0.5mg/kg has been shown to be necessary to provide decent post-op pain relief, with a normal dose range of 0.3-0.6mg/kg up to twice a day.

HTH

 

[Barn Yard Bunnies]

Glad he is home now. I do give Mr B a high dose when he has needed metacam. I can't remember how much now, as its been over a year or so. Vibes Fiver is back to normal soon. Xxx

 

[Omi]

Sending more vibes for Fiver and hoping that he continues to recover well at home.

 

[Pets mum]

So pleased that Fiver is home, hope he is a good patient, and makes a speedy recovery. Vibes for your brave little man xxxxx

 

[MimzMum]

Thanks everyone!
Thanks for that link, Jerz, I'll go peruse that. It's subjective I think to each bunny. I believe with all my heart that Mimzy could use significantly more pain relief now for his spondylosis, but my vet disagrees. His previous doctor was about to give him gabapentin to help with his nerve pain but she retired before we could work it out. I have bumped him up to 0.55 mls twice a day now, but it doesn't seem to be doing him as much good as it was, so we need something to help cover his remaining breakthrough discomfort.

Fiver definitely seems to do better with the higher dose and twice a day is much better for him than just once at the lower. He is flopped out in his cuddly cup currently and snoozing happily, but two hours ago when his dose was due he was sitting up and a bit hunched. He's really had major surgery so I need to keep him as comfy as possible.

I have yet to clean him out today, so I'll see what his output was like last night. His bedding appears dry and no signs of stains. This makes me happy.
He is very much happier with my company again as well, which I thought we wouldn't get back with all the trauma he went through. He seeks me out and if I am gone from the room for awhile he appears a bit anxious when I return, and comes straight to his door. It warms my heart that he sees me as a comfort and not as the cause of his pain over the last week. He's always been a bit of a human oriented bunny though, and only showed a bit of interest at being Mimzy's companion...they would probably have done well except for Mimzy's more aggressive stance since his head tilt.

I still find myself wondering about Fiver's gender though. It's one of the questions I want to ask his vet...now that he's been up close and personal with Fiver's 'insides'...perhaps it will clear up the mystery now. How odd to think of him as actually a little girl bunny, but I think I'll still be calling him "he" anyway. :lol:

 

[newbabybuns]

Just catching up again MimzMum, I am pleased he is doing well and is happy to see you again I am going to have Lola back at the vets tomorrow, she has been doing really well (I really must update her thread!) but I do think bladder/kidneys something like that is just not right. She is eating happily, but is quiet, and tonight I just cleaned her out and she immediately went and produced nice piles of poops, but with a totally clear wee with each of the piles. She normally does a wee with colour, and not with every pile of poops in random places, they'd normally be in the corners of her tray. I have not been well myself this week, so I am hoping I am ok to take her tomorrow. I feel shaky and nervous at the thought of the vets now, which is not helping!

 

[bunny momma]

Thanks everyone!
Thanks for that link, Jerz, I'll go peruse that. It's subjective I think to each bunny. I believe with all my heart that Mimzy could use significantly more pain relief now for his spondylosis, but my vet disagrees. His previous doctor was about to give him gabapentin to help with his nerve pain but she retired before we could work it out. I have bumped him up to 0.55 mls twice a day now, but it doesn't seem to be doing him as much good as it was, so we need something to help cover his remaining breakthrough discomfort.

Fiver definitely seems to do better with the higher dose and twice a day is much better for him than just once at the lower. He is flopped out in his cuddly cup currently and snoozing happily, but two hours ago when his dose was due he was sitting up and a bit hunched. He's really had major surgery so I need to keep him as comfy as possible.

I have yet to clean him out today, so I'll see what his output was like last night. His bedding appears dry and no signs of stains. This makes me happy.
He is very much happier with my company again as well, which I thought we wouldn't get back with all the trauma he went through. He seeks me out and if I am gone from the room for awhile he appears a bit anxious when I return, and comes straight to his door. It warms my heart that he sees me as a comfort and not as the cause of his pain over the last week. He's always been a bit of a human oriented bunny though, and only showed a bit of interest at being Mimzy's companion...they would probably have done well except for Mimzy's more aggressive stance since his head tilt.

I still find myself wondering about Fiver's gender though. It's one of the questions I want to ask his vet...now that he's been up close and personal with Fiver's 'insides'...perhaps it will clear up the mystery now. How odd to think of him as actually a little girl bunny, but I think I'll still be calling him "he" anyway. :lol:

I am glad Fiver is doing better. Given that Fiver just had major surgery I would expect the vet to give him a slightly higher dosage of pain relief for a few days before lowering the dosage to the lower level of the range. A couple years ago they started to change Medicam from twice a day to once a day and I had the same experience you had with Fiver where the bunny would have discomfort before the next dosage. I had my vet recalculate it as a twice a day dosage.
My vet told me that long term Medicam dosage may cause organ damage in bunnies and that is why he did not want a bunny on it long term at the higher level of the dosage range.
From what I understand, Medicam also becomes less effective if used for a long period of time.

 

[MimzMum]

Just catching up again MimzMum, I am pleased he is doing well and is happy to see you again I am going to have Lola back at the vets tomorrow, she has been doing really well (I really must update her thread!) but I do think bladder/kidneys something like that is just not right. She is eating happily, but is quiet, and tonight I just cleaned her out and she immediately went and produced nice piles of poops, but with a totally clear wee with each of the piles. She normally does a wee with colour, and not with every pile of poops in random places, they'd normally be in the corners of her tray. I have not been well myself this week, so I am hoping I am ok to take her tomorrow. I feel shaky and nervous at the thought of the vets now, which is not helping!

Aww...Thanks, nbb! I hope you'll feel better soon. I will be thinking of you and Lola ((((((Huge hugs))))))) Fingers crossed that all will go well at the vets and hopefully the solution will finally be found. xxxx

 

[MimzMum]

I am glad Fiver is doing better. Given that Fiver just had major surgery I would expect the vet to give him a slightly higher dosage of pain relief for a few days before lowering the dosage to the lower level of the range. A couple years ago they started to change Medicam from twice a day to once a day and I had the same experience you had with Fiver where the bunny would have discomfort before the next dosage. I had my vet recalculate it as a twice a day dosage.
My vet told me that long term Medicam dosage may cause organ damage in bunnies and that is why he did not want a bunny on it long term at the higher level of the dosage range.
From what I understand, Medicam also becomes less effective if used for a long period of time.

Thank you bunny momma

Yes, I've always been worried, particularly with Mimzy, who's had daily metacam since he was three years old, that there might be ongoing organ damage. Mimzy is a head tilt bunny who may also have EC, so it's kind of a necessary evil for him. Fiver has only been using daily metacam for the last year or so. He began having trouble moving and his rear joints would freeze up on him, making it difficult to enter and leave the litter tray and then he began stumbling out and panicking, causing him to have almost seizure like movements around this time last year. He is much happier with the pain relief so we just watch him for any signs that it may be either not working or causing more issues.

 

[bunny momma]

Thank you bunny momma

Yes, I've always been worried, particularly with Mimzy, who's had daily metacam since he was three years old, that there might be ongoing organ damage. Mimzy is a head tilt bunny who may also have EC, so it's kind of a necessary evil for him. Fiver has only been using daily metacam for the last year or so. He began having trouble moving and his rear joints would freeze up on him, making it difficult to enter and leave the litter tray and then he began stumbling out and panicking, causing him to have almost seizure like movements around this time last year. He is much happier with the pain relief so we just watch him for any signs that it may be either not working or causing more issues.

You always have to weigh the benefits against the risk and to give the lowest dosage that control the pain and keeps the bunny happy and eating. There was a time I used so much Medicam with my older bunnies that I purchased it in the largest bottle available.

 

[newbabybuns]

Aww...Thanks, nbb! I hope you'll feel better soon. I will be thinking of you and Lola ((((((Huge hugs))))))) Fingers crossed that all will go well at the vets and hopefully the solution will finally be found. xxxx

Thank you I am feeling quite a bit better now, I probably should have gone to the Dr's really, but always come out feeling like they think I am faking so didn't bother! Lola is on a 10 day course of Sulfatrim, to see if that clears anything up UTI wise, if not the vet said the next step will be investigating kidneys with blood tests etc. She had lost a bit more weight (60g) since we were at the emergency vet but I wonder if that could be due to different weighing scale types.

I hope Fiver is doing ok today??