Low blood glucose/insulinoma

[binkybunnyox]

Hey guys

Feel like the only times I come on here is when I am needing help

The vet now thinks our little Ari has an insulinoma ? Has anyone heard of this ? I think it's pretty rare.

She's not been right for a while, I mentioned to the vet that does her acupuncture that I thought her hip was sore a couple of weeks ago, & since then things have gradually got worse, we called the emergency vet 2 weeks ago on Sunday night as she couldn't hold herself upright and kept leaning to the side & falling over, they advised us what to do and keep a close eye on her until the morning, Monday morning came and she was running round the living room as if nothing was wrong ! I took her to the vets anyway who prescribed panacur (incase it was ec) & to continue her loxicom as usual (which she's on long term for spondolysis). This Wednesday i took her back to the vets as she was doing a few hops then using the doorframe, wall, trebor etc to hold herself up. Whilst in the vets she had a seizure & was rushed down the back onto oxygen etc & they took blood to send to the lab, they checked her blood glucose at the time which was 1.1 and gave her jam when she came round. Her blood glucose has came slowly up & is now 5.4 today. We gave her jam last night as she seemed particularly wobbly. Any ideas of anything else this could be ? I have read that septicaemia can cause low blood glucose in rabbits ?

Our specialist has been on holiday but we have an appointment on Wednesday.

I feel like I just get one back to normal then another one gets unwell I just don't know what to do, my heads all over the place.

My OH has also said we are not getting any more bunnies as they are just constantly ill ! I don't know what i will do without these little creatures in my life !

As usual sorry for the long post :lol:

 

[daphnephoebe]

I'm sorry I can't offer any advice - all I know about it applies to dog, cats, ferrets and hamsters.
Just sending lots of vibes for her.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

 

[Jack's-Jane]

Hey guys

Feel like the only times I come on here is when I am needing help

The vet now thinks our little Ari has an insulinoma ? Has anyone heard of this ? I think it's pretty rare.

She's not been right for a while, I mentioned to the vet that does her acupuncture that I thought her hip was sore a couple of weeks ago, & since then things have gradually got worse, we called the emergency vet 2 weeks ago on Sunday night as she couldn't hold herself upright and kept leaning to the side & falling over, they advised us what to do and keep a close eye on her until the morning, Monday morning came and she was running round the living room as if nothing was wrong ! I took her to the vets anyway who prescribed panacur (incase it was ec) & to continue her loxicom as usual (which she's on long term for spondolysis). This Wednesday i took her back to the vets as she was doing a few hops then using the doorframe, wall, trebor etc to hold herself up. Whilst in the vets she had a seizure & was rushed down the back onto oxygen etc & they took blood to send to the lab, they checked her blood glucose at the time which was 1.1 and gave her jam when she came round. Her blood glucose has came slowly up & is now 5.4 today. We gave her jam last night as she seemed particularly wobbly. Any ideas of anything else this could be ? I have read that septicaemia can cause low blood glucose in rabbits ?

Our specialist has been on holiday but we have an appointment on Wednesday.

I feel like I just get one back to normal then another one gets unwell I just don't know what to do, my heads all over the place.

My OH has also said we are not getting any more bunnies as they are just constantly ill ! I don't know what i will do without these little creatures in my life !

As usual sorry for the long post :lol:

Has Ari had a full blood profile run, not just a Blood Glucose ?

In Rabbits Hypoglycaemia can be caused by other more common (in Rabbits) conditions than an Insulinoma- eg Liver disease, sepsis.

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id...AEIfjAR#v=onepage&q=insulinoma rabbit&f=false

Is Ari on Metacam and if so is it a high dose ?

 

[MightyMax]

Hey guys

Feel like the only times I come on here is when I am needing help

The vet now thinks our little Ari has an insulinoma ? Has anyone heard of this ? I think it's pretty rare.

She's not been right for a while, I mentioned to the vet that does her acupuncture that I thought her hip was sore a couple of weeks ago, & since then things have gradually got worse, we called the emergency vet 2 weeks ago on Sunday night as she couldn't hold herself upright and kept leaning to the side & falling over, they advised us what to do and keep a close eye on her until the morning, Monday morning came and she was running round the living room as if nothing was wrong ! I took her to the vets anyway who prescribed panacur (incase it was ec) & to continue her loxicom as usual (which she's on long term for spondolysis). This Wednesday i took her back to the vets as she was doing a few hops then using the doorframe, wall, trebor etc to hold herself up. Whilst in the vets she had a seizure & was rushed down the back onto oxygen etc & they took blood to send to the lab, they checked her blood glucose at the time which was 1.1 and gave her jam when she came round. Her blood glucose has came slowly up & is now 5.4 today. We gave her jam last night as she seemed particularly wobbly. Any ideas of anything else this could be ? I have read that septicaemia can cause low blood glucose in rabbits ?

Our specialist has been on holiday but we have an appointment on Wednesday.

I feel like I just get one back to normal then another one gets unwell I just don't know what to do, my heads all over the place.

My OH has also said we are not getting any more bunnies as they are just constantly ill ! I don't know what i will do without these little creatures in my life !

As usual sorry for the long post :lol:

I have not had any personal experience of this, but others have and I have found this from Maria Kubiak - a well respected vet:


Firstly it needs confirmation - there are many causes of a low blood glucose and insulinoma is only one. It can be difficult to confirm as most of the time the growth is too tiny to see with the naked eye but still capable of producing lots of insulin. If there is a nodule visible on ultrasound then it makes diagnosis much easier. I rely on repeat measurements of a low blood glucose, ultrasound findings, blood insulin levels and even exploratory surgery when investigating ferrets.

There are various treatment options with surgical removal of the affected pancreatic lobe and medication to reduce insulin production the most commonly used.



I hope your vet will be able to do full diagnostics to confirm this. I have checked with my rabbit specialist and she agrees with the above.

Good luck xx

 

[binkybunnyox]

We are waiting on a full blood profile from the lab as they can't run rabbit bloods in house, will be going in later today to see if anything back yet. She did have sepsis at the start of last year ? But was treated with abx. I am hoping that when we get to see our rabbit specialist on Wednesday that he'll tell me something other than an insulinoma. How dare he be off on holiday :lol: she was booked in to have her dental but the current vet did not want to put her anaesthetic due to the issues she's been having, although I am assuming she will need an anaesthetic/sedation for an ultrasound ?

Mr T also stopped eating yesterday, due to the stress of going in and out to the vets all the time with Ari. Thankfully after some metoclopramide he's back to his usual greedy self considering his heart failure do you think we could leave him at home ? Or would this harm there bond ?

 

[Jack's-Jane]

We are waiting on a full blood profile from the lab as they can't run rabbit bloods in house, will be going in later today to see if anything back yet. She did have sepsis at the start of last year ? But was treated with abx. I am hoping that when we get to see our rabbit specialist on Wednesday that he'll tell me something other than an insulinoma. How dare he be off on holiday :lol: she was booked in to have her dental but the current vet did not want to put her anaesthetic due to the issues she's been having, although I am assuming she will need an anaesthetic/sedation for an ultrasound ?

Mr T also stopped eating yesterday, due to the stress of going in and out to the vets all the time with Ari. Thankfully after some metoclopramide he's back to his usual greedy self considering his heart failure do you think we could leave him at home ? Or would this harm there bond ?

I tend to not take Rabbits with heart disease on car journeys unless absolutely necessary, as the stress can have a significant impact on their condition. That said, you and your Vet are the one's best placed to decide what to do regarding Mr T. I have never had a bond break down as a result of having to separate 2 Rabbits for a day, but that is not to say that it cannot happen. IME it is best to go with what you feel to be right for the specific Rabbits

Re the U/S- it can be done without sedation as long as the Rabbit is not a real wriggler or excessively stressed by being handled. Ari may need to have some of her fur shaved off. I hope that further diagnostics will shed some light on what is going on xx

 

[MightyMax]

We are waiting on a full blood profile from the lab as they can't run rabbit bloods in house, will be going in later today to see if anything back yet. She did have sepsis at the start of last year ? But was treated with abx. I am hoping that when we get to see our rabbit specialist on Wednesday that he'll tell me something other than an insulinoma. How dare he be off on holiday :lol: she was booked in to have her dental but the current vet did not want to put her anaesthetic due to the issues she's been having, although I am assuming she will need an anaesthetic/sedation for an ultrasound ?

Mr T also stopped eating yesterday, due to the stress of going in and out to the vets all the time with Ari. Thankfully after some metoclopramide he's back to his usual greedy self considering his heart failure do you think we could leave him at home ? Or would this harm there bond ?

It's a difficult call with bonded rabbits, where one is ill. What I have done is leave a poorly bun at home and just take the one needing to see the vet. This I have always found pretty stressful for the one going to the vet on their own, but in certain cases I just couldn't justify taking an ill one along for company.

Did you get the blood results back yet?

 

[binkybunnyox]

Thanks. Possibly 3 days in a row in the vets was not the best idea either

JacksJane shes pretty wriggly :lol: I hope we get to the bottom of it soon.

I've came home from work today to find uneaten caecotrophs, bunny poop up my bathroom door & a very depressed, soggy Ari she's quite snorty sounding & very wet (the drooling I'm assuming is most likely her teeth, she's a dental bun).

We got blood results back today but the vet has not had a chance to look at everything yet as they've been busy today. Although the nurse did email me a copy she's got quite a few things marked as high/low by the lab.

 

[Jack's-Jane]

Thanks. Possibly 3 days in a row in the vets was not the best idea either

JacksJane shes pretty wriggly :lol: I hope we get to the bottom of it soon.

I've came home from work today to find uneaten caecotrophs, bunny poop up my bathroom door & a very depressed, soggy Ari she's quite snorty sounding & very wet (the drooling I'm assuming is most likely her teeth, she's a dental bun).

We got blood results back today but the vet has not had a chance to look at everything yet as they've been busy today. Although the nurse did email me a copy she's got quite a few things marked as high/low by the lab.

I hope the Vet gets back to you soon about the results. Is Ari able to eat OK at the moment ?

 

[MightyMax]

Thanks. Possibly 3 days in a row in the vets was not the best idea either

JacksJane shes pretty wriggly :lol: I hope we get to the bottom of it soon.

I've came home from work today to find uneaten caecotrophs, bunny poop up my bathroom door & a very depressed, soggy Ari she's quite snorty sounding & very wet (the drooling I'm assuming is most likely her teeth, she's a dental bun).

We got blood results back today but the vet has not had a chance to look at everything yet as they've been busy today. Although the nurse did email me a copy she's got quite a few things marked as high/low by the lab.

I really hope you get the test results back soon.

Will they ring you later this evening perhaps?

 

[binkybunnyox]

She's managing to eat her pellets and greens etc ok atm. She has never ever ate hay in the time that we've had her. I've tried different types, hiding treats/in it, readigrass etc.

They close at 7pm so I'm starting to doubt they'll get back to me tonight...

 

[Jack's-Jane]

She's managing to eat her pellets and greens etc ok atm. She has never ever ate hay in the time that we've had her. I've tried different types, hiding treats/in it, readigrass etc.

They close at 7pm so I'm starting to doubt they'll get back to me tonight...

I'd give them a quick call now and say that you would really like the results explained to you tonight as you are obviously worried (understandably) x

 

[MightyMax]

She's managing to eat her pellets and greens etc ok atm. She has never ever ate hay in the time that we've had her. I've tried different types, hiding treats/in it, readigrass etc.

They close at 7pm so I'm starting to doubt they'll get back to me tonight...

My vet does calls out of hours when she knows I need to hear from her

I hope you get some results soon x

 

[binkybunnyox]

She went to see our specialist today. She is needing her teeth done as they are quite bad but due to her low blood glucose he said an anaesthetic was too dangerous for her. So she's home napping on her blanket

He said her renal values are normal. She has lost a lot of weight and muscle. & he recommended biopsies of her pancreas or a ct scan so she will need an anaesthetic but we are working on stabilising her before doing this.

They gave her glucose injection today while she was in & recommended high glucose diet for her atm. He is suspicious of insulinoma but said diseases of the liver can also cause low blood glucose in rabbits & that its pretty serious as rabbits more commonly have high blood glucose.

When I brought her out her box after getting home I noticed that she had a lump? on her abdomen, it's pretty big, it feels like her stomach is distended/fluidly? i didn't notice this before I went to the vets & I assume the vet didn't notice it when we were there as I'm assuming he would've pointed it out. They're shut now & im pretty concerned about it, I assume it's not a good sign

My poor little munchkin
everything I touch atm seems to fall apart

 

[Jack's-Jane]

She went to see our specialist today. She is needing her teeth done as they are quite bad but due to her low blood glucose he said an anaesthetic was too dangerous for her. So she's home napping on her blanket

He said her renal values are normal. She has lost a lot of weight and muscle. & he recommended biopsies of her pancreas or a ct scan so she will need an anaesthetic but we are working on stabilising her before doing this.

They gave her glucose injection today while she was in & recommended high glucose diet for her atm. He is suspicious of insulinoma but said diseases of the liver can also cause low blood glucose in rabbits & that its pretty serious as rabbits more commonly have high blood glucose.

When I brought her out her box after getting home I noticed that she had a lump? on her abdomen, it's pretty big, it feels like her stomach is distended/fluidly? i didn't notice this before I went to the vets & I assume the vet didn't notice it when we were there as I'm assuming he would've pointed it out. They're shut now & im pretty concerned about it, I assume it's not a good sign

My poor little munchkin
everything I touch atm seems to fall apart

Poor girlie How has she been overnight ?

 

[MightyMax]

She went to see our specialist today. She is needing her teeth done as they are quite bad but due to her low blood glucose he said an anaesthetic was too dangerous for her. So she's home napping on her blanket

He said her renal values are normal. She has lost a lot of weight and muscle. & he recommended biopsies of her pancreas or a ct scan so she will need an anaesthetic but we are working on stabilising her before doing this.

They gave her glucose injection today while she was in & recommended high glucose diet for her atm. He is suspicious of insulinoma but said diseases of the liver can also cause low blood glucose in rabbits & that its pretty serious as rabbits more commonly have high blood glucose.

When I brought her out her box after getting home I noticed that she had a lump? on her abdomen, it's pretty big, it feels like her stomach is distended/fluidly? i didn't notice this before I went to the vets & I assume the vet didn't notice it when we were there as I'm assuming he would've pointed it out. They're shut now & im pretty concerned about it, I assume it's not a good sign

My poor little munchkin
everything I touch atm seems to fall apart

No, everything you touch does *not* fall apart. You have a difficult set of circumstances at the moment.

Will you ring the vet today? How is she doing now?

Sending hugs x

 

[binkybunnyox]

She's been fine overnight. I have to admit I'm terrified getting up in the morning incase she's passed away during the night. She's her usual self, constantly begging for her food etc. When we notice her getting a bit off or wobbly we give her jam which helps.

I called the vet today but unfortunately he was a half day and had already left by the time I phoned so the receptionist told me to ring back tomorrow.

She's booked in for next Friday to have the biopsies done so fingers crossed for that she hasn't had much luck since we adopted her. She had dental issues when we got her, then she started losing weight, bloods indicated sepsis, had to have her roots removed from teeth, then her sister died now this I've only had her just over a year!

Feel as if my life has just fell apart on all levels since we lost pepper, my soul bunny.

 

[MightyMax]

She's been fine overnight. I have to admit I'm terrified getting up in the morning incase she's passed away during the night. She's her usual self, constantly begging for her food etc. When we notice her getting a bit off or wobbly we give her jam which helps.

I called the vet today but unfortunately he was a half day and had already left by the time I phoned so the receptionist told me to ring back tomorrow.

She's booked in for next Friday to have the biopsies done so fingers crossed for that she hasn't had much luck since we adopted her. She had dental issues when we got her, then she started losing weight, bloods indicated sepsis, had to have her roots removed from teeth, then her sister died now this I've only had her just over a year!

Feel as if my life has just fell apart on all levels since we lost pepper, my soul bunny.

Thank goodness she landed up with you. Heaven knows how she might have suffered otherwise ...

 

[Jack's-Jane]

She's been fine overnight. I have to admit I'm terrified getting up in the morning incase she's passed away during the night. She's her usual self, constantly begging for her food etc. When we notice her getting a bit off or wobbly we give her jam which helps.

I called the vet today but unfortunately he was a half day and had already left by the time I phoned so the receptionist told me to ring back tomorrow.

She's booked in for next Friday to have the biopsies done so fingers crossed for that she hasn't had much luck since we adopted her. She had dental issues when we got her, then she started losing weight, bloods indicated sepsis, had to have her roots removed from teeth, then her sister died now this I've only had her just over a year!

Feel as if my life has just fell apart on all levels since we lost pepper, my soul bunny.

You have certainly had a very turbulent time with your Rabbits I hope that Ari remains bright within herself and that her illness is not as serious as you fear xx

 

[binkybunnyox]

Thank goodness she landed up with you. Heaven knows how she might have suffered otherwise ...

I don't think she would have suffered...the rescue were called by a vet nurse who had handed them over after a client left them with her to be euthanased, & as the vets couldn't see anything obviously wrong with them they called the rescue.

She seems to be doing very well just now JacksJane. She gets more fruit now so she's happy with that :lol:

we got more lab results back today, glucose levels 0.0