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Penicillin injections and eye removal adivice

H

hoppetylop

Mama Doe
Hello. I don't know if anyone remembers me,I used to post a lot on here but not for a long time.:wave:

Anyhoo, I have a bunny who has a serious eye infection. Lily has a very swollen eye lid with pus discharge-very nasty, She is behaving normally though and eating.pooing etc as normal. She's a rescue but I reckon she's about 8. She's on Metacam,Isathal eye cream and Trimethoprim while we wait for penicillin which is on order. It looks like the eye will have to be removed though. The infection came on really quickly and it's all a mess.

I've had a guinea pig with a similar issue who had eye removal and was fine but apparently the op for bunnies is more complicated. If anyone has had experience of this in bunnies ANY advice is most welcome

I currently have post shingles pain and although I've done penicillin injections for a bunny before (years ago) I'm feeling quite stressed about the daily injections while I'm feeling so ****. I'm thinking of asking if a vet nurse could do this for me if I take her in every day (vet is just around the corner).

Lily is an older bun but has really good life quality with a sister who is virtually joined to her hip and a fantastic little nurse/comforter/eye washer and 2 boy buns who adore her. They are all of course neutered!

She is such a sweetheart and very used to handling-strong and stoic. She could probably cope if we can get her through the op. I'm so worried though.

Thanks for reading. I would be so grateful for any advice...TIA
 
Sending you lots of vibes. I've had 2 rabbits on penicillin injections and one had an eye removal this year. With one on penicillin we took her to the vets for it as like you was only 5 mins away and the vets didn't order her her own bottle to have at home just the one for in practice so had to take her in. Sadly my rabbit died just over a week after her eye removal, however this was due to a vets mistake after the op not the actual surgery itself. Had the vet not done what she did I very much believe Jasmine would be here today. She actually did very well immediately after surgery, her wound did look a bit gruesome initially because she was white as well but she coped really well after the surgery eye/op site wise. If your vet is rabbit savvy, which it sounds like, they'll know to avoid the mistake Jasmine's vet made which was giving her an unsafe antibiotic in rabbits (antirobe/clindamycin) but for peace of mind I'd check beforehand.
 
Hello, I remember you well

I had a Rabbit who had to have an eye removed due to an issue related to EC. Maybe you remember Mr Bean ?

Anyway, he coped brilliantly with the op’ and made a great recovery. He was so much happier once the painful and unsighted eye had gone. He also had Depocillin injections which he tolerated really well with no adverse side effects at all.

One thing I will say is DO NOT under any circumstances consent to the Vet putting an ANTIROBE BEAD into the eye socket as a topical antibiotic once the eye has been removed. Antirobe contains the abx CLINDAMYCIN which is FATAL to Rabbits should any enter the GI tract. It is very likely that anything put into the eye socket will find its way to the GI tract.

Personally I would raise this matter specifically before signing your Rabbit over to their care. I hope all goes well.

I empathise with you re the post shingles neuropathic pain . I have just woken up with my 5th flare up of Shingles :roll:

EDIT, Sorry, just realised Liz already highlighted the dangers of Clindamycin
 
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Hello, I remember you :wave: I don’t have any experience of this so I can’t advise but I’m sending lots of vibes xx
 
Hi, yes j remember you too :wave: ive no experience of this, but sending lots of vibes for Lily, she sounds a lovely bunny :love:
 
Thank you everyone! What kind replies:love:
I will certainly talk to the vet about Antirobe

Thank you for your input. I feel less anxious about it now. I realise it's a serious op and I'm weighing it up carefully. My main concern-apart from the speed this developed-is her age. I'm only guessing she's 8 and it's possible she's older but her "bunny support" is amazing and I will be there for her of course!

Thanks again
 
Thank you Jane.
I'm sorry to hear you've had so many shingles flare-ups. Horrible pain.

I do remember Mr Bean. I'm so glad he coped so well with everything. That's good to know!
 
I think she will be ok, I’ve never had a bunny who needed her eye(S) removed, but do have a bunny with many many eye issues. I had to inject penicillin last year, and I have ongoing MH issues although this is obviously not what you have. I can understand why you’d want to take her to the nurse. Xx
 
Aboleth came to me with only one eye, it was removed at the rescue I got her from. She coped much better without the eye than with! You wouldn't have known :)
 
Thank you everyone for your kind replies. I've started her on her penicillin and she is so good with her injections. I'm taking her back to the vets though on Monday or tomorrow if necessary as she is very quiet-although she's eating ok and pooing etc I don't think she's feeling great. Please keep your fingers crossed for her.
 
hoppetylop said:
Thank you everyone for your kind replies. I've started her on her penicillin and she is so good with her injections. I'm taking her back to the vets though on Monday or tomorrow if necessary as she is very quiet-although she's eating ok and pooing etc I don't think she's feeling great. Please keep your fingers crossed for her.
Click to expand...

If she has become very quiet after starting the Penicillin injections keep a close eye on her poo for any signs of unformed fecal poo/ diarrhoea. If that happens don’t give any more injections until you have spoken with your Vet.

If her quiet demeanour started before the penicillin treatment then it could be that her analgesic cover needs adjusting
 
InspectorMorse said:
If she has become very quiet after starting the Penicillin injections keep a close eye on her poo for any signs of unformed fecal poo/ diarrhoea. If that happens don’t give any more injections until you have spoken with your Vet.

If her quiet demeanour started before the penicillin treatment then it could be that her analgesic cover needs adjusting
Click to expand...

Thank you Jane. She is a lot better today and I'm feeling much more positive. I wonder if the penicillin was a bit of a shock to the system. Her poos are ok and she's eating and drinking normally. Her eye still looks awful and if we can control the infection and I feel she can cope,it will have to come out. I'm watching her like a hawk and her sister is taking great care of her so between us we will make sure she has as much support as possible!
 
hoppetylop said:
Thank you Jane. She is a lot better today and I'm feeling much more positive. I wonder if the penicillin was a bit of a shock to the system. Her poos are ok and she's eating and drinking normally. Her eye still looks awful and if we can control the infection and I feel she can cope,it will have to come out. I'm watching her like a hawk and her sister is taking great care of her so between us we will make sure she has as much support as possible!
Click to expand...

I really hope that the Penicillin injections bring about some improvement for her
 
I'm not convinced we are controlling Lily's pain enough. I'm thinking of taking her back to the vet tomorrow to talk about Tramadol or Gabapentin both of which I've used before on a bunny with bad pain. She weighs 3kg and is on 3mls dog Metacam twice a day so quite a hefty dose.
Part of me is thinking that if she needs so much pain relief am I being fair to carry on? The intention was not to totally rid her of the infection with penicillin because that was unlikely and the eye would still need to come out to prevent further problems with it but to get the infection level low enough to make the eye removal safer. It's feeling like a race against time-infection v length of time she's in pain- and she's an older girl which I'm taking into consideration.
She's coping so well with all the handling and medicating and is so good for her injections though and sometimes it's necessary to have penicillin for weeks before it works. It's so difficult to know what to do for the best. I wish I could explain to her what we are trying to do to help her.
 
Actually, seeing what I've typed has helped me think more clearly. I think I will see if we can control her pain better and if we can't quickly, it's not fair on her and I will let her go peacefully.:cry: Even if there is a chance we can help her in time, I don't want to see her struggle when the outcome could go either way. One thing I learnt long ago with treating illness in animals- just because you can, doesn't always mean you should
 
Lily sadly died last night. She was hospitalized anyway and they rang at 2am to say she had been fitting and they advised PTS. I rushed to be there for her but she passed while I was on my way. I brought Ivy, her sister who had been with her as company and support, home with me and reunited her with the other 2 in that bond. Lily and Ivy were so very close-always together and Ivy is missing her so much as am I.I'm absolutely devistated.:cry::cry::cry:
I love you my beautiful Lily-Lou. Pain free and at peace.xxxxx
 
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