Please Note - Medical Advice
Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.
You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.
We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.
Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.
Sorry don't know what NAD means.
As a result we were giving totally inappropriate treatments with poor results to patients. When we accepted the truth, treatment was revolutionised, infinately more effective, & simpler)
Not got a good brain anymore Captain Helen, but as I understand it what they are basically saying is that 2 different types of GI parasites have been found.
a) Cocciodiosis - as you rightly say the specific type has not yet been identified.
b) One of 2 types of parasitic worm which lives in the stomach.
Neither of these parasites are a form of EC.
Because 2 different parasites have been found, & at present they may not be sure which one was causing the problems, at this point of time in "scientific purism", they cover both eventualities, with the general term "gastrointestinal parasitic disease."
I know that it's difficult for you, but it is so important for improving our understanding of disease that lab test only state what they can actually prove.
I think that many people don't understand that tests have their limitations too. In this situation a vet/ doctor has the advantage of being able to combine the course of an illlness, (very rapid) usually examination findings, as well as tests. The combination results in an "overwheming probability" diagnosis in most cases. This is what they relay to us.
(An example of doctors failuring to be scientifically precise is - we were isolating helicobacter pylori from patients with peptic ulcer back in 1975 & in a scientific lack of discipline completely ignoring it as harmless. Several years later, a more disciplined Australian doctor realised that H pylori was actually causing the ulcers. The West refused to believe him for a long time!
I would expect the next step to be further examination of tissues under the microscope, now that they know where to look.
Perhaps your own main concern at present, is how to prevent both infections spreading to other rabbits.
I can only say that when the unexpected arises, lab tests can take a long time, & may not always be conclusive.
I think that Thumper's tests took about 4 months. Marie & Elizabetta Manicelli generously funded some very expensive tests because that type of TB had not been seen in rabbits before & was substantially different from the norm. In fact they ran out of the necessary tissue to repeat the DNA typing of the TB bacillus. We were left with an "overwhelming probability".
ETA Labs can be overwhelmed with work. I suspect that they prioritise the living over the deceased.
Geoff'sPeople with her experience in lab work will be able to give a more accurate answer than I can.
)That's very interesting, thank you.
So although they say "here is chronic interstitial nephritis and granulomatous encephalitis which may be caused by Encephalitozoon cuniculi", they haven't actually found EC? Just that the damage could be caused by EC?
Do I need to Panacur all the buns for 9 days or 28 days?
I'm not sure what (if anything) I should be asking the lab to clarify?
(My head is about to explode with all of these big words!
I will discuss all of this with the vet, but I want to get it straight in my head first!
But I guess I have to see it as a tiny fraction of what will hopefully be long and happy lives for them.Thanks guys. I think I'm getting my head around it now. It's good to know that EC wasn't the main cause of death, but alarming that it can cause so much damage without any symptoms showing.
I need to speak to the vet about it, and I need to know what's happening with the bill before I can take it further with the lab. It's very annoying that I can't contact them by email though.
It's very upsetting that the rescue buns have no chance of a home for the next month
