Julie's arthris

It is rainy so a lot of dampness in the air. Julie seems to be bothered by the weather today. She could not stand up at all early morning. Her feet were slipping and sliding out from her really bad as she determinedly chased her snack ball. She didn't seem upset or phased just tried to move her back feet faster but the more she did the more she belly flopped. I tried to help her to the rugs but she didn't care for the help and was content to slide on her belly using her front legs to pull herself along. It was hard to watch but she kept moving chasing that ball.
I called the vet. I upped her metacam dose. After about an hour she was able to hop with her back feet/hips together. The vet says Julie is one very strong willed determined happy bunny. We had an in dept discussion and the vet and I have agreed to try her on the .8ml metacam. She said that I can actually go up to 2 cc for her size. I am also to add 1/2 teaspoon of a liquid glucosamine/chondroitin. It is for humans but all the cat ones around here are flavored with meat. This one has no sugar or sugar substitutes, it has juice concentrate. The vet approves of it. I did lots of searching to find this one. The vet said she will recommend it to her other patients.
I am also to give her 1/4 teaspoon of of turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon of flax seed. I am going to introduce each one separate to see how she tolerates it.
They do not do acupuncture at the rabbit savvy vets.
Does any one have any other ideas that they have tried for arthritis for their bunnies? Or have you tried the glucosamine ,turmeric or ground flax seed?

I would love to hear all your stories about your bunnies with arthritis and what you do.

I have not used the Tumeric of Flax Seed, but I will be interested to hear if it helps

Sometimes massaging the muscles around the hips/lower spine can be of benefit. Anything to promote a good blood circulation to the area. Muscle wastage can add to loss of power in the back legs. As you gently massage you should be able to feel the muscle most effected as it is often very hard compared to other areas. Julie may at first show some discomfort when you massage those areas, part gentle persistence will bring about a reduction in this.

It sounds as though Julie is not about to feel sorry for herself any time soon !!

I believe some people use Glucosomine. Might be worth asking your vet.

Jack's-Jane said:

I have not used the Tumeric of Flax Seed, but I will be interested to hear if it helps

Sometimes massaging the muscles around the hips/lower spine can be of benefit. Anything to promote a good blood circulation to the area. Muscle wastage can add to loss of power in the back legs. As you gently massage you should be able to feel the muscle most effected as it is often very hard compared to other areas. Julie may at first show some discomfort when you massage those areas, part gentle persistence will bring about a reduction in this.

It sounds as though Julie is not about to feel sorry for herself any time soon !!

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I will let you know if the turmeric and flax seed help. The turmeric is supose to be great for inflammation as well as the flax seed. The vet was also concerned about muscle wastage. She said for now she seems to still have pretty good muscle mass. I think the massage is a wonderful idea. She does love to be petted and messed with in that way.

bunnytoes said:

I will let you know if the turmeric and flax seed help. The turmeric is supose to be great for inflammation as well as the flax seed. The vet was also concerned about muscle wastage. She said for now she seems to still have pretty good muscle mass. I think the massage is a wonderful idea. She does love to be petted and messed with in that way.

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She will have one of you massaging her back whilst the other feeds her some tasty veg !! :roll: :lol:

hurricanhoney said:

I believe some people use Glucosomine. Might be worth asking your vet.

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Thanks. I have read on RU about the Glucosamine and did ask my vet. She suggested a cat one but they were meat flavored. I even talked to someone from RU about what she uses but I couldn't seem to get that cat one in the US. I found the liquid human glucosamine and the vet looked at all the ingredients and approved of it. She worked out the dose for me and suggested the turmeric and flax seed as well for inflammation because I am concerned about the high dose of metacam. The plan is if the turmeric and flax seed help with inflammation then I might be able to later on cut down a little on the metacam.

Jack's-Jane said:

She will have one of you massaging her back whilst the other feeds her some tasty veg !! :roll: :lol:

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True.:lol:

I am glad you have been able to find some glucosamine for the gorgeous Julie Hope she does better with the increase of metacam and the other things you are trying. I've not used or tried turmeric or flax seed, I hope they help. I know turmeric is reputed to have anti-inflammatory properties.

I have a bunny massage book somewhere, I haven't used it myself but am sure I could get hold of another copy if I needed it. Would you like me to post it to you?

Jane and helgalush I just tried massaging Julie and it went over well. She trembled slightly as I touched certain spots but she allowed me to continue and even nudged and licked me when I quit meaning that she wanted more. She chased me around also when I tried to call it quits. While I was massaging it reminded me of doing a humans tight muscles .....it hurts some but feels so good at the same time.
It is just as rainy and damp as yesterday but she is hopping around the best I have seen in a long time. I guess the higher dose of metacam is really working. She sure loves licking up the flax seed. Tomorrow I am going to introduce the turmeric. The vet suggested to mix both in a little jelly. I have some pineapple ALfruit. Julie will be easy to feed it to as she will eat anything. I hope that they really do help as the last time she seem to get use to the higher metacam dose after and few days and needed more.

helgalush, you are so kind. That is a very sweet offer of the book. I would really love to see the book but wouldn't dream of taking yours. If you can give me the name of the author and book tittle I will see if I can find it here first.

Aw I am glad she loved her massage!! Bless her.

I'd be happy to send it to you as I am not using it, just let me know, no worries either way. Its this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...ords=rabbit+massage&rh=i:aps,k:rabbit+massage

helgalush, is this the book?

http://www.amazon.com/Relaxed-Rabbit-Massage-Your-Bunny/dp/0595310621

It looks pretty good to me. At the bottem of the picture of the book it says look inside the book. I read the table of contents and got a sneak peek into the book.
Jane and helgalush could you both look when you have a moment and tell me what you think.
I might be able to get it on my Kindle. Price of the book seems good too.

helgalush said:

Aw I am glad she loved her massage!! Bless her.

I'd be happy to send it to you as I am not using it, just let me know, no worries either way. Its this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...ords=rabbit+massage&rh=i:aps,k:rabbit+massage

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I didn't see this before I posted. It is the same book. Thank you so much for the kind offer of the book. I think that because I live in the states that I can probably get the kindle version cheaper than postage from the UK to the state. :lol: I appreciate your offer so much though. That is so nice of you.

I'd definitely get the book if you can

Ok no worries, glad you found it on the US Amazon site

This is Julie's third day on .8ml of metacam up from .7ml. She is doing so much better hopping during the day with her back legs together. At night her back legs seem weaker and she hops some with them out to the sides and will slip into a belly flop from time to time after hopping for a while. She has also started taking the 1/4 t of turmeric and 1/2t of ground flaxseed. I mix the turmeric in a tiny bit of Alfruit which I put on top of her breakfast pellets then sprinkle with the ground flax seed. She gobbles this up licking the dish clean. She then comes to me for a massage. I just thought that I would try and keep a running diary of how she is doing so you can see how everything is working.

bunnytoes said:

This is Julie's third day on .8ml of metacam up from .7ml. She is doing so much better hopping during the day with her back legs together. At night her back legs seem weaker and she hops some with them out to the sides and will slip into a belly flop from time to time after hopping for a while. She has also started taking the 1/4 t of turmeric and 1/2t of ground flaxseed. I mix the turmeric in a tiny bit of Alfruit which I put on top of her breakfast pellets then sprinkle with the ground flax seed. She gobbles this up licking the dish clean. She then comes to me for a massage. I just thought that I would try and keep a running diary of how she is doing so you can see how everything is working.

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That is sounding really positive

Can I book in to your Care Clinic for arthritis sufferers please !!

I'm so glad that Julie is doing better . I am interested to know about the turmeric and flax seed oil. At the moment Gypsy, who has arthritis in her spine, has a low dose of metacam, I think it's 0.6ml daily and I also give her food with glucosamine added. It's the vetpet one. I mix it with the ss pellets. She is doing really well at the moment, but I am looking into natural supplements that work for if/when she has bad days

Jack's-Jane said:

That is sounding really positive

Can I book in to your Care Clinic for arthritis sufferers please !!

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Jane, Julie says the concoction is delicious. You'd love it. She was sitting in the spot this morning where I prepare all her meds waiting for me. Hubby was laughing because he was getting his breakfast ready and she wasn't bothering with him at all likeb usual. She waiting just waiting.:lol:

Seriously Jane though you should try mixing some turmeric in a glass of water. I have read that it works really good for people with arthritis.

sparklefairy said:

I'm so glad that Julie is doing better . I am interested to know about the turmeric and flax seed oil. At the moment Gypsy, who has arthritis in her spine, has a low dose of metacam, I think it's 0.6ml daily and I also give her food with glucosamine added. It's the vetpet one. I mix it with the ss pellets. She is doing really well at the moment, but I am looking into natural supplements that work for if/when she has bad days

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Thank you. I will try and keep this spot updated. You should try the turmeric and flax seed. Julie's vet said that it wouldn't hurt her. Just want to clarify that Julie's vet said to use the ground flax seed meal. I didn't ask about the flax seed oil. I am not sure if the oil would be okay or not. She loves the meal though.

bunnytoes said:

Jane, Julie says the concoction is delicious. You'd love it. She was sitting in the spot this morning where I prepare all her meds waiting for me. Hubby was laughing because he was getting his breakfast ready and she wasn't bothering with him at all likeb usual. She waiting just waiting.:lol:

Seriously Jane though you should try mixing some turmeric in a glass of water. I have read that it works really good for people with arthritis.

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I may just try it