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Axl - Stasis and ?chest infection

JackieS

Warren Scout
Axl was due his RVHD2 vaccine on Sat last week so we could finally get him a wifeybun (we lost his sister just prior to Xmas) but he stopped eating the same day so instead the vets reviewed him for stasis and started him on gut stimulants and pain relief.

We managed him at home sat-mon during which time he had an active-ish gut (gut sounds and was still pooing) but was only nibbling small bits here and there. He was re-reviewed on mon and tues by which time he'd lost 7% body weight (2.22 --> 2.07kg) and was subsequently hospitalised. Bowel sounds were then absent on Tuesday. They were happy he did not have a blockage (blood glucose 10) and although he has a few known molar Spurs they did not think these sufficient enough to cause his stasis. Despite 48hrs of intensive treatment from them he was no better and he looked thoroughly miserable :( on Thursday we were advised our options were a) onward referral for specialist opinion or b) consider PTS. We opted for A) and after an emergency annual leave afternoon on Thursday he is now being cared for by an exotic specialist.

His provisional bloods from the specialist were promising - negative for kidney issues and normal repeat blood glucose. He has had more in depth bloods today along with X-rays under sedation. bloods have shown he is fighting an infection (raised white cell count) but his liver function is normal at this point. His skull and body radiographs have come back negative for tooth related issues (specialist confident it is not spur related), but he has some patchy changes on his chest X-ray so it is likely he has a chest infection. He started antibiotics today (not sure which, forgot to ask, it's on my list to ask tomorrow).

He's been syringe fed fully for the last 3 days - but he has not really eaten anything of his own accord. Prior to this at home he was nibbling small amounts. Poo output has been no more than 5/6 poos a day, and some days he's produced nothing at all. It has been a week since he last ate 'properly'. We have agreed to review the situation again with the vet come Monday.

Does anyone have any experience of rabbits turning around after such a prolonged period of stasis? We don't really seem any further on than we were 4 days ago :(
 
Axl was due his RVHD2 vaccine on Sat last week so we could finally get him a wifeybun (we lost his sister just prior to Xmas) but he stopped eating the same day so instead the vets reviewed him for stasis and started him on gut stimulants and pain relief.

We managed him at home sat-mon during which time he had an active-ish gut (gut sounds and was still pooing) but was only nibbling small bits here and there. He was re-reviewed on mon and tues by which time he'd lost 7% body weight (2.22 --> 2.07kg) and was subsequently hospitalised. Bowel sounds were then absent on Tuesday. They were happy he did not have a blockage (blood glucose 10) and although he has a few known molar Spurs they did not think these sufficient enough to cause his stasis. Despite 48hrs of intensive treatment from them he was no better and he looked thoroughly miserable :( on Thursday we were advised our options were a) onward referral for specialist opinion or b) consider PTS. We opted for A) and after an emergency annual leave afternoon on Thursday he is now being cared for by an exotic specialist.

His provisional bloods from the specialist were promising - negative for kidney issues and normal repeat blood glucose. He has had more in depth bloods today along with X-rays under sedation. bloods have shown he is fighting an infection (raised white cell count) but his liver function is normal at this point. His skull and body radiographs have come back negative for tooth related issues (specialist confident it is not spur related), but he has some patchy changes on his chest X-ray so it is likely he has a chest infection. He started antibiotics today (not sure which, forgot to ask, it's on my list to ask tomorrow).

He's been syringe fed fully for the last 3 days - but he has not really eaten anything of his own accord. Prior to this at home he was nibbling small amounts. Poo output has been no more than 5/6 poos a day, and some days he's produced nothing at all. It has been a week since he last ate 'properly'. We have agreed to review the situation again with the vet come Monday.

Does anyone have any experience of rabbits turning around after such a prolonged period of stasis? We don't really seem any further on than we were 4 days ago :(


Absolutely I do :D

I had a rabbit in stasis for 11 days, nursed at home, fed around the clock and he eventually recovered and lived very many years.

Your vet has done a lot of tests, and it looks very hopeful to me that he will recover, so please keep the faith and try and stay positive.

Has the vet given him fluids at all? That's really important to hydrate any gut contents and help them pass. The fact that he has a chest infection too won't help him feeling better at this stage, but he should be getting top quality treatment and everything he needs.

I guess once the infection is further under control, he should begin to feel better and get his appetite back, particularly if he's being given all the appropriate gut meds. Antibiotics take 24/48 hours to kick in.

Fluid therapy is mentioned here and I think it's really important:

http://anyflip.com/dvpt/hzvv/basic

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

Sending loads of vibes for Axl's speedy recovery :D
 
Yes absolutely :) My boy was admitted to our specialist in November for 3 days with a very bad case of stasis. He didn't eat properly or poop for around 7 days. He also had a chest infection. We carried on treatment at home and he was on metacam, zantac, emeprid AND cisapride. That's a lot of gut meds but it did the trick. Keep going :) xx
 
Axl was due his RVHD2 vaccine on Sat last week so we could finally get him a wifeybun (we lost his sister just prior to Xmas) but he stopped eating the same day so instead the vets reviewed him for stasis and started him on gut stimulants and pain relief.

We managed him at home sat-mon during which time he had an active-ish gut (gut sounds and was still pooing) but was only nibbling small bits here and there. He was re-reviewed on mon and tues by which time he'd lost 7% body weight (2.22 --> 2.07kg) and was subsequently hospitalised. Bowel sounds were then absent on Tuesday. They were happy he did not have a blockage (blood glucose 10) and although he has a few known molar Spurs they did not think these sufficient enough to cause his stasis. Despite 48hrs of intensive treatment from them he was no better and he looked thoroughly miserable :( on Thursday we were advised our options were a) onward referral for specialist opinion or b) consider PTS. We opted for A) and after an emergency annual leave afternoon on Thursday he is now being cared for by an exotic specialist.

His provisional bloods from the specialist were promising - negative for kidney issues and normal repeat blood glucose. He has had more in depth bloods today along with X-rays under sedation. bloods have shown he is fighting an infection (raised white cell count) but his liver function is normal at this point. His skull and body radiographs have come back negative for tooth related issues (specialist confident it is not spur related), but he has some patchy changes on his chest X-ray so it is likely he has a chest infection. He started antibiotics today (not sure which, forgot to ask, it's on my list to ask tomorrow).

He's been syringe fed fully for the last 3 days - but he has not really eaten anything of his own accord. Prior to this at home he was nibbling small amounts. Poo output has been no more than 5/6 poos a day, and some days he's produced nothing at all. It has been a week since he last ate 'properly'. We have agreed to review the situation again with the vet come Monday.

Does anyone have any experience of rabbits turning around after such a prolonged period of stasis? We don't really seem any further on than we were 4 days ago :(

Poor Axl :cry: Has the Vet considered PCR testing ? (polymerase chain reaction) of a blood or faeces sample ? As Axl is in the care of a Specialist I am sure this would have been suggested if they deemed it to be necessary, but I thought I would just mention it as it is a question I would want to ask the Vet if I were in your situation.

As you no doubt know, every case of gut stasis is different in that it is hard to say for certain if a Rabbit can pull through after several days of anorexia. But as Axl's LFTs are currently OK and he is now on abx to treat what may be the primary cause of the stasis (ie an infection) all hope is not lost. The Specialist has no doubt got him on IV fluids and lots of supportive Nursing Care too.

I do hope that Axl will show some signs of improvement once the abx kick in xx
 
Thank you for your vibes everyone! It is good to hear positive endings to some long stasis stories!

Roxy - glad your guy got better!

Mighty Max - yes sorry I should have said he has been having fluids :)

Jane - specialist hasn't specifically mentioned PCR testing, do you mind me asking what that would be looking for?
 
Sending lots of vibes for Axl. I hope he shows some positive signs of improvement soon.
 
Thank you for your vibes everyone! It is good to hear positive endings to some long stasis stories!

Roxy - glad your guy got better!

Mighty Max - yes sorry I should have said he has been having fluids :)

Jane - specialist hasn't specifically mentioned PCR testing, do you mind me asking what that would be looking for?

For a virus :)
 
Thank you for your vibes everyone! It is good to hear positive endings to some long stasis stories!

Roxy - glad your guy got better!

Mighty Max - yes sorry I should have said he has been having fluids :)

Jane - specialist hasn't specifically mentioned PCR testing, do you mind me asking what that would be looking for?


Ah good :D

Has there been any progress yet?
 
Jane - thanks! I will ask the vet when he calls me tomorrow!

Apparently he has nibbled a tiny amount this morning but they are still having to syringe feed him. Not much gut activity today either
 
Axl was due his RVHD2 vaccine on Sat last week so we could finally get him a wifeybun (we lost his sister just prior to Xmas) but he stopped eating the same day so instead the vets reviewed him for stasis and started him on gut stimulants and pain relief.

We managed him at home sat-mon during which time he had an active-ish gut (gut sounds and was still pooing) but was only nibbling small bits here and there. He was re-reviewed on mon and tues by which time he'd lost 7% body weight (2.22 --> 2.07kg) and was subsequently hospitalised. Bowel sounds were then absent on Tuesday. They were happy he did not have a blockage (blood glucose 10) and although he has a few known molar Spurs they did not think these sufficient enough to cause his stasis. Despite 48hrs of intensive treatment from them he was no better and he looked thoroughly miserable :( on Thursday we were advised our options were a) onward referral for specialist opinion or b) consider PTS. We opted for A) and after an emergency annual leave afternoon on Thursday he is now being cared for by an exotic specialist.

His provisional bloods from the specialist were promising - negative for kidney issues and normal repeat blood glucose. He has had more in depth bloods today along with X-rays under sedation. bloods have shown he is fighting an infection (raised white cell count) but his liver function is normal at this point. His skull and body radiographs have come back negative for tooth related issues (specialist confident it is not spur related), but he has some patchy changes on his chest X-ray so it is likely he has a chest infection. He started antibiotics today (not sure which, forgot to ask, it's on my list to ask tomorrow).

He's been syringe fed fully for the last 3 days - but he has not really eaten anything of his own accord. Prior to this at home he was nibbling small amounts. Poo output has been no more than 5/6 poos a day, and some days he's produced nothing at all. It has been a week since he last ate 'properly'. We have agreed to review the situation again with the vet come Monday.

Does anyone have any experience of rabbits turning around after such a prolonged period of stasis? We don't really seem any further on than we were 4 days ago :(

My bunny was sick in November and I gave him hand feeding with Critical Care, medicam, fluids and abx for almost a week before asking for a GA, x-rays and dental. I continued hand feeding, meds, and fluids after dental for a few days as he slowly returned to his regular eating/drinking. That was his second dental in a year and both times spurs were very minor and there was no damage noted to the tissues in his mouth.

When hand feeding Critical care it contains so much water that it takes a lot of hand feeding to get several poos, so I am not surprised your bunny is not making a lot of poo.
Of course your bunny had chest involvement so you and your vet will have to decide if the chest infection caused him to stop eating and determine if he will resume eating on his own once antibiotics get the infection under control.

The good news is your bunny is still passing poos, even though they are sparse do to his not eating on his own.

Sending you some positive vibes that he will turn a corner soon.
 
Jane - thanks! I will ask the vet when he calls me tomorrow!

Apparently he has nibbled a tiny amount this morning but they are still having to syringe feed him. Not much gut activity today either


I hope he's managed to eat and poo a bit more during the day today :)

Overnight vibes for him xx
 
Jane - thanks! I will ask the vet when he calls me tomorrow!

Apparently he has nibbled a tiny amount this morning but they are still having to syringe feed him. Not much gut activity today either

That's OK, it may be completely irrelevant but I would want to ask the question anyway. I do hope that things will have improved somewhat overnight x
 
Thank you for asking everyone

Unfortunately we seem to be in a position whereby Axl is getting no worse but also no better. When the vet called this morning there had been no change in his eating or pooing so we are in limbo at the moment. He is still not eating by himself in any acceptable quantities - it is now 8 days since his stasis started and 6 since he last ate a decent amount of his own choosing.

If I could be at home I would be tempted to ask to have him at home for a while and see if a familiar environment helps him to pick up but unfortunately that is not possible right now.

I was really hoping that he would pick with specialist support - It is hard to know what is the best decision right now tbh
 
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Thank you for asking everyone

Unfortunately we seem to be in a position whereby Axl is getting no worse but also no better. When the vet called this morning there had been no change in his eating or pooing so we are in limbo at the moment. He is still not eating by himself in any acceptable quantities - it is now 8 days since his stasis started and 6 since he last ate a decent amount of his own choosing.

If I could be at home I would be tempted to ask to have him at home for a while and see if a familiar environment helps him to pick up but unfortunately that is not possible right now.

I was really hoping that he would pick with specialist support - It is hard to know what is the best decision right now tbh

I am sorry that Axl is still no better :cry:

Has the Specialist suggested any further diagnostics ?
 
Thank you for asking everyone

Unfortunately we seem to be in a position whereby Axl is getting no worse but also no better. When the vet called this morning there had been no change in his eating or pooing so we are in limbo at the moment. He is still not eating by himself in any acceptable quantities - it is now 8 days since his stasis started and 6 since he last ate a decent amount of his own choosing.

If I could be at home I would be tempted to ask to have him at home for a while and see if a familiar environment helps him to pick up but unfortunately that is not possible right now.

I was really hoping that he would pick with specialist support - It is hard to know what is the best decision right now tbh


I'm so very sorry to read this :(

What is the specialist's plan of action now?
 
Specialists advice was to review the situation tomorrow before making any other plans as by this point Axl would have had 3 days of antibiotics

I suspect we are reaching the point where we are advised that we've nowhere else to go. I'm not sure continuing would be in Axls best interests after all he's been through in the last week if there is no marked improvement soon. If he had been making progress, albeit slow then I would be happy to continue but we appear to be at the same point we were 5 days ago. I don't want him to suffer....or prolong his life for the sake of it.

I can't deny the cost concerns me too - he is insured but we are almost at the limit of our insurance (£1500). To some degre money is no object to making him better, when we got rabbits we knew what we were getting ourselves into with regards to how much they cost! We are happy, and able, to top up the additional costs, But seeing the costs mount up when you are seeing as little progress is hard....especially when there seems no end in sight
 
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When Sy was admitted our vet noticed that he was getting fiestier by the day but he wouldn't eat anything by himself until we decided to bring him home. The first day he was very quiet but by day 2 he had picked up a little and was starting to nibble on bits of hay.
I've already said that he was on a fair amount of gut meds but do you know what sort of meds he is being given? Xx
 
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Specialists advice was to review the situation tomorrow before making any other plans as by this point Axl would have had 3 days of antibiotics

I suspect we are reaching the point where we are advised that we've nowhere else to go. I'm not sure continuing would be in Axls best interests after all he's been through in the last week if there is no marked improvement soon. If he had been making progress, albeit slow then I would be happy to continue but we appear to be at the same point we were 5 days ago. I don't want him to suffer....or prolong his life for the sake of it.

I can't deny the cost concerns me too - he is insured but we are almost at the limit of our insurance (£1500). To some degre money is no object to making him better, when we got rabbits we knew what we were getting ourselves into with regards to how much they cost! We are happy, and able, to top up the additional costs, But seeing the costs mount up when you are seeing as little progress is hard....especially when there seems no end in sight


I'm sorry that this is such a sad outlook for Axl.

I'll thinking of you all tomorrow as you and the specialist review his case.

Loads of vibes and hugs x
 
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