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Tilting head when eating 2-10: feeling better =)

His eating after syringe feeds is what I experience with Raven too. Eating increases gut motility, plus syringe feeds add fluid to gi; so my theory is he wants to eat more as motility improves. It is also why his not eating probably caused gut slowdown which contributed to his eating issues.

Sending vibes for Casper.
Ah, that makes a lot of sense. It's such a vicious circle, isn't it? Eating less makes them unwell which makes them eat less which makes them more unwell... Thank you for the vibes. :love:


You're right to be worried about Casper's health changing over the course of the day. It's really hard, but you're looking at him very carefully. I hope he eats and poops more, I'm sending a lot of vibrations for him xxxxxx
Thank you for hoping he eats and poops more, KCG, and for sending vibes. :love:
 
We've just dropped Casper and Sophie off at the vets. Casper's back to not eating much hay and pellets and hiding, and Sophie still wasn't eating well this morning. :( The vets will take a look at them and will call me later.
 
Thank you so much for all the vibes and for for caring about Casper and Sophie, everybody. :love: I really appreciate it.

The vets just called and the vet nurse said they were eating grass at the vets, and they hadn't found anything wrong, and so the vet recommends stopping all their medication and instead just giving probiotica, because their guts might be upset from the medication? They were eating grass at home, too; it's the rest that they're not eating. It seems like a bad idea to just stop their medication? :? Plus, I had asked (well, I had written it on a note stuck to their carrier, as I could only drop them off and not speak to a vet directly) if Casper could get a different second painkiller, and asked if it would be helpful to get an x-ray of Casper's skull to see if there isn't something we've missed or that has changed since his last x-ray, but the vet had apparently not said anything about that. :? I'm feeling rather frustrated, but we can pick them up in an hour, so I'll see what they say then. I asked again about the second painkiller, and the vet nurse said she'll have an answer for me when I pick them up, as she had to discuss it with the vet.
 
I hope you get some more detailed information when you pick them up.

I would also be concerned at stopping all medication. Seems a bit extreme and unlikely to be sustainable long term. Does that also apply to Sophie's Metacam for her Arthritis? I think I would be asking what the evidence was for the possibility that the meds are now the problem.
 
I hope you get some more detailed information when you pick them up.

I would also be concerned at stopping all medication. Seems a bit extreme and unlikely to be sustainable long term. Does that also apply to Sophie's Metacam for her Arthritis? I think I would be asking what the evidence was for the possibility that the meds are now the problem.
Thank you, Omi. When I got there the plan had changed a bit and Sophie can keep her daily Metacam and Emeprid, but Casper's Metacam dosage needs to be halved and he needs to stop the Emeprid and he can't have syringe feed, either. They didn't say anything about his Cisaral so I'm guessing he can keep that. I told them several times that I find it a scary idea, but they really want me to try it out and report back tomorrow. The nurse got the vet to talk to me because I wasn't on board with the idea, but he wasn't budging and said that the Emeprid can really mess up rabbits guts (even though when a different vet put Sophie on Emeprid longterm she said it was really safe), and so he wants to try without and he wants to see if we've been giving Casper too many medications. I am extremely skeptical, but I'll do what they say and keep a really close eye on him. They said he ate grass and a carrot at the vets just fine, so he doesn't need to be syringe-fed. I don't think the plan makes sense, to halve his painkiller dosage when he was eating better with an extra painkiller, and I'm not sure how we went from 'He's not eating because of his tooth roots' to 'He's not eating because he gets to many meds', so I'm pretty frustrated, honestly.
 
I'd be frustrated too :( So sorry you're going through this - sickly bunnies is stressful enough but having to manage a treatment plan that hasn't been properly explained & doesn't appear to make sense is too much. At the end of the day we're at the mercy of our vets so although you're not comfy with the idea I think I too would try it for 18 hours & see what happens. I've no knowledge or experience to help you out. I guess even for safe medications there is still the chance it could upset the odd bun. Metacam can be quite hard on the stomach I think ..something related to ulcers. Is this vet the same one who insisted Caspers tooth roots were preventing him eating everything?
 
Pff really trial and error treatment is the most stressful. I really hope Casper doesn't need meds and no new treatment is needed. I hope he recovers quickly when he stops the meds. I'm sending so many vibrations for you and Casper. Xxxccx
 
I'd be frustrated too :( So sorry you're going through this - sickly bunnies is stressful enough but having to manage a treatment plan that hasn't been properly explained & doesn't appear to make sense is too much. At the end of the day we're at the mercy of our vets so although you're not comfy with the idea I think I too would try it for 18 hours & see what happens. I've no knowledge or experience to help you out. I guess even for safe medications there is still the chance it could upset the odd bun. Metacam can be quite hard on the stomach I think ..something related to ulcers. Is this vet the same one who insisted Caspers tooth roots were preventing him eating everything?
Thank you for understanding why I'm frustrated and for being sorry. :( You're right, yeah. I'll try it because in the end the vets are the ones who went to school for it. I'm just very doubtful about this being what Casper needs. That'd make sense that even with safe medications they can be wrong for some bunnies, though, yeah. Casper has had Emeprid many times before without any issues, but maybe it's a problem now... Oh, and, yes, I think Metacam can cause ulcers? I think I've read that... This is the same vet who insisted Casper's tooth roots were keeping him from eating everything, yeah. The one who said it's fine that he doesn't eat hay because bunnies don't need hay. I'm not sure why it's now suddenly the meds that are the problem instead of his teeth.


Pff really trial and error treatment is the most stressful. I really hope Casper doesn't need meds and no new treatment is needed. I hope he recovers quickly when he stops the meds. I'm sending so many vibrations for you and Casper. Xxxccx
Thank you, KCG. I hope so, too.
 
I'm sorry, what a horrible position you are in :( It's so, so difficult, as they could of course be right. However, I'll just say this. If they suspect that the problem is that the meds have led to problems with his guts, then why give him a carrot :shock:?

Sending both Casper and Sophie lots of vibes. Thank goodness they have you watching over them.
 
I'm sorry, what a horrible position you are in :( It's so, so difficult, as they could of course be right. However, I'll just say this. If they suspect that the problem is that the meds have led to problems with his guts, then why give him a carrot :shock:?

Sending both Casper and Sophie lots of vibes. Thank goodness they have you watching over them.
Thank you for caring, Omi. I really appreciate the vibes for them. I wasn't pleased they gave them a carrot, either. I had given the nurse a container with some nice greens for them, stuff they're used to, like some sunflowers and thyme and endive and stuff, but they didn't give any of it to them. Surely that would've been safer for his guts than giving him a carrot. :?
 
Poor Casper and you :(
Completely understand your frustration, I would not be happy with that plan either:(
Can you consult another more specialized vet?
I don't understand how emeprid would cause the problems but yeah, metacam can cause gastritis and ulcers:(
Sending a million vibes for Casper and Sophie!
 
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