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Suspected EC

BattleKat said:
pretty floppy in the right leg today. No stretching on either side and she's back to flopping on to her right which means she's getting wetter again but I'm very much getting used to the up and down nature of this. She seems pretty perky in herself still (eating properly, we had good poops this morning!) and the wheels might be dry enough this evening that I can pop her in the wheelchair and see if it turns (fingers crossed!)
Tomorrow is day 21 so we're in for the first of the two big cleans.

Feeling pretty good overall. :)
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That's good as you have certainly had a lot to cope with. It is very emotionally draining caring for a Rabbit with a chronic health problem that has an unknown prognosis.
 
It certainly is. I've spent so many nights crying because I don't know what the best thing to do is or because I'm not sure I can keep doing so much every day. The flat is a complete state. It seems no matter how hard I try there's hay and poop everywhere and a constant stream of towels and blankets to wash. This morning I forgot to put my apron on to do her legs and she peed on my work trousers minutes before I had to be out of the house. It's rough going.

I'm just trying very hard to hold on to the positives. Her legs having any movement gives me hope of the possibility of regaining them. The new wheelchair wheels could give her back some freedom and that will make me us both feel 1000x better. Big bleaching day tomorrow feels like the first proactive thing I can do against the EC since starting them on the panacur. Good poops and eating hay wouldn't have had me on an up a week ago but after two days of almost nothing but mucous make me want to jump up and down with happiness.

I'm sure I'll be back on in tears tomorrow :lol:
 
You are doing really well, I so understand about the relentless washing. I got a few really cheap fleeces from Wilko's they were down to £4 and wash and dry very quickly. Sending hugs and vibes.
 
Here she is in whatever iteration of the wheelchair this is. I have today decided to give up on the wheelchair that was very kindly donated to me and start from scratch but it has been fantastic to learn what works and what doesn't.
Hopefully the new one will be made at the weekend.

It wasn't the best thing in terms of ease of moving about but she could turn in it and I feel like she took to it pretty well. I gave her a helping hand at the end pushing the back and she was borderline running about the room (before stopping by her tray to eat some hay)

23jjvyf.jpg
 
BattleKat said:
Here she is in whatever iteration of the wheelchair this is. I have today decided to give up on the wheelchair that was very kindly donated to me and start from scratch but it has been fantastic to learn what works and what doesn't.
Hopefully the new one will be made at the weekend.

It wasn't the best thing in terms of ease of moving about but she could turn in it and I feel like she took to it pretty well. I gave her a helping hand at the end pushing the back and she was borderline running about the room (before stopping by her tray to eat some hay)

23jjvyf.jpg
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Bless her, I hope she will feel the benefits of being more mobile once she gets used to using her wheels xx
 
The wheelchair isn't coming along as well as I'd hoped and it's forcing me to debate pts again. She still seems perky and happy enough but she must be bored out of her mind.
I have another set of wheels due tomorrow and I'm going to try the new wheels from the new cart on the old cart to see if that solves any of my problems. I strapped her in to my high hopes design yesterday and she was desperately trying to pull herself along but she just didn't have the strength in her front legs.

It is so hard to know when to give up any hope of her getting her legs back. I read that most paralysed rabbits that are going to make a recovery will do so within the first six months but she's been on a downhill trajectory for a month already.

On the other hand, she tried moving herself about the room for the first time in what feels like forever. I think the attempted wheelchair usages have made her feel like she can be mobile if she wants to.
 
BattleKat said:
The wheelchair isn't coming along as well as I'd hoped and it's forcing me to debate pts again. She still seems perky and happy enough but she must be bored out of her mind.
I have another set of wheels due tomorrow and I'm going to try the new wheels from the new cart on the old cart to see if that solves any of my problems. I strapped her in to my high hopes design yesterday and she was desperately trying to pull herself along but she just didn't have the strength in her front legs.

It is so hard to know when to give up any hope of her getting her legs back. I read that most paralysed rabbits that are going to make a recovery will do so within the first six months but she's been on a downhill trajectory for a month already.

On the other hand, she tried moving herself about the room for the first time in what feels like forever. I think the attempted wheelchair usages have made her feel like she can be mobile if she wants to.
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Have you considered consulting a Veterinary Physiotherapist ? I know that Twigs (parsnipbun on here) has a paralysed Rabbit who receives regular physio. Twigs seldom has time to visit RU these days, but I am Friends with her on FB so could pass on a message for her to contact you if you would want that.
 
That would be lovely Jane.

Day 28 today so the second big clean. Also gave her a butt bath today but I think it'll be her last one for a good while now the setup is better and she's so much cleaner and drier.

Looks like lola tried to groom a knot out of her fur and tore her skin though. I've put some sudocrem on it and will keep a very close eye.

Wheelchair still not going well but another idea to try tomorrow and then I might have a complete rethink.
 
I’m glad she is much cleaner and drier. I hope your new idea works tomorrow. Topping up the vibes xx
 
Things are not good. She's having as many down days as up days, I'm pretty sure emeprid is the only thing responsible for her eating the last couple of days and I think we may be seeing the beginnings of head tilt. She's getting little sores on her front paws from holding herself up all day.

She's booked in for a steroid treatment at 5.15 as a last ditch attempt to improve her legs, which have realistically only declined since this started.

I don't know if I'm making the right decision. We've passed day 28 of the panacur so I guess we're in as good of a situation as we'll ever be with the EC, or is it worth seeing if we can hold off a bit longer? I know if it's EC the steroid will make things worse but it feels like we're already at a point where I should be having her put to sleep. I'd actually made the decision to have her pts on Tuesday but she's been so bloody perky it makes it hard to stand by the decision so I'm trying this instead.

Opinions would be so appreciated, I feel so on my own with all this.
 
BattleKat said:
Opinions would be so appreciated, I feel so on my own with all this.
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I am so sorry that things are so dire, you are not on your own we are here for you (((hugs))) I am sure that you vet will guide you with decisions that need to be made. Topping up the vibes for you both.
 
I’m so sorry :cry:I don’t have any experience of EC so I can’t advise, I hope your vet can advise of the best course of action. I’m thinking of you and sending hugs and vibes xx
 
BattleKat said:
Things are not good. She's having as many down days as up days, I'm pretty sure emeprid is the only thing responsible for her eating the last couple of days and I think we may be seeing the beginnings of head tilt. She's getting little sores on her front paws from holding herself up all day.

She's booked in for a steroid treatment at 5.15 as a last ditch attempt to improve her legs, which have realistically only declined since this started.

I don't know if I'm making the right decision. We've passed day 28 of the panacur so I guess we're in as good of a situation as we'll ever be with the EC, or is it worth seeing if we can hold off a bit longer? I know if it's EC the steroid will make things worse but it feels like we're already at a point where I should be having her put to sleep. I'd actually made the decision to have her pts on Tuesday but she's been so bloody perky it makes it hard to stand by the decision so I'm trying this instead.

Opinions would be so appreciated, I feel so on my own with all this.
Click to expand...

Sorry this reply will be worded briefly. But when in the 'last chance saloon' I would give the corticosteroid a go, with a covering abx.

Again, apologies for brevity of my reply xx
 
I cancelled the appointment for now. I went to see her again and she's so chirpy and keen for food.

I've talked it over with a friend and I think the following has happened:
She's become quite picky with food. She knows if she doesn't eat the fibafirst, protexin or science selective that she'll be offered fenugreek crunchies, mint and basil. She definitely has been off her food more often recently but there are times I'm getting worked up over fussiness.
I'm jumping to conclusions on the head tilt. The main bit that got me upset and saying we should PTS was when her head went right back and to the side and she fell over and scrabbled about unable to get herself up. I thought the EC had gotten worse and it was head tilt and she was rolling but in hindsight she was probably just trying to see what I was doing because I had put her on the floor with me behind her and once she was on her side she was panicking due to the lack of control. She had her head quite far back for the rest of the evening but I think she was maybe just being cautious about staying upright having fallen earlier in the evening. She's back to a normal posture today.

I'm going to start keeping a diary tracking her mood and eating. Then I can look back at it without getting too caught up in how I feel about the current moment.

This whole thing is killing me. I wish she'd either make some progress or stop being so peppy!
 
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