We're losing another of our girls - Positive update!

[~ILoveMyBunny~]

So far beyond broken I don't even know how to describe it. It's been 17 days since we lost Cody unexpectedly to a cardiac arrest while having a scheduled surgery for an ear abscess. We've just had confirmation that we will soon lose another.
Our precious little Jazzie has had EC for years, we've managed with panacur whenever she's had a flare. Took her in a couple of weeks ago for a blood test just to check as she'd lost weight but was otherwise well. I've worried for years about her kidneys as she had serious problems in 2018 during a flare + stasis episode and since then has always drunk a lot more water than average. But when I asked was told her kidneys were 'fine' (different vet surgery a long way from where we live now).
Long story short results show she is in kidney failure and it sounds quite bad. Her phosphorus levels are very high and she's also severely anaemic, dangerously so, and has a low white cell count. Weirdly she's been bouncy and energetic lately, honking happily and being very playful, loving her food etc. She's shown absolutely no signs of pain or suffering of any kind. She'd just been started on medication for it but either the medication itself or the stress upset her and put her into stasis (she was very resistant to taking it; it's a chicken-flavoured medication marketed to cats and dogs as nothing similar exists for rabbits, though Snowflake had the same for months and did well on it). She's currenly overnight at hospital but there are already mentions of pts.. I really honestly don't feel the time is right. We went through this exact scenario with Snowflake back in September, in the end her kidneys gave up and we had no choice but right up until the last few days she was bouncy and happy. I really want to be able to give Jazzie the same experience for however long she has left. Make her as happy as possible until the time comes. But she has to get through this stasis episode first and it's scary not knowing if she has the ability to beat it.
Either way though our time with her is severely limited. Snowflake went for about 6 months but I get the impression we might be talking weeks at best in Jazzie's case.
I just can't believe it. She will be the 4th we've lost in a year. She's our oldest but hasn't turned 9 yet.
She's been with us through so much over the years, I can't even imagine life without her. She's a literal ray of sunshine, always eternally happy. She is always so excited to see you and starts honking happily and pleading for her food or a fuss. Lately she's been bouncier than ever and just so incredibly happy.
I just want to get her home and give her the best final days we can give her. She is such an incredibly happy, bouncy little girl. I really can't imagine life without her.

On top of all that Lunar has a respiratory infection that hasn't responded to antibiotics. We'll find out tomorrow what the plan is as the regular vets don't know what to do so are referring her to the exotics specialist who has looked after many of our others. She is starting to have trouble breathing when she has a sneezing fit so I'm getting worried about her.

Why on earth is so much happening to our bunnies lately

 

[Shimmer]

Could Lunar have an allergy? There is more pollen around at the moment (eg catkins on various trees). Have you tried nebulising?

I hope Jazzie manages to rally around for this episode so she can continue to shine brightly at home with you for however long she has.

 

[bunny momma]

Sending you lots of vibes for Jazzie and Lunar.
I hope Jazzie can come home soon.

 

[Barn Yard Bunnies]

Big big hugs xxx

 

[Zoobec]

I’m so sorry sending lots of vibes and hugs xx

 

[Pets mum]

Really sorry to hear this, sending lots of vibes and hugs xxx

 

[~ILoveMyBunny~]

My goodness we've had a shock today. Jazzie made it through the night but still wasn't eating. However they repeated the bloods and her levels are nothing like they were before. There's been a lot of improvement and some are even close to normal apparenly. We discussed what to do and I felt she was more likely to eat at home as they said she was very stressed out.
I just brought her home and immediately she was wandering around her pen looking fairly bright. I offered her a piece of banana and she immediately started nibbling it. In the 30 mins or so she's been home she's also had pellets and a nibble of hay. She looks so much more relaxed.
I don't know what her prognosis is now, I'm not sure if this might mean we have more time together or if the situation is the same but for now she's home and happy and we couldn't be more overjoyed


Poor Lunar is bad today though, she just had a truly awful sneezing fit and was almost struggling to breathe. It took all the energy out of her and she flopped straight away I've just given consent for her history to be passed to the exotics vet so should hopefully get a call soon. She really does sound bad when she sneezes and she makes a motion almost like a cat coughing a hairball up. I imagine mucus might be blocking her airway temporarily? Any discharge has been minimal and clear up until yesterday when it was slightly white. Hopefully I'll get a call soon to know what the plan is.

She was 'diagnosed' with allergies when she was young as she had a similar thing right after we got her (she was a P@H bunny and had similar issues when we got her. I later went back into the shop and found what I think was a litter mate sneezing like mad, poor thing, so I suspect they had an infection in the shop At the time they swabbed her nose and only found bordetella bronchiseptica). Because it was ongoing after antibiotics they said she probably had allergies but eventually it stopped and she'd never had another issue in 7 1/2yrs so I'm not sure what to think.
Haven't tried nebulising yet but I do wonder if that's what the vet will suggest. We have a nebulizer that used to belong to my Mum before but I'm not sure if it would be safe to use or if she'd need a new one? It didn't have much use but did have medication in it at one stage for her asthma. If not I could probably order one from amazon. I've not done it myself before but have seen it done.
At the moment she's still on septrin/co-trim and metacam

 

[Shimmer]

I would definitely look at nebulising just with saline to see if it helps. It won't do her any harm as long as she's ok in something like an enclosed carrier with a towel over it for at least 5 mins at a time. You can get spare parts for decent brand nebulisers, so it may be worth looking online. The tubing etc that has had contact with the nebulising solution (ie drugs or saline) should be rinsed out and allowed to dry between uses.

 

[bunny momma]

It brightened my day to read that Jazzie is doing much better and is eating at home.
I am sending positive vibes that she has a lot more time to bring you joy.
It seems odd that Lunar's sneezing was under control for so long before it returned. I am sending vibes the abx will be able to get the sneezing under control. Vet may want to take a sample to culture to determine best abx if bacterial. I had a bunny with allergies who was sensitive to hay dust. Have you started a new batch of hay recently?
Sending vibes the exotic vet will be able to determine the cause of Lunar's sneezing.

 

[~ILoveMyBunny~]

She hasn't stopped eating since she got through the door! She's absolutely amazing, I can't believe how well she's doing. She's virtually all the way back to her bright, happy self.

Lunar has me worried though. They're not able to see her until the 8th at the earliest and I'm not sure what to do. The normal vet doesn't know what to do beyond this point so unless there was an emergency with her there's not much I can do getting her care before then :?
I wonder if I should try the nebulizer then? Could it be harmful without a diagnosis? She would tolerate it okay I think. Her breathing is laboured and when she has the sneezing fits it's pretty awful to see as it's like she can't breathe for a good few seconds. Though she can go for hours without sneezing at all so it is a bit odd :?
We always have the same timothy hay from the same place. Since she first displayed symptoms (about 8 days ago) we've opened another one. It's not an overly dusty hay. Litter is fine too, same as we've always used (shredded teabag paper - like fitch but another brand)
The only trigger I can think of is that we have no heating so the house is very cold. There are areas that get damp but I try to keep it under control and it's nowhere near where her pen is anyway. But it's been worse than this through the winter so I just don't know.
Any other things I could do as supportive care?