Elder arthritis?

[TommyToo]

Rocky the little (small for his breed) Dutch is dashing around the house on the smooth floors and carpets. He races to his cage and leaps in to eat and drink and then tears back to sit with us in the living room carpet and dining room hardwood. Often he does not pause for the base of an office chain and vaults over on his way. He only visits for a moment in the kitchen with its vinyl floor, and then he is on about his rounds. This is his new routine as he is nine years old and having trouble standing after a nap.

He used to jump and run on the carpets, leaping into the air and twisting so he landed facing in another direction and off again on the new heading he would go. A few months ago he started crashing after jumps and gave them up.

The vet gave him some glucosamine and pain killer and he seemed to have less trouble standing after naps. But now the pain killer prescription is run out and he is stiff again. He is having a hard time making it to his potty and is peeing on himself after naps.

Can he eat something to ease his pain, or is it all right for him to continue to take the pain killer on a continuous basis? His vet said the pain killer was a temporary therapy.

I eat bitter melon (Momordica charantia) for my arthritis and it helps keep the pain and stiffness down. But I know it is poisonous when it is allowed to ripen (it is always picked before becoming ripe) and I am afraid to give it to a little bunny without advice. The vet knows nothing about bitter melon, so I’m asking here.
:?

 

[MikeScone]

TommyToo wrote:

The vet gave him some glucosamine and pain killer and he seemed to have less trouble standing after naps. But now the pain killer prescription is run out and he is stiff again.

I don't know anything about bitter melon, either.

My seven year old mini-rex Scone started having problems with bridging spondylosis of the spine last winter. Same sort of symptoms - wouldn't jump up on my bed anymore, obviously stiff moving, and so on. The Cornell vet clinic prescribed Adequan shots, once every three days for two weeks, then once a week for two months, and now every two weeks. I've been giving him the shots since November. The improvement started within a week or two. Now, he's like a new bunny, jumping up on everything and running around the house as he pleases.

The vet said that he can stay on the Adequan indefinitely, although they try to keep the dosage as low as is still effective, since it does have a blood thinning effect.

I'd ask your vet about Adequan.

 

[tonyshuman]

I did find info about giving bitter melon to rabbits to improve blood sugar in diabetes, but could not find anything about its use for arthritis. Since it has been given to rabbits in diabetes studies, it seems to be safe. I searched pubmed.gov for rabbit in conjunction with the scientific name for bitter melon, Momordica charantia. I am surprised no articles came up about arthritis because usually they will test any compound as a remedy in animals, particularly rabbits, before recommending it to humans.

Adequan is probably a good option, as is cosequin. I am not sure about the long-term use of Metacam and other NSAIDs, because that can irritate the stomach.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Bone_diseases/Osteo/arthritis.htm

 

[Pipp]

Metacam is good for long term use I believe as long as you keep an eye on the kidneys, and only give it with food to a well-hydrated rabbit.

I'm asking a good source about the bitter melon (Momordica charantia).

Hang tough!


sas :bunnydance:

 

[pamnock]

I'd get himback on his meds and try some senior Nutrical for dogs/cats. Our dog is arthritic and senior Nutrical alone has worked wonders!

 

[Haley]

Im having the same problems with my 10 year old dutch, although he has been dealing with this for about a year now and is progressively getting worse.

My vet put him on Cosequin when he first started having symptoms, along with a maintenance dose of Metacam for pain. She wanted to keep him on these indefinitely. We did some blood work to make sure his kidneys were functioning properly and since he was healthy otherwise, she seemed to think the cost of slight kidney damage from Metacam outweighed the relief it would give him. We talked about how the quality of his life was the most important thing. I noticed a huge difference right away and he has been great until recently he has started to worsen. We upped his dose of Metacam. I plan on asking about Adequan as someone else had suggested that as well.

I would definitely keep him on a glucosamine/condtroitin med like Cosequin (you can buy the one for cats at pet stores and you just open a capsule daily and put it in his food) and also long term pain management.

Good luck with your little man. I know how frustrating it is to see them struggle.

 

[Haley]

I also wanted to mention that Cosequin can take up to 6-8 weeks to show improvement so if you try it and it doesnt help right away, dont lose hope.

 

[TommyToo]

Thanks everyone. Your comments are encouraging.

 

[Haley]

No problem, it's good that we can all help eachother through these things. Im interested if anyone has info on Adequan compared to Cosequin..is there a difference and is one more effective than the other for rabbits? Anyone who has used both?

As far as home remedies, a lot of people on a list Im a member of, thenaturalrabbit, recommend cherries for arthritis (in humans and rabbits). I tried this with Basil last year and didnt notice a difference but some people swear it helps. I think they just have to have a lot of them or something everyday, which can get expensive.

 

[TommyToo]

Dana,
"...if they make him this happy and feeling good..."
To clarify, Rocky is stiff now until he manages to start moving. It is not the medication (since he is no longer on the pain medications) in my opinion, but his naturally happy bunny self that is keeping him going. Though it is entirely possible that there is some lasting effect of the medication of which I am unaware.

 

[TommyToo]

"...or something everyday..."
That makes sense, since the bitter melon only lasts 12 hours for me. I can literally tell when it is time to take some more by the increase in pain.

 

[MikeScone]

Haley wrote:

Im interested if anyone has info on Adequan compared to Cosequin..is there a difference...?

I've only used Adequan with Scone.

The difference between the two, physically, is that Adequan is polysulfated glycosaminoglycan, delivered by injection. Adequan incorporates into joint cartilage and inhibits several enzymes that break down cartilage. Cosequin is glucosamine HCl and chondroitin sulfate which is administered orally (basically, the same pills that I take for my joints, albeit in larger doses).

My first thought when Scone started having problems was whether or not the pills I take would be good for him. When I asked, the vets at Cornell said that they felt oral glucosamine and chondroitin was less effective for rabbits than Adequan injections. I'm not sure what they based that on, though.

 

[Haley]

Thanks for the info! I wonder why they dont give them together?

 

[TommyToo]

UPDATE:
Rocky is now hopping all day and feeling better for it. He used to be restricted to his cage except for the evening. Now he is loose in the day and caged when we sleep. It has resulted in a great improvement in his stiffness. He still rests on his hip with his legs out to the side (like Mike Scone's rabbit photo) at times but otherwise is very normal. (He never rested in that position in the past.) It is good to see him more comfortable.

:biggrin:

 

[MikeScone]

TommyToo wrote:

He still rests on his hip with his legs out to the side (like Mike Scone's rabbit photo) at times but otherwise is very normal. (He never rested in that position in the past.)

I doubt that has anything to do with his age - Scone's done that all his life. He was only a year old or so in the picture in my avatar (he's seven now), and from time to time he picks up new postures he tries for a while. It doesn't seem to be related to anything, he just goes through moods.

 

[tonyshuman]

:yeahthat: My bunnies all do that, and always have, at ages ranging from 6 mo to 5.5 years. It's a relaxed position for bunnies, and I find they do it more often when it's hot out--more belly in contact with the floor to cool it down!

 

[TommyToo]

Thanks for the reassurances. It is just such a big change for him. He just started resting like this after going off of the pain meds. No worries though, he seems quite happy.