MyBoyHarper
Well-Known Member
I did want to say I'm really sorry to anyone I offended the other day. I know I get defensive easily, so I' jump the gun' easily. So to Haley, mini lops, MBB, and whoever else I upset, I'm sorry! You can slap me (gently) if you'd like! You guys really are all a great group of people, so please excuse my periodic bouts of being neurotic. Okie dokie, now moving on... I have questions, and I'm hoping someone can give me some views on this.I warn in advance, it is a bit long. I figured someone such as Angela(naturestee) or Pam(nock) may be a bit knowledgeable in this area,because I'm sure not!
ALSO, if any of this does NOT make sense, please point it out. I had alot to type up and I was trying to remember everything the vet said.Some of it may have 'come out' backwards when I typed it up and may not make sense.
Chance had his re-check today at the vet and I have several questions.First, he did another urinalysis and there was double the amount of sand in his urine today compared to last Monday. He said there was no stones, however.
I know Haley brought up a really good point awhile back, about was the sand actually 'sand', or stones and sludge type sand. He said it is definitely a 'sludge' type sand and his kidney's aren't filtering like they should, and his urine and acidity isn't breaking it down like it should.
He checked the pH level and said it was still very alkaleine, in stead of acidic. He said his chart thing stops at 8.5 on the alkaleine side,but that his is reading 8.5. He said at this point, he doesn't know how far past 8.5 it actually is, but that it's supposed to be acidic. Iforgot which pH number he said Chance is supposed to have, I think itwas 4 or 5? Does that sound correct? I do remember him saying a pH of 2was stomach acid.
Anyways, Chance has been on a medication called Uroeze since last week,which is a urine acidifier. However, it's not working. Here is the vet's plan for Chance:
He wants to keep him on the Uroeze another week, and then test the urine again next Monday. He said that Chance may always have a massive amount of sand in his kidneys, but as long as he is peeing normally,it's manageable.
He definitely isn't in anymore pain either, as he is binkying non-stop.We've bunny proofed the entire house, and Chance now gets run of the entire house at all times, and is only put up when we leave or are in bed. And I've never seen a rabbit do so many bunny 500's! So he's definitely not in much pain at all.
The vet wants to do a urinalysis once a week for the rest of Chance'slife to keep tabs on how much sand is present in his urine and if it's forming stones. This way we can combat it before it becomes a problem.
He wants to xray his kidneys once a month, for several months to start, in order to catch the formation of any stones before they cause more damage.
He wants Chance to stay on the Uroeze for the rest of his life, because he believes that Chance's kidney's are too far damaged to regulate the acidity that filters into his urine (or something like that... does that make sense?) that it is supposed to. He did say that because it doesn't seem to be working as well as he hoped, the dosage will be increased. He also said he wants to add in another medicine, but didn't name which one yet.
He said Chance is, and may always be, on the verge of kidney failure.But as long as we monitor it closely with the weekly urinalysis and urine testing, we can keep it under control and keep it from progressing any further.
He also said Chance has chronic anemia due to the damage to his kidneys and will need to have his prescription iron supplement twice a day for the rest of his life.
The vet is a complete saint and angel, and has become a good friend of me and my mom's. He knows how many problems I've had with Harper and how I am a poor college student. Because of this, he has agreed to do the weekly urinalysis', the monthly xrays, all medicines, and the weekly testing of his urine's pH and protein levels, FREE OF CHARGE!*Thud* Thank God for vet's who are friends of the family! Me and my friend who owns the rescue are currently trying to decide on something huge to get him or do for him in order to thank him for his absolutely tremendous generosity.
My questions are this:
Is Uroeze an appropriate medication for this particular problem? Isthere another medicine which may be better that I can suggest?
Has anyone heard of a rabbit living with this much sand in its kidneys, and living with it chronically for the rest of its life?
He said Chance's calcium will always have to be regulated, and that he'll never be able to go on hardly any vegetables, as most have small amounts of calcium in them. Will this harm Chance, having very little to no vegetables? Ever?
He told me to switch Chance to Oxbow as they have a low calcium level(but doesn't all timothy based pellets? I think my vet just really likes Oxbow. He rescues rabbits himself, and that's all he feeds...)and a higher fiber content. Is there any other feeds that anyone knowsof that have very low calcium counts?
He said Chance's body isn't regulating his protein correctly. He explained that when an animal gets old, like dogs, they begin to lose weight, as their kidneys are allowing too much protein to pass through and they lose it in the urine. He said Chance is experiencing the samething, but it's due to his kidney damage. He said there is massive amounts of protein inhisurine, meaning not much ofit is staying in his body.
He said he wants me toadd protein to his diet, with a food higher in protein. My question is, don't we limit the protein of food to rabbits for a reason? I thought I heard somewhere that too much protein isn't good. Even though Chance is losing protein because of his kidneys, can feeding him more protein damage any other organs? What are the cons, if any, with this added protein suggestion?
Is there anything that I should look for, be concerned about, or bring up to my vet concerning any of the things I talked about above?
I think that's pretty much all the questions I have for now. Chance won't be happy about the tests and meds for the rest of his life, but he'll get over it with some extra head rubs and nose scratches.
ALSO, if any of this does NOT make sense, please point it out. I had alot to type up and I was trying to remember everything the vet said.Some of it may have 'come out' backwards when I typed it up and may not make sense.
Chance had his re-check today at the vet and I have several questions.First, he did another urinalysis and there was double the amount of sand in his urine today compared to last Monday. He said there was no stones, however.
I know Haley brought up a really good point awhile back, about was the sand actually 'sand', or stones and sludge type sand. He said it is definitely a 'sludge' type sand and his kidney's aren't filtering like they should, and his urine and acidity isn't breaking it down like it should.
He checked the pH level and said it was still very alkaleine, in stead of acidic. He said his chart thing stops at 8.5 on the alkaleine side,but that his is reading 8.5. He said at this point, he doesn't know how far past 8.5 it actually is, but that it's supposed to be acidic. Iforgot which pH number he said Chance is supposed to have, I think itwas 4 or 5? Does that sound correct? I do remember him saying a pH of 2was stomach acid.
Anyways, Chance has been on a medication called Uroeze since last week,which is a urine acidifier. However, it's not working. Here is the vet's plan for Chance:
He wants to keep him on the Uroeze another week, and then test the urine again next Monday. He said that Chance may always have a massive amount of sand in his kidneys, but as long as he is peeing normally,it's manageable.
He definitely isn't in anymore pain either, as he is binkying non-stop.We've bunny proofed the entire house, and Chance now gets run of the entire house at all times, and is only put up when we leave or are in bed. And I've never seen a rabbit do so many bunny 500's! So he's definitely not in much pain at all.
The vet wants to do a urinalysis once a week for the rest of Chance'slife to keep tabs on how much sand is present in his urine and if it's forming stones. This way we can combat it before it becomes a problem.
He wants to xray his kidneys once a month, for several months to start, in order to catch the formation of any stones before they cause more damage.
He wants Chance to stay on the Uroeze for the rest of his life, because he believes that Chance's kidney's are too far damaged to regulate the acidity that filters into his urine (or something like that... does that make sense?) that it is supposed to. He did say that because it doesn't seem to be working as well as he hoped, the dosage will be increased. He also said he wants to add in another medicine, but didn't name which one yet.
He said Chance is, and may always be, on the verge of kidney failure.But as long as we monitor it closely with the weekly urinalysis and urine testing, we can keep it under control and keep it from progressing any further.
He also said Chance has chronic anemia due to the damage to his kidneys and will need to have his prescription iron supplement twice a day for the rest of his life.
The vet is a complete saint and angel, and has become a good friend of me and my mom's. He knows how many problems I've had with Harper and how I am a poor college student. Because of this, he has agreed to do the weekly urinalysis', the monthly xrays, all medicines, and the weekly testing of his urine's pH and protein levels, FREE OF CHARGE!*Thud* Thank God for vet's who are friends of the family! Me and my friend who owns the rescue are currently trying to decide on something huge to get him or do for him in order to thank him for his absolutely tremendous generosity.
My questions are this:
Is Uroeze an appropriate medication for this particular problem? Isthere another medicine which may be better that I can suggest?
Has anyone heard of a rabbit living with this much sand in its kidneys, and living with it chronically for the rest of its life?
He said Chance's calcium will always have to be regulated, and that he'll never be able to go on hardly any vegetables, as most have small amounts of calcium in them. Will this harm Chance, having very little to no vegetables? Ever?
He told me to switch Chance to Oxbow as they have a low calcium level(but doesn't all timothy based pellets? I think my vet just really likes Oxbow. He rescues rabbits himself, and that's all he feeds...)and a higher fiber content. Is there any other feeds that anyone knowsof that have very low calcium counts?
He said Chance's body isn't regulating his protein correctly. He explained that when an animal gets old, like dogs, they begin to lose weight, as their kidneys are allowing too much protein to pass through and they lose it in the urine. He said Chance is experiencing the samething, but it's due to his kidney damage. He said there is massive amounts of protein inhisurine, meaning not much ofit is staying in his body.
He said he wants me toadd protein to his diet, with a food higher in protein. My question is, don't we limit the protein of food to rabbits for a reason? I thought I heard somewhere that too much protein isn't good. Even though Chance is losing protein because of his kidneys, can feeding him more protein damage any other organs? What are the cons, if any, with this added protein suggestion?
Is there anything that I should look for, be concerned about, or bring up to my vet concerning any of the things I talked about above?
I think that's pretty much all the questions I have for now. Chance won't be happy about the tests and meds for the rest of his life, but he'll get over it with some extra head rubs and nose scratches.
