Worried for my bunny boy (RIP)

[MagnoliaDee]

o'kay I'll have a look while I'm over there! Hopefully we can find the non-drousy one as the last thing I need is him sleeping more.

Thanks Tracy!!

 

[MagnoliaDee]

Here are some pics and vids I took last night...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oyr8mmKVYo[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4AGLAMb93E[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gePZtfnuhM4[/ame]

I had to stop him quite a few time last night from rolling.

 

[tonyshuman]

Just a quick note as I'm on my way out the door. Meclizine is found under those trade names (just make sure it says the active ingredient is meclizine and it doesn't contain things like caffeine as well). It's available over the counter in most drug stores, even some grocery stores.

 

[Flashy]

Those videos are both sad and lovely at the same time. He looks like he still has a sparkle in his eyes even though the world has been upended for him.

Poor him and poor you. Claire has given all the ace info on the Meclizine and I sure hope you manage to get some and that it offers him some help.

 

[tonyshuman]

Hey Lego, don't steal his lettuce!!

I agree about the videos. He looks alert, and it's great to see him eating on his own. The more hay and romaine he eats, the better he will feel! He has a brightness in his eyes that tells me he's alert and normal in there, but it just seems like gravity is turned the wrong way!

You can definitelly give ovol with every feeding, and it's a relatively safe drug, so the amount dquesnel said sounds fine as a max. The way simethicone works is that it acts directly on the ingested food to get more gas dissolved in the liquid--it's a surfactant that increases gas's solubility in liquid. Therefore, it doesn't actually go into the cells of the body or out of the digestive tract to do stuff, so the side effects are very minimal.

I just checked our walgreens, and couldn't find meclizine... I didn't ask around though. It's probably something they carry, but it wasn't with the other tummy medicine or the other anti-seasickness stuff (which has an antihistamine as the active ingredient, that's why Dramamine normal formula makes you drowsy). I think your best bet will be a big store like Wal-Mart or asking the pharmacist at Walgreens to help you find Meclizine.

I think the gas comes from his diet--he probably ate a lot more, particularly more hay before. It could be from Pen G, but that seems to be pretty good about not having many GI side effects. The probiotic should help with that.

Also, if you want me to send some Bene-Bac and try to find some Meclizine, please let me know as I go on vacation tomorrow and might not be able to while I'm on vacation.

 

[MagnoliaDee]

I tried to give Jake his Pen G injection tonight and it failed miserably. I can't really get him on his feet in order to find his back, to make a tent of the skin to put the needle into. He just wants to be upside down. I finally decided to try a spot and nothing would come out of the needle. Try a new spot... same thing. Tried a third spot, nothing. Pull out the needle and try it... it's totally stuck in there. Push a bit and half of it flies into the air. So I put the needle back into the rest of the Pen G to get back to the dose I want. Now my husband says that I've just spoiled the whole rest of it. Most likely right. Stuggle to find a spot... try again... it's totally stuck again. I'm totally shaking at this point. Try the needle in the air... nothing. Hubby tries and again half of it flies in the air. Decide to put the rest in. It was horrible.

We still have fluids to do... =( Hubby says he'll try this time, since I just can't do it anymore.

 

[pumpkinandwhiskersmom]

Thinking of you!...so sorry that you and your dear boy are going thru so much right now!

 

[tonyshuman]

Oh dear. I think the pen G is still ok. Are you injecting it as-is or diluting it? It's common to dilute it 1:1 with sterile saline because of the thickness. Good luck.

 

[Flashy]

Can maybe one of you hold Jake in the right position, and the other do the injecting? Would that make it easier?

 

[MagnoliaDee]

We're injecting it as is. I'll call the vet today to make sure it's still o'kay to use the rest.

I pray that you will all bear with me as I ride my emotional rollercoaster. Giving the injections is hard... for me. I feel so bad that I have to poke him every single day.

Last night's fluids went pretty well, thankfully. And I did do the injection myself. Hubby and I talked it over and we figured that there must be a better way... esp. for a head tilt bunny who's world is upside down right now. So I put him on his towel on the ground and we decided to try to do it with him laying as is. Just wrap up the bum, head and feet area, leaving his back exposed. This worked really well... and I will pray that it will continue to work. Trying to get him on his feet was just very stressful to him (and me to), and with doing it laying where he was comfortable, he didn't struggle at all.

I hope that you all don't mind me posting my anxieties... I know it must be infuriating to read positive then negative, repeat, repeat... but I think it helps me to deal with them.

 

[MagnoliaDee]

oh, and thanks everyone for letting me know that I can give ovol at every meal, I think it's helping. Tho he doesn't seem to like it "that" much, lol.

 

[Flashy]

I don't see how anyone could mind you posting your anxieties. We've all done it. Owning a bunny can be stressful at the best of times, let alone when your bunny is so ill, because it is incredibly scary. It's far better to go through it and share it with people than deal with it by yourself. So if posting about your fears, worries, anxieties, achievements, etc, helps, then go for it

I'm glad you have found a way that works better for him, that's great, hopefully it will make it easier for you

 

[MagnoliaDee]

Thanks Tracy... it really does help. And yes, the anxiety pretty much stems from fear... fear that I'm not getting enough food or water into him. Fear for his lower eye. Fear that he's not on his feet... what does this mean? Will he be able to get on his feet? To recover? Just soo many worries right now.

On a positive note tho... he finally took one of his cecotropes yesterday and more this morning (he wouldn't take them for the last half a month)... so I feel happy about that. It will surely help his nutritional state.

 

[Flashy]

Every little step forward is progress.

Maybe it's worth recording somewhere ALL the positive things that happen (ignoring the negative) so that you can look back and realise he has made baby steps forward. It might give you a boost.

I know this is easier said than done, but those worries, whilst very real, valid and normal, are not actually beneficial for either he, nor you. All they do is add stress to the situation. So if you can, try not to dwell on those worries. Ultimately, you are absolutely doing the very best you can, which is all you can do; its all anyone can do.

 

[MagnoliaDee]

You are right about the worries not being productive Tracy... just not sure how to turn them off.

So my hay didn't come in, the company sent pellets in error... so I won't be able to get over to MI until next weekend. And I was soo hoping to get the meclizine today.

 

[Flashy]

Yes, its definitely not easy to just turn them off, just try not to dwell them on too much, try and distract yourself or turn your mind away from it when you catch yourself worrying needlessly.

 

[MagnoliaDee]

Jacub is still rolling a lot. I do all I can to avoid the rolls... but they seem inevitable at times. Anyways, during a roll yesterday I happened to see his "down" eye... which he has been keeping closed. It's definitely irritated... and not looking good. Any thoughts on what I can do to help it? I'm going to call the vet. So far I've been using bath towels under him to catch the urine & provide cushion. But my hubby suggested that I use a finer material at least under his head. So I've cut up a shirt and I have that under his head right now. I figure the vet will give me some drops... but anything else?

 

[Flashy]

Can you bathe the eye? Cooled boiled water should be ok. Tjhat's what we used with Tilly.

 

[MagnoliaDee]

I'm not sure... but will speak with the vet today. This is pretty frustrating... Wed will mark two weeks on the Pen, and he's recently just started really rolling like crazy. I really hoped that we would be seeing signs of improvement... not the other way around. I can barely lift him up now (for feedings/injections) without him struggling to roll. :tears2:

 

[Flashy]

I'm sorry the battle is hard. I wonder if the Pen G is not the right anti-biotic for him and maybe he needs something else. Any location on any Meclizine at all?