bunny with bulging disk questions

[MomBun78]

Hi all! my almost 5 year old mini lop (free roam) developed sudden onset hind limb weakness. she was low suspicion for injury so i figured neurological. Xrays showed degenerative disk disease and a bulging disk with inflammation. she has been on NSAIDS for 6 days. we are also treating for EC because my other bun had EC and head tilt last December, still waiting on results of her test. My question is, how long did it take to see improvement in the weak limbs? i cant honestly say i have seen improvement yet.  she gets around just fine. i purchased soft ramps for her to access the couch since that was her old spot and she cant jump right now. she shows zero sign of pain, she never did. she eats, drinks and poops normally as well. i just really hope she can regain the strength in her hind legs again. i hate seeing her compromised considering she was such a pistol. i am hoping some of you have been thru this before!

[Bam]

I haven’t been through this with a rabbit, but I have with a dog and humans.

The severity of this depends on how big part of the disc that’s protruding and what structures it is putting pressure on. 6 days on NSAIDs is a very short time. I think you will need to keep her on NSAIDs for quite some time, but after 1-2 weeks it might be possible to lower the dose. (It’s a good idea to also give Pepcid (famotidine), because meloxicam is hard on the stomach lining. You could mention this to your vet, Pepcid is a cheap drug with few side effects).

Herniated discs do as a rule heal, but it takes time. It can be several months, sometimes even longer, before the animal regains full sensation in and control of the legs/leg. Obviously young-ish and otherwise health animals heal quicker than old or poorly rabbits.

She shouldnt jump at all tbh, especially not down from things. The impact on the vertebrae when landing can undo a lot of the healing. It’s an excellent idea with the ramps! Moderate exercise is good and necessary, it helps healing because it increases the circulation in the small, small vessels that supply the bone, cartilage and nervous tissue with nutrients and oxygen. It’s obv aso important to maintain healthy muscles.

It sounds good that you’ve started treating for ec while you are waiting for the test results. Hind end weakness is (as you know) often seen with ec. The most common treatment is Panacur for 28 days. Panacur is a very slow-acting drug, so it often takes time before you see improvement.

 

[MomBun78]

Thank u so much for the response. We are one week of NSAIDs today and she is still pretty weak in the hind legs. I am glad you said it takes a while. I was thinking she isn’t responding to treatment. It’s so hard to see her struggle with some movement and not being able to jump anymore. She was the most active little bun up til 1/1/24. Makes me sad to think that ok December 31 it was the last time she jumped onto the couch for cuddles. Not sure that will ever happen again. My vet asked for videos of her movement and we should have EC results today. We are currently doing panacur and enroflaxin for possible EC. I really hope she can regain strength again. I just want to see her little zoomy self again.

[Bam]

When there is a bulging disc, there is inflammation esp when the injury is fresh. Inflammation takes up space and puts pressure on nerves and nerve roots. If the NSAID brings the inflammation down (as it’s supposed to), there will be less swelling and more room for the nerves and the structures can start to heal. It can take a cpl of weeks for the acute inflammation to go down enough so that she can be put on a maintenance dose, but this is of course things you need to discuss with your vet. (Rabbits need a higher dose meloxicam per kilo body weight than cats and dogs and humans do).

It is very stressful to have a poorly rabbit. We feel so helpless. It’s very good that she seems to be in good spirits and has a good appetite. Rabbits are as a rule a lot better than humans at finding new ways to get around after physical injury, bc of how their brain is organised. Plus rabbits live in the moment. They don’t worry about the future (as far as we know, obv). So if you can keep her comfortable with pain relief and adjustments to her living area, give her pets and head rubs and nice (healthy) things to eat, she’s probably not miserable.

[LBJ10]

When my dog had a bulging disc, we had to keep her confined for a month. The treatment was a steroid and limited movement. It took a long time, but she did get better. Unfortunately, rabbits do not do well on steroids. They are best avoided, except in a few very extreme circumstances where the benefits actually outweigh the risks. A bulging disc isn’t considered one of them, especially if a NSAID will sufficiently reduce the inflammation. It will take time though, probably weeks. So yes, I wouldn’t expect there to be much improvement after only one week.

[MomBun78]

thank you both so much for the info. I really hope given time and rest she will regain her strength. I am glad to know that one week in without much change isn’t necessarily a sigh that it isn’t working. I had wondered if steroids were an option but it sounds like we aren’t really there. She gets around really well considering her situation. Thank u both for ur great insight. 

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