Gi stasis recovery – zantac / ranitidine reduces appetite?

[Minty]

Hi all,

My bunny had GI stasis and was in the bunny hospital for 2 nights. They gave IV fluid, pain killers and gut motility medication.  They sent her home with prokinetic zantac (ranitidine) to be given morning and night. They said she’s not eating much by herself.
They said they didn’t know what caused the stasis. My theory is that she was given too much veges – double what she normally eats and she got gas which made her in pain which stopped her eating. I was sick so I was not feeding her and my partner may have given her extra out of love … but one of the vets insisted that gi stasis cannot be caused by too much veges … hmmm?

When we got bunny home yesterday she seemed to be doing great. Eating normally. Doing a binky! Relaxing. I thought she seemed pretty much 100% and I was surprised as the hospital vets said she wasn’t eating much by herself. The only thing is her stomach seemed more bloated than normal – could be my imagination. My partner gave her medication later last night. This morning, she didn’t seem to want to eat much and her hay … i cannot tell how much she ate overnight but it didn’t look like much or at all. She did have more poops though. 

It’s almost like the zantac makes her not want to eat. As per vet’s instructions we gave her her morning dose of zantac which she doesn’t like. She’ll eat her favourite food (kale by herself) and took a bit of handfed hay. She then went into her bed and bunny flopped after some petting.

Any experiences where zantac reduces appetite? I’ll see if in the evening she gets her appetite back … as the medication may wear out.

I just want to know if it’s a possibility the zantac is making her worse.

GI stasis is stressful … 

[Bunny House]

I’m sorry you’re going through this. I’ve been going through stasis with my buns the past 4 months, it is stressful. She might be very sensitive to Zantac. Did the vet offer metaclopromide(pretty sure a prokenetic) or cisapride( this is what one of my buns is on)? And the vet is rabbit savvy right? Are you force feeding at home? It’s important to keep food in her tummy so she can keep her gi tract moving and prevent hepatic liver. Are her poops normal size or small?

[LBJ10]

Hmm, it can have that effect in people. I don’t know about rabbits, since it works a bit differently within their bodies than it does in humans. How long has she been taking it now? Perhaps it would be worth trying a different medication, as Bunny House suggested. Keep in mind that gut motility drugs should not be stopped abruptly if they have been given long-term.

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