sugars diagnosis

[feeona]

so the vet in midvale was good (and gruff like the post said lol) but he says at some point he has injured his right “knee” and it has repaired itself but now the bone is twice the thinkness which is causeing a tightness in his leg – there is also extra joint fluid which he drew a sample of and no infection so the vet said that was all good and he went on to say he could do surgury but it might be quite stressfull on the bun and in his opinion he thinks that sugar will adapt over time.

he said that the tightness was similar to athritis but without the pain.

any suggestions on some natural options to ease his joints? like a vitimin or something?

[Monkeybun]

I know what eases my knee pain after my accident is just keeping warm. cold makes it hurt and get stiff, so I know keeping any drafts and chills away from sugar would be a good thing for the poor guy

[feeona]

thats not a problem my boy lives in a roomy kennel in the living room with controled air temp…… my bunny is the most spoiled bun on earth but alas he cant show me through doing a binky *nearly crying*

[Monkeybun]

I’ve seen disabled buns do their versions of binkies Even if he can’t do a full leap in the air, theres still little head tosses and mini jumps he can do with his strong leg. He’ll do fine with you to watch over him

[Sarita]

Try glucosamine. You can just get the human capsules and wet some greens and sprinkle the powder on it. Well at least you know you aren’t crazy too! My holistic vet also prescribed something called Si Miao San that you can buy on-line as well.

[feeona]

glucosamine hey ? great idea !!! is there anything i need to watch for with them?
thanks for the encouragment monkeybun *hugs*

[Sarita]

Not really. I don’t know of any side effects for this. It could take 4 to 6 weeks for it to actually start working so keep that in mind too.

I recently did laser therapy on my arthritic rabbit Maxine as well and it seems to have help relieve some of the pain…I’m not certain that would be an option for you or not.

[feeona]

well the vet said he didnt think he was in any pain it was just stiff like arthritis – so if i get some tablets i should get them in powder form and do one adult capsule a day?

[Sarita]

The ones I got were caplets. I just open them up and sprinkle it on Maxine’s greens (I sprinkle the greens with water to help the powder adhere too).

How much does Sugar weigh?

[jerseygirl]

 

Thanks for the update. At least now you know a bit more of what’s going on. I’m trying to picture exactly where the ‘knee’ is – lol. Will you have x-rays done down the track?  Could the vet estimate how old this injury was?  Perhaps the injury was aggravated post-neuter and caused his limited mobility.

 

[bunnytowne]

Maybe you can massage the knee.    Might help with the tightness. 

There is an herb store near here.  Bottles n bootles of herbs cover the walls top to botton.  I am afraid to ask her for help with Cotton cause I don’t know which herbs are harmful to him.     I could ask her and then check and see  on house rabbit society which is ok for them.

 

[KatnipCrzy]

  Thinking that animals are not in pain because they do not show any signs of pain is very “old school” thinking.  I cannot say if your rabbit is in pain or not- but the theory of it is just “stiffness” like arthritis is crazy-  whether it is rheumatoid arthritis (not common in pets) or osteoarthritis- there maybe be stiffness- but there is pain also.  When is the last time you saw an 80 year old man jump out of his chair- mention he was a little stiff and needed to limber up before starting a full day of activity like when he was in his 20’s.

  I would consider consulting an orthopedic specialist and taking along the x-ray to have them look at it.  An orthopedic specialist does not need to specialize in rabbits to be able to work with, diagnosis and treat a rabbit- they have very specialized training already.

  I can’t remember if you mentioned if x-rays were done or not- but if they were not and your vet made a diagnosis- you need to find another vet.  The sooner you have a firm diagnosis and treatment/management plan the better the long term quality of life for the bunny.

[jerseygirl]

Katnip, Feeona went to this vet as she was having trouble with the former ones. She is in Perth Ausralia and there doesn’t seem to be many rabbit vets to chose from.  Some background: https://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/a…fault.aspx

Would there be a safe pain med she could try to see if it aids Sugars mobility?

[KatnipCrzy]

There is nothing really over the counter that is safe for bunnies.  Glucosamine is safe for bunnies but those type of supplements only work for joint pain by producing more joint fluid which helps cushion the joint and prevent bone on bone action which is painful.  With excess fluid already on the joint I am not sure if it would be recommended at this point- maybe down the road.

I had a foster dog that tore a ligament in his knee and he needed surgery on the knee- and his knee is thicker and did build up some scar tissue as a result of the injury and surgery.  There are a lot of things that can go wrong with a knee- torn ligaments, breaks in the bone or even kneecaps that don’t stay in place (luxating patella).

SInce he is “bunny hopping” and keeping both legs together that might be a good thing to help protect the other knee.  Once one knee is injured it is common in dogs for the other knee to eventually “go” also- from the stress and strain on the good leg during recovery and if the animal continues to favor the “bad” leg that just adds and adds to the “good” leg.

One thing that will be very important no matter what the cause of the injury- is to keep Sugars weight at normal- do not allow him to become overweight as that will add more stress on the joints.  And it is possible he might not be as active as another bunny- so keep that in mind with any general bunny diet recommendations.  It would be better to have him on the trim side as opposed to the chubby side.

Are there any vet colleges around that see animals?  Once you get into a specialized problem that is not specific to rabbits other specialists should be qualified to see a bunny then.  For example- if your rabbit had a heart condition and needed some testing- you would most likely see a cardiologist than a general rabbit vet- and they would consult together to determine best course of treatment.

The musculoskeletal system is going to be similiar with bunnies, dogs, cats- so a orthopedic vet should be able to diagnosis an issue- that vet might need to consult with an exotics vet if the bunny needs to be sedated if they do not do it routinely- but most vets work readily with vets that specialize.

So maybe a vet college or large city might have different options?  And it may not be necessary to always return to the specialist for care- the regular exotics vet could manage a pain treatment plan if that what was needed, etc….

 

[feeona]

there is only one place in perth that does exotics and that was the original place , then i saw the guy that someone recommended on the previous thread – and as for perth thats it !
he has in the last couple of days been lying with his leg out which is good cause for a while there he would keep them underneath himself also his hopping a little more which is good .
i think im going to have to wait a couple more weeks to see how he goes .

[RabbitPam]

I used glucosamine with Spockie also. I would cut a large human pill, grind it with a mortar and pestle in the morning, and put it on his food where he’d be sure to eat it and not have it fall off. Like moist greens so it sticks to it.

Ask your vet before giving him anything first. My vet prescribed the glucosamine in the first place. And Katnip’s suggestion to see a different vet may be very wise.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Bah I totally responded to this yesterday and my post isn’t here…

I agree-it can be very valuable to get a second opinion when it’s possible.

[feeona]

thats two vets now that have dealt with him and thats the extent of the rabbit knowledge in perth im afraid but since i posted this thread he has learnt to hop with 3 legs which is getting him around quite well and he is returning to his normal self by looking for attention again – no binkies ofcourse but he might figure that out later – i think he is ok , he seems happy and normal.

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