Are canine panacur packets safe for bun?

[JBun]

I can't say what I think you should do, but I can say what I would do in a similar situation.

I haven't looked at your bun so don't know what exactly is going on or what the vet is seeing, but from your description of your bun having a lack of appetite and not pooping, balance problems and pressing against things, a cut near the eye with infection, and pus coming out of the eyes. So just based on this, this is what it tells me. Lack of appetite/not pooping can either be due to the baytril causing nausea(which is a common side effect) or it can be due to pain from the infection worsening. The balance problems could be due to the infection spreading to the nasal cavity and to the middle ear, which would affect your buns balance, making him feel dizzy, affecting his appetite. It would also explain him pressing his head against things due to feeling dizzy. The pus coming out of the eyes could certainly be caused by conjunctivitis like your vet says, but it can also occur when an infection is present behind the eye or in the nasal cavity. I'm not sure where your buns injury was exactly, but it was near the eye correct. So this could mean that the infection is spread to behind the eye and you are seeing the pus now draining through the eye.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Otit/otitis.htm

If your bun wasn't having any balance/dizziness issue or lack of appetite, I would say that maybe it was just an eye infection, but it's the start of balance issues that make this concerning and the lack of appetite. Since the baytril is probably not that effective at this point, I think I would try taking my bun off of it for a couple days to see if it was the cause of the lack of appetite. And I would just continue with the metacam and antibiotic eye drops. If bun starts eating again, then it's likely the baytil's causing the upset stomach. If appetite doesn't return, then it's likely due to dizziness from balance issues(from infection in the middle ear) or pain from the infection. Just what I might do though.

So options, find another rabbit vet to go to. If you do this I would go into your current vet and get copies of all testing and treatment info that you would need to show the new vet. They usually don't like when you do this, but they do have to give you the info. Just be insistent.

Or insist with your current vet that you want to try the pen g injections. I believe it can be given concurrently with baytril, so you could continue giving that as well if you wanted, though if it's causing the lack of appetite I think I would stop giving it since it's probably not really helping anymore anyways.

Or if going to a new vet or convincing your current vet isn't an option, I would consider doing the pen g myself. It's not ideal, but not everyone has access to competent rabbit vets.

As for baytril being 'stronger', that's crap. In fact, baytril is proving to be less effective because it's so overly used in rabbits. And what works and doesn't work depends on the bacteria causing the infection and what antibiotic is effective against it. It also depends on the location of the bacteria and how effective the antibiotic is at penetrating to get to the infection. Example, some antibiotics are good at penetrating bone and some aren't. So it's a matter of finding an antibiotic that is effective against the bacteria involved and one that can penetrate to where the infection is present.

After 6 weeks of being on baytil(correct), if it was effective your bun would be improving by now. It's up to you what to do, but if it were me, I would be changing antibiotics, or changing vets. A vet that is resistant to doing anything besides baytril for a rabbit, tells me that that vet doesn't know a whole lot about rabbits despite any claims. Don't trust my word though. Research it. It's what I do when trying to decide what might be the best route to take when I have a bun with a health issue.

I'm sorry, but I just get so sick of there not being decent vets for rabbits out there, and people having to put up with sub par treatment.

 

[JBun]

Uh, vaccines? He didn't give your bun any vaccinations did he?

If you're looking at going to another vet, tell them how long your bun has been on baytil and the condition is worsening. Ask them if they would switch to another antibiotic. That might be a good place to start deciding if you want to go there.

Also, I would suspect you are being overcharged for meds. They are giving you metacam in individual syringes and how much are you being charged for each dose. I would request from this vet or your new one, a prescription for a months worth of 1.5mg/ml metacam suspension(32 ml bottle or larger), and if you want to save money order it online and tell your vet the place will be calling to get the prescription authorized. They usually fuss about you doing this as they make a lot of money from selling you meds(usually triple), but you are perfectly entitled to request it, so just be insistent.

You may also want to ask about giving benedryl liquid(diphenhydramine). If your bun is feeling dizzy, this is supposed to help. In that wabbitwiki link I posted above, it gives the info about using it for torticollis, which causes dizziness. So the benedryl could possibly help alleviate some of the dizziness if that is what your bun is experiencing.

 

[lauren8165]

He was just prescried the baytril yesterday. When the injury first occurred (about a month ago) he put him on a different antibiotic (I can't remember the name of it), antibiotic eye ointment. The wound wasn't getting worse, but it wasn't getting a whole lot better either. After he was done with that antibiotic, we stopped with them ,bc he was afraid of building immunity. Vet cleaned it out 3 times since the injury occurred (3rd time being yesterday and I tried to clean it the best I could every day.

Again, he wasn't getting better, but not getting worse, until 2 days ago when he was acting weird as wouldn't est, drink, want to be touched ect. Took him back in to the vet that yesterday morning and that's when he was prescribed the baytril and metacam. I ended up taking him back in this morning, bc he got much worse over the night and had discharge out of the eye. He added Cipro eye drops. Could it be that the baytril just needs more time to work? I am worried maybe the infection is behind the eye.

I would like giving him the Benadryl, bc it would probably relax him and help with the pain as well.

 

[lauren8165]

Oh and I believe the metacam was about$10? Even though Dr white is the sweetest man, I really am starting to think he just keeps letting me come back because of the money, instead of telling me I may need to see more experienced vet.

 

[JBun]

Ok, I thought he had been on baytril all along. Well maybe with the combined eye drops, oral, and topical, it could be effective. It just seems that baytril almost always takes time to be effective if it's going to be at all, and I'm not sure you have time, but I could be wrong. If it is just conjunctivitis then you should see improvement fairly quickly I think. I wouldn't give it more than 2-3 days to see improvement. If there isn't any or if he worsens, I would insist on trying azithromycin as if it's going to help it seems to help quickly, or consider his quality of life at this point.

For the metacam, if you are paying more than $1.50 per 1 cc/ml, then you'd be better off getting it online if you need to use it for an extended period. If you get the off brand Meloxidyl, the 32 ml bottle is about $33 plus shipping. If you don't need to use it more than a few weeks and the vet isn't charging more than $1.75 per ml, then it's probably easier to just continue getting it from the vet.

 

[lauren8165]

Just since getting back home from the vet this afternoon, I think I can see the tiniest bit of improvement. Not too sure,but he's sprawled out under my dresser (his safe space) and not scrunched up pressing his face against the wall. Still hasn't eaten or gone potty since being home though. I am going to syring feed him again if he doesn't eat real soon.

I can't thank you enough for all your help. I seriously appreciate it. Hopefully I see more improvement by tomorrow. If not, we will go from there. Y'all pray for my bun please. I can't bear the thought of losing him.

 

[lauren8165]

Just in case you wanted an update: I was woken up this morning to the sound of a bunny jumping in the litter box. I never knew I would love that sound so early in the morning. Lol. When I went to check on him and give him his meds, he wasn't smooshed into the wall and was cleaning himself. The eye was open, but eyelids still looked red and irritated. Still not eating yet. I will have to keep syringe feeding him for now. His pain level seems to be down some, so that means his meds have to be helping somewhat. I am not going to get my hopes up yet. I know bunnies can take a turn for the worse very quickly and he has done that I few times throughout all of this. One min he's fine and the next he's critical.

Is there anything I'm not doing that you recommend? I have been researching almost non stop and read something about probiotics are good with baytril? I also saw something about a product called critical care?

 

[lauren8165]

Just in case you wanted an update: I was woken up this morning to the sound of a bunny jumping in the litter box. I never knew I would love that sound so early in the morning. Lol. When I went to check on him and give him his meds, he wasn't smooshed into the wall and was cleaning himself. The eye was open, but eyelids still looked red and irritated. Still not eating yet. I will have to keep syringe feeding him for now. His pain level seems to be down some, so that means his meds have to be helping somewhat. I am not going to get my hopes up yet. I know bunnies can take a turn for the worse very quickly and he has done that I few times throughout all of this. One min he's fine and the next he's critical.

Is there anything I'm not doing that you recommend? I have been researching almost non stop and read something about probiotics are good with baytril? I also saw something about a product called critical care?