Bladder Sludge
- Thread starter billinjax
- Start date
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Sweetie
Well-Known Member
I don't have first hand experience with this, but I do hope that your bunny gets better!
Hey,
Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you're going through a tough time with your bun.
I don't know much about these issues but know that some members on here might be able to provide insight into what's goin on and suggest some other courses of action.
I'm wondering whether if your vets are not explaining what's happening because they don't know and wonder if maybe there is a better rabbit savvy vet in your local area. This might help. http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_forum.php?id=9
If you could put your location in your profile that would be great thanks, it means you can get more specific advice on drugs available, etc, because they differ place to place.
Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you're going through a tough time with your bun.
I don't know much about these issues but know that some members on here might be able to provide insight into what's goin on and suggest some other courses of action.
I'm wondering whether if your vets are not explaining what's happening because they don't know and wonder if maybe there is a better rabbit savvy vet in your local area. This might help. http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_forum.php?id=9
If you could put your location in your profile that would be great thanks, it means you can get more specific advice on drugs available, etc, because they differ place to place.
I would assume that they tested his urine for bacteria?
Did they do blood work on him to test for kidney function?
If they couldn't find stones or sludge by x-ray then they really didn't you give you a diagnosis ???
it sounds like the sub qutaneous fluids helped him a lot and that is something that they could have taught you to do at home. It most likely would have helped since it did while he was hospitalized .
Are you manually expressing urine now?
If so did they teach you how to do it ?
I would get some electrolyte drinks for kids (pedialyte) and try to syringe him as much fluid (even water ) as he will take until you return to the vet
I agree that either your present vet should give you some answers and some help in caring for him yourself or you should seek another vet.
Metacam is very hard on the kidneys and if you are giving it to him you need to hydrate him well.
Did they do blood work on him to test for kidney function?
If they couldn't find stones or sludge by x-ray then they really didn't you give you a diagnosis ???
it sounds like the sub qutaneous fluids helped him a lot and that is something that they could have taught you to do at home. It most likely would have helped since it did while he was hospitalized .
Are you manually expressing urine now?
If so did they teach you how to do it ?
I would get some electrolyte drinks for kids (pedialyte) and try to syringe him as much fluid (even water ) as he will take until you return to the vet
I agree that either your present vet should give you some answers and some help in caring for him yourself or you should seek another vet.
Metacam is very hard on the kidneys and if you are giving it to him you need to hydrate him well.
a rabbit who has suffered parlaysis or some other medical problems may need manual expression of the bladder all the time ;
the question is is why is he needing it ?
Does he have a bacterial infection or possibly sludge that didn't show up on their x-rays ?
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq-5YErYcvA&feature=PlayList&p=0B0CD4243706C1E6&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=7]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq-5YErYcvA&feature=PlayList&p=0B0CD4243706C1E6&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=7[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ekrHLc6xiI&feature=related]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ekrHLc6xiI&feature=related[/ame]
Can you get the sound on these ?
I cannot but it may just be my ineffective computer?
the question is is why is he needing it ?
Does he have a bacterial infection or possibly sludge that didn't show up on their x-rays ?
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq-5YErYcvA&feature=PlayList&p=0B0CD4243706C1E6&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=7]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq-5YErYcvA&feature=PlayList&p=0B0CD4243706C1E6&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=7[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ekrHLc6xiI&feature=related]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ekrHLc6xiI&feature=related[/ame]
Can you get the sound on these ?
I cannot but it may just be my ineffective computer?
There are a lot of forum members who have treated their rabbits for bladder sludgeor kidney problems and in every case the vets taught the members to do subq fluids at home for a lenghty period of time which was successful.
A few other members can elaborate more on diet changes as they have first hand experience. It is generally thought that both dietary and genetic factors play a role in this problem ( a rabbit's ability to metabolize calcium differs rabbit to rabbit )so it is not all necessarily dietary but it is still good to significantly reduce the amount of calcium in the diet
This is from our library
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12052&forum_id=10
meloxicam is metacam
A few other members can elaborate more on diet changes as they have first hand experience. It is generally thought that both dietary and genetic factors play a role in this problem ( a rabbit's ability to metabolize calcium differs rabbit to rabbit )so it is not all necessarily dietary but it is still good to significantly reduce the amount of calcium in the diet
This is from our library
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12052&forum_id=10
meloxicam is metacam
Hi,
I just had this happen with my bun. The bladdder was flushed by the vet and within a couple days she was back to normal. Apparently diets high in iron can contribute and I was told by the vet that sometimes it does or doesn't come back.
I just had this happen with my bun. The bladdder was flushed by the vet and within a couple days she was back to normal. Apparently diets high in iron can contribute and I was told by the vet that sometimes it does or doesn't come back.
I should add, the doctor said, when I asked about anti-biotics, " No antibiotics in these cases, it is not bacterial in nature. I probably won't need to see her again for a few months unless she is still struggling to urinate."
Are you giving her hay ?
she should have it
and you are right the... amount of pellets is too much
don't give her a whole bowl of romaine but you could mix in some other veggies also that she is used to.
I agree that once she is home she most likely will start eating and drinking again
The vet hospital should know that rabbits do better with home care; I would suspicious of any place that wants to keep the rabbit unnessecarily when the bunny could be home; makes me think that they are out for the $$$ and not the benefit of the rabbit :grumpy:
she should have it
and you are right the... amount of pellets is too much
don't give her a whole bowl of romaine but you could mix in some other veggies also that she is used to.
I agree that once she is home she most likely will start eating and drinking again
The vet hospital should know that rabbits do better with home care; I would suspicious of any place that wants to keep the rabbit unnessecarily when the bunny could be home; makes me think that they are out for the $$$ and not the benefit of the rabbit :grumpy:
Amy27
Task Force
Bill, I have dealt with bladder sludge and stones. I will tell you some of the things I do from home. The way I think about it is the more fluids you have going through your bun, the better chance you have of the body expelling the sludge itself. There are several different things you can try to get more water in your bun. What works best for me is soaking my bunny's greens for atleast an hour before giving them. That way they can absorb as much water as possible. When I give the greens, I give them at a time I know the bunny is most likely to eat them right away. If I give her greens when she is having free roam time she isn't going to eat them right away. So I give them to her when she is caged in her room. I don't shake the greens or anything I take them to her dripping with water. I have also tried flavoring her water with juices. I tried making my own juice using her favorite green and blending it. Right now my vet is getting me the banana flavored stuff they use to compound meds and I am going to try flavoring her water with that since my other flavoring attempts didn't work. She has lots of options in her room to drink from different things. She has 2 water bottles, 3 water bowls and a cat water fountain. I also make sure anywhere she goes in the house for free roam time has a water bowl.
Most sludge and stones are made from calcium so I try to feed low calcium veggies and hay. Here are some links that give calcium content.
http://www.carrotcafe.com/f/calevel.html
http://www.carrotcafe.com/f/caforage.html
Also giving them lots of time to run and jump gets the sludge moving around in the bladder so when they do go to the bathroom there is a better chance more sludge is expelled.
I have done sub q fluids at home but have never expelled the bladder myself. My vet will sometimes try to expell the bladder to get a urine sample to check the calcium content of the urine. I usually get x-rays to tell how much calcium is in the bladder. My bun goes once a month for a check.
When Chase was in pain she would sit in her litter box and try to go but northing or very little would come out. She would keep moving and trying to go. She would also go outside her litter box which is unsual. I also could tell by the way she would lay. I wouldn't say she pushed her stomach to the floor but I could tell that she was in pain. She would love to lay on cool surfaces. She hides the pain well. One day she would seem fine and the next I could tell something was really wrong. That is one of the reasons I go for monthly checks because it is hard to tell when they try to hide the pain. With the symptoms I described above, that would be when I would take my bun to the ER vet. So they could administer fluids and pain meds. Since I have been through this so many times my vet has now given me pain meds to keep on hand at home so if I see she is in pain over the weekend I can give the meds to hold her over until Monday.
I tried to answer all your questions, if there is something I am missing or you would like more information just post here and I would be happy to answer anything.
I also wanted to say I would have done the same thing you did and bring my bun home when you did. They really do better at home. But I do think frequent checks are need atleast during the beginning as you can't know how fast this will come back. My bun had 2 bladder stones removed in 3 months. After the 2 stone was removed and she went back in to have stitches removed, 10 days she already had sludge. You just can't know how soon it may come back, if it even will without x-rays.
Most sludge and stones are made from calcium so I try to feed low calcium veggies and hay. Here are some links that give calcium content.
http://www.carrotcafe.com/f/calevel.html
http://www.carrotcafe.com/f/caforage.html
Also giving them lots of time to run and jump gets the sludge moving around in the bladder so when they do go to the bathroom there is a better chance more sludge is expelled.
I have done sub q fluids at home but have never expelled the bladder myself. My vet will sometimes try to expell the bladder to get a urine sample to check the calcium content of the urine. I usually get x-rays to tell how much calcium is in the bladder. My bun goes once a month for a check.
When Chase was in pain she would sit in her litter box and try to go but northing or very little would come out. She would keep moving and trying to go. She would also go outside her litter box which is unsual. I also could tell by the way she would lay. I wouldn't say she pushed her stomach to the floor but I could tell that she was in pain. She would love to lay on cool surfaces. She hides the pain well. One day she would seem fine and the next I could tell something was really wrong. That is one of the reasons I go for monthly checks because it is hard to tell when they try to hide the pain. With the symptoms I described above, that would be when I would take my bun to the ER vet. So they could administer fluids and pain meds. Since I have been through this so many times my vet has now given me pain meds to keep on hand at home so if I see she is in pain over the weekend I can give the meds to hold her over until Monday.
I tried to answer all your questions, if there is something I am missing or you would like more information just post here and I would be happy to answer anything.
I also wanted to say I would have done the same thing you did and bring my bun home when you did. They really do better at home. But I do think frequent checks are need atleast during the beginning as you can't know how fast this will come back. My bun had 2 bladder stones removed in 3 months. After the 2 stone was removed and she went back in to have stitches removed, 10 days she already had sludge. You just can't know how soon it may come back, if it even will without x-rays.
I've been waiting for you Amy 
Thanks !
Maureen
Thanks !
Maureen
I think that's a good idea
if you could get him to drink pedialyte per syringe then that would be good ... I don't think that he will drink it if he is in pain so i would give him whatever he will take....
if he will only drink apple juice and water then go with that
if he continues to whimper I would go in early today ..
I hope the best for both of you......
if he will only drink apple juice and water then go with that
if he continues to whimper I would go in early today ..
I hope the best for both of you......
