Bunny head tilt much worse after Vet, now having seizures! Please help!

[Randombunny]

So I noticed my bunny had a slight head tilt (barely noticeable)for a week or so (bunny is 2-3 months old) so I brought it to the vet yesterday. It got a an injection of antibiotic (I think penicillin) and now my bunny has an extreme head tilt & has had 4-5 seizures that I'm aware of in a few hour time-frame. I know the disease that causes head hilts can cause this but something is telling me it's the medicine. After all whats the chances of it having multiple seizures & head tilt getting extreme within hours after getting it's 1st shot/vet visit? We also got an anti flammable medicine prescribed by oral. My question is how long until the antibiotics wear off and should I keep giving the anti inflation medicine? Could something at the vet to of caused this? What time frame am I looking at? I'm scared I'm doing more harm then good. After all my bunny has never had a seizure. The seizures last around a minute or longer and are grand mal seizures as the bunny ends up on its back & looking dead. What can I do to help my bunny? I already talked to vet she said see her within a few days but I just don't understand how my bunny is fine before the vet and now after is dramatically worse. Is this coincidence?

 

[JBun]

It sounds like your rabbit is having a bad reaction to the penicillin or was possibly overdosed. Your vet should have told you to come in immediately. Reoccurring seizures is an emergency. If your rabbit is still having seizures, call your vets emergency number and insist that it's an emergency and your rabbit needs to be seen for a bad reaction to the antibiotic. Or find a different emergency vet with experience in rabbits to take your rabbit to immediately. Multiple seizures in one day with no previous history, is NOT normal and is alarming. If the seizures are still occurring, your rabbit will need something to calm the seizure activity and counteract the antibiotic.

Too high of a dosage of penicillin can be a cause for seizures. I would suggest finding out the exact dose of penicillin your rabbit was given. Normal dosing for pen g injections is 20,000-80,000IU per kg of body weight. Usually the dose will be around 40,000IU/kg. If your rabbits dose was much higher than 80,000IU/kg, your rabbit was likely overdosed. But even if they say the right dose was given, based on what occurred, I would still suspect a possible overdose of the antibiotic.

Medirabbit: antibiotic drug dosage info

If the seizures have stopped, I would phone your vet in the morning and tell them your rabbit had a bad reaction to the antibiotic, with it causing multiple seizures. I would also ask them the dosage of penicillin that your rabbit received, to see if the dose was correct. I don't know if there is anything they would do at this point, but certainly never allow your rabbit to have penicillin injections again. If you don't have confidence in this vet and they aren't taking your concerns seriously, it may be advisable to find a more knowledgeable rabbit vet. If you suspect your rabbit received an overdose of penicillin, and this caused the seizures, I would not let it go and lodge a formal complaint. I would also find a different vet.

Medirabbit: causes of seizures

https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

 

[White Rabbit]

As another poster said I would contact the vet that prescribed the medication and tell them whats going on and it's an emergency and you need to come in and have your bun seen. If not, go to another, and tell them your story and see what they said. Random seizures shouldn't just occur, with the onset of medication and the seizures right after, it would lead most to believe your bun is having a reaction to the medication. Hope whatever route you take it all gets cleared up, good luck and best wishes Welcome to the forum BTW. Sorry it had to be under these conditions and not better ones.

 

[Popsicles]

Just to play devils advocate, it might be related to the medication but also may be related to the stress of the vet visit sparking something that was already brewing. Just a thought. Definitely advise to see another vet as an emergency.

 

[skipidragon]

Let us know what your vet does. Thanks good luck