Bunny with random pain and discomfort

[tunneyfan]

Hi,

Hoping someone will have an idea as to what may be wrong with my bunny. The vet can't figure it out.

My bunny had bladder surgery just over a year ago (sept 16 2010) to remove some stones. In Jan of this year he started to have moments I thought may be stasis. he wouldn't eat and would just sit in a corner. I'd give him metacam and gas med and he'd start to eat an hour later. This continued every couple of weeks until April.

I took him to the vet and his penis was inflamed so we thought that was the problem. This issue cleared up but he continued to have painful moments. Went back to vet when i noticed he had what looked like sore hocks. the vet said this wouldn't be the problem and his hocks just had a minor irritation.

In April he looked like he was in a lot of pain. Kept circling in a corner, would sit on his side for a few seconds and get up and circle again. He'd shake and his nostrils would flare. I'd give him pain meds and he'd be fine. Since Aug he's been on metacam twice a day (injectable). However, even after his metacam dose he acted like he was in pain. Then he'd get an additional dose.

The last couple of months i've been giving him buprenor when he'd have these episodes. They've been coming on once a week. When I go to vet he looks fine and the exam doesn't show any issues. He gets regular xrays to make sure he doesn't have any new stones. Everything looks ok.

Now my thought is that it could be gas and it causes pain.

Has anyone had an experience with pain you can't pin point? Anyone have a rabbit act the way mine does?

Thanks.

Stacy

 

[Nancy McClelland]

If the problem is gas, the stomach would be bloated and they have a tendency to hold their back end up. Is their a veterinary school anywhere near you. When we lived in N Calif we had U C Davis as a resource. You can usually chat with bunny specialists and their treatments were lower cost too.

 

[tamsin]

Has he had a urine test for bladder infection? That could cause discomfort without showing up on the xray.

As Nancy said, with gas you'd be able to feel the stomach.

The other thing would be joint pain, if he was sitting odd from arthritus that could trigger sore hocks although I'd have thought with the pain you'd have seen movement issues. What area do the xrays cover - if they show his spine that could be ruled out.

 

[Maureen Las]

tamsin wrote:

Has he had a urine test for bladder infection? That could cause discomfort without showing up on the xray.

As Nancy said, with gas you'd be able to feel the stomach.

The other thing would be joint pain, if he was sitting odd from arthritus that could trigger sore hocks although I'd have thought with the pain you'd have seen movement issues. What area do the xrays cover - if they show his spine that could be ruled out.

None of this sounds like gas to me but possibly ( just a guess) continuing problem with his bladder.

Has he had a urine test for bladder infection?? if so that may be a good direction to go. Has he had a blood panel drawn? This would indicate if his organs are functioning normally and also whether he has an occult infection.

To be honest... it seems as if there has been too much time passing treating for pain without determining the cause. I know that you are trying but I do feel very bad for this rabbit. ...

\Why was this rabbit's penis sore? This is a good question and should have been explored further.
If you are not gettin answers from your vet I would suggest getting a second opinion elsewhere to get another perspective.
Good Luck!

 

[Maureen Las]

The RO forum vet list for CA



http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11590&forum_id=9

 

[tunneyfan]

I had a urine culture done and it came back fine. His penis was sore because he passed a HUGE stone after the surgery so the vet thinks it may have caused it to stretch. He had a stone stuck there for 2 days and vet couldn't push it out. We had to let it pass on its own. This penis now sticks out a little and doesn't fully retract. It looks okay now though.

He went into stasis last night and the vet walked me through everything i should do.
xrays come out fine and show now issues. There was time i was taking him to the vet every other week. He'd have an episode and by the time i got him to the vet he was fine. That's the frustrating part.