Getting Nervous

[Bunnicula]

As some of you may remember, Gingivere has had a "cataract-like" shadow on her eyes since she was quite young. Our vet tried multiple treatments that did nothing, so last spring we visited a veterinary ophthamologist.

Basically his diagnosis was that she has some sort of congenital condition not related to EC (which she has tested strong positive for - but has shown no neurological manifestations). Her retina and optic nerve got a clean bill of health.

Since she did not seem bothered or hindered by the growths, what we determined last year was to keep an eye on things (no pun intended). The ophthamologist said that if I saw any evidence that the growths were becoming irritants that we could consider shaving them off. Well, I think that time has come.

Since mid-winter I have noticed increased watering of her eyes - lately to the point where the fur all around them is saturated. And just this week I noticed that she had a scratch on her face in that area - so she must be scratching/rubbing at them a lot.

Please send prayers and healing thoughts our way. Gingi HATES car rides, and I have to drive an hour to see this doc. My poor girl is bound to grind her teeth and shake through the entire ride. Then there will be her stress as we sit in a waiting room full of barking dogs. AND...then I get to decide if the risk of anesthesia is worth it. She's a 5 yr old bunny... *sighs heavily* The ophthamologist is a great guy, but he fully admits that he is no rabbit expert (he does have one that he confers with, however).

Our appointment is Friday at 11:40...

 

[naturestee]

ray: Eye problems like that seriously make my eyes water.

Ask about having basic bloodwork- usually just liver and kidney values- checked before putting Gingivere under anesthesia. This can screen for some of the more health problems that cause complications with anesthesia, and my vet clinic usually recommends it.

 

[polly]

ouch that doesnt sound nice it will be worth it if it makes it better though hugs to you and Gingivere let us know how it goes :hug:

 

[Becca]

naturestee wrote:

ray: Eye problems like that seriously make my eyes water.

It made my eyes water as well, poor little bun, at least she is getting the help she needs. I hope she gets well soon, and i hope everything goes well.

 

[maherwoman]

Aww...you poor things...

I'll be praying for you both...

If your vet's admitting he's not terribly good with rabbits...any chance you can check out other vets? (I don't know if you've been asked this before, so excuse my not knowing...)

:hug: ray:

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Oh, goodness, this sounds scary for you and Gingivere! Poor baby girl! I will be thinking of her and hoping for the best. How has she been doing other than the eye problem? You should update your blog, it was one of my favorites!! And more pictures of all 4 buns, please :biggrin2:

 

[pla725]

My foster Abner is going tomorrow for a second opinion with another ophthmologist. He doing this a favor for the primary vet. Plus he needs the experience to obtain hisboard certification in exotics. I hope everything goes well your visit.

 

[Bunnicula]

maherwoman wrote:

If your vet's admitting he's not terribly good with rabbits...any chance you can check out other vets? (I don't know if you've been asked this before, so excuse my not knowing...)

Yeah, that's the tough thing. Wish I could have MY bunny vet there with the specialist. Oh well... One thing with the ophthamologist is that last time we were there he gave her eyes an extremely thorough exam and charged me $0 because he didn't feel like he had a definitive diagnosis for me. But then he DID confer with a rabbit-savvy vet and called my home to tell me what they had come up with jointly.

It was good to find a doc that is so honest and wants to do the right thing. I know that whatever step we decide on, she will be in excellent hands. My greatest apprehension is the anesthesia.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts, prayers, and suggestions!

Oh, and SnowyShiloh, Gingi still has every intention of traveling northwest to bunny-nap Newt! She just wants to be able to see him when she does. :tongue

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Bunnicula, I'm glad to hear that the doctor sounds knowledgeable and caring! I would be worried about the anesthesia too, though :? Bunnies are so delicate...

Also, I'm glad Gingi is after Newt because that means Rory, Tallulah and Monroe are safe :biggrin2: I should probably warn YukonDaisy about Gingivere's evil plot though...

 

[Bunnicula]

SnowyShiloh wrote:

Also, I'm glad Gingi is after Newt because that means Rory, Tallulah and Monroe are safe :biggrin2: I should probably warn YukonDaisy about Gingivere's evil plot though...

Oops...Rory is not safe. That's whose name I meant to type. Had just gotten donechecking in on some blogs...read Diana's...had Newt on my mind...

Of course, Gingi has threatened to abduct Newt, too. I might need to lock her up before I have7,000,000 bunnies and you all have none.:tongue

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Well, tell Gingi that I just posted a whole bunch of ultra sexay Rory pictures in my bunny blog! She should enjoy them, maybe they'll take her mind off her eyes :tongue

 

[Bunnicula]

Gingivere and I just returned home from our vet visit.

She actually did quite well on the ride there. It wasn't until the exam that she became agitated. She was a bit distressed at the start of our trip home, but then I placed a towel over her carrier and she laid down and stopped grinding her teeth. :biggrin2:

Again, Dr. Glickstein did a very thorough exam. He's decided that the profuse tearing is definitely from an irritant. We discussed any changes in her diet or lifestyle that may have agitated her eyes, because honestly the "calcifications" don't look any larger than they were on her visit last year...though the one on her right eye may be thicker.

We discussed medical vs surgical treatment, and have opted to treat medically at this time. She will start out with NaCl drops 4x per day. If the deposits are indeed calcium, they may decrease with this treatment. If they are cholesterol or something else, it is unlikely that the drops will change the irritant, but they should help to produce a change in her comfort level.

The unfortunate part of this treatment?It may take 8 - 12 weeks to see any significant results. He has asked me to photograph the eyes and to take update photos...but not really do any comparisons until 8 wks from the first photos. The other bad aspect is that it may not resolve her issue at all.

However, there was no guarantee that surgery would produce lasting results either. As we believe that this is a congenital predisposition, he could perform surgery only for these growths to come back.

I felt that trying this option first would be a good move. Perhaps it will resolve her issue. And if not, there is always the option of surgical removal. But at least this way I won't be subjecting her to the risks of anesthesia unless totally necessary.

Another suggestion he had was to use Vaseline on her skin where the tearing seems to be irritating her. On that topic, has anyone used Vaseline with rabbits? I do want to make certain I am using something that will not be harmful to her if ingested.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts, prayers, and well-wishes. Gingi & I appreciate it!

~Mary Ellen

 

[SnowyShiloh]

I'm glad to hear that Gingi did okay on the long drives! Has putting a towel over the carrier ever helped her in the past? I'm also glad that her calcifications aren't bigger, that seems like a good sign. I would go the medication route to, I'm relieved the vet didn't say she needs surgery for sure. Hopefully you'll see results with the eye drops, too bad it takes so long to start working! And I don't have any bunny plus vaseline experience, hopefully someone will come along soon who does

Pats and a carrot for Queen Gingivere! She has such a nice name... I think it would be befitting of Tallulah as well, but I don't think Gingi would have wanted to share her lovely name. Tallulah's name means "princess", so at least it's not too far off!

 

[naturestee]

Yay! You're back home!

I hope the treatment works. I'm glad that there is at least something you can try. I've never used Vaseline but I know you can use some of the diaper rash ointments on rabbits to prevent urine burn. So that would be another option. I would think Vaseline would be fairly safe though.

Nose rubs to Gingivere!

 

[Bunnicula]

Yeah, the doc said something about using brand name Vaseline because some of the "cheaper" stuff could actually be more of an irritant than a help. So I am going to make certain that's what we have in the medicine cabinet.

I gave her drops at dinner (and will again at bed time). She saw me coming and took off behind the sofa. :sofa: But she was back out in a minute and sat very still and calm for treatment. Sure hope her cooperative attitude lasts as long as the medicine does.

 

[pla725]

I'm glad the visit went well. Hopefully her condition will get no worse. I've use diaper rash oinment before on a rabbit. It does help.

 

[pamnock]

Did the vet rule out entropian? It is an inherited defect in the eye that occurs occasionally in some breeds, but I especially see it in the lops. The first signs are generally tearing, and white spots on the cornea due to abrasion from the defective eye lids. Squinting may also be noted. The condition may be noted at an early age, or may not be detected until the rabbit is older.

Pam

 

[Bunnicula]

pamnock wrote:

Did the vet rule out entropian? It is an inherited defect in the eye that occurs occasionally in some breeds, but I especially see it in the lops. The first signs are generally tearing, and white spots on the cornea due to abrasion from the defective eye lids. Squinting may also be noted. The condition may be noted at an early age, or may not be detected until the rabbit is older.

Pam

Hmmmm......he didn't mention it that I can remember. But our first visit to him was a year ago.

I will do a bit of my own research. Thanks for the input! I may have to suggest that as a possible diagnosis.

 

[pamnock]

You can often see a tiny defect or notch in the eyelid. Most often, I see it on the bottom lid. The defect can also cause the lid to roll in or outward. In some cases, the defect in the eyelid is very obvious.

Pam

 

[Bunnicula]

pamnock wrote:

You can often see a tiny defect or notch in the eyelid. Most often, I see it on the bottom lid. The defect can also cause the lid to roll in or outward. In some cases, the defect in the eyelid is very obvious.

Pam

Thanks for the explanation!

There's nothing obvious with her eyelids. She's had multiple (very thorough) eyeexams by both our primary vet and the specialist. Neither of them made mention of that, and there is nothing that I can detect.

She's have the white "cataract-like" growths since she was quite young. Probably before she reached a year of age. It's only as they have thickened that they seem to be causing her any problem. And, truthfully, other than the watering and what I perceive to be a depth-perception issue, she seems undaunted by them.

She's also a real little trooper about the drops. Oh, yeah, after I do one eye, she tries to tightly close the other (hehe), but she doesn't fight to get away...so at least that helps.