Head Tilt-Twinkles

[bpotter2]

update on Twinkles and Bon Bon.
Twinkles has not had any more setbacks and continues to improve. He now sits with his head completely straight. When he hops, he still holds his head to the side but it doesn't seem to slow him down. He's been racing and doing binkies. His down eye remains half closed but I am giving him chloramphenicol eye ointment so hopefully this will improve with time. I really would like to give the vet that told me to stop giving him the meds a real piece of my mind. I listened to her and Twinkles eye closed up. I am concerned that his eye sight may now also be affected. Prior to that episode, Twinkles eye was just fine.
Bon Bon seems to be fine, so far. I have not seen any signs of problems. Her wound healed well. She is still on ChlorPalm to complete the 2 months the vet prescribed. Her personality has blossomed since she recovered from her surgery. She must have been in so much pain, poor thing. She has become a little princess and is much more confident.
I must thank Randy a million times for steering me to demanding the ChlorPalm. I really don't think we would have this much recovery had we used what the vet wanted.
Kathy

 

[dquesnel]

Wow, this is great news! I am glad to hear they continue to improve.

About the eye- even if the eyesight is affected, they can get along relatively well. Its impressive actually, as long as you don't move the furniture around too much! The eye ointment may still have a positive effect though, but I wanted you to know just in case the eyesight has worsened it is OK. One of my guys in nearly blind in one eye, we just give that eye special attention, keep an eye out for any appearance of ulcers etc.

Thanks for the update- I am so glad they are staying well!

 

[Flashy]

What a brilliant update

 

[bpotter2]

Thanks! I really cannot imagine where we would be now without all your help!!!

 

[tonyshuman]

I loved the story you posted in Ringo's thread about them doing tons of binkies and loving being outside. I'm so glad your two are feeling much better. Thanks for updating us!

 

[Maureen Las]

I have been trying to figure out how to get ChlorPalm

I thought maybe I could order it fromCanada but I can only find sites where I can orderpills rather than suspension.

has anyone every ground up pills and mixed it withbanana or anything like that?

 

[bpotter2]

So, it's been a while and Twinkles seems to be doing quite well except for his eye. He is still on the ChlorPalm and eye ointment but his eye does not open at all anymore. We have tried a number of different eye ointments but they seem to have no effect whatsoever.
Twinkles still has a bit of tilt but he feels good, does lots of flops and bum shakes. I don't know if the ChlorPalm can do much more for him. I was hoping for full recovery. It would be great if his head would be completely straight, he holds it straight when eating but tilts when hopping and sleeping.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[aurora369]

Have you tried an injectable penicillin?

Has the eye been stained to check and see if it is scratched or has an ulcer? Depending on if it is a scratch, ulcer, or infection, it could need different treatment. If it is an infection, then it should be cultured to see what it is sensitive to.

--Dawn

 

[bpotter2]

Thanks. Dr Martinez had me up his ChlorPalm to see if it would make any difference along with a different antibiotic eye ointment, this will be the 4th different antibiotic we've tried for his eye. Unfortunately, Twinkles has decided he has had enough of his ChlorPalm. I was sneaking it on a Triscuit whole wheat cracker. He absolutely loves those crackers. Last few days, he has been refusing them, though. Squirting the stuff into his mouth was so traumatic for him, this was a great alternative. I don't know how I am going to trick him into eating the stuff now.
The vet said after we try the larger dose for a couple of weeks, if there is no improvement, we will take a culture. Just wondering if anyone else had this problem and what they did.

 

[Flashy]

Head tilt wise, some are just left with a residual tilt, however it sounds like his, like my Tilly's, is very minimal. It will probably also affect him minimally too and he is probably able to do pretty much everything a straight headed rabbit can, there might just be some times, like when being picked up, that it shows itself more.

Physio is one that can help, but it didn't make much difference to Tilly once she was better. Heat can also help to loosen the neck, so a warm 'something' in the cage might be worthwhile so he can rest his neck on it if he wants to.

If his original infection has gone then don't be disappointed he is not straight, be lots of positive things about the significant improvement he has made.

 

[bpotter2]

Thanks. I know I should be extremely happy with his progress. Just can't help myself wanting to make sure I am doing everything possible. If I can do anything for even the slightest improvement. I think I can honestly say I am a bit bunny crazy!!!

I know Randy said he has treated for up to 8 months. Just not sure when I should stop medicating when complete recovery may not be possible. He seems happy and doing normal things. Maybe this is as good as we'll get. Still going to do the culture, though, if no improvement with his eye these next couple of weeks.

Kathy

 

[Little Bay Poo]

bpotter2 wrote:

I know Randy said he has treated for up to 8 months. Just not sure when I should stop medicating when complete recovery may not be possible.

When Ronnie had head tilt, our vet told us to stop the medication and see what happened. I asked, "Is that the only way to tell if he's better? By trial and error?" She said yes.

So that's what we did; took Ronnie off of Pen G and waited to see if the rolling, eye darting, or dizziness came back. It did not. He's been moving around like normal for 8 months, but has a residual tilt to 11:00.

 

[Flashy]

That's also what we did. We waited until Tilly stopped showing improvements, then consolidated for about a month, I think, and then took her off it and waited. And waited and waited and we've been waiting since the start of January, but I think I can assume that if she gets worse again its not the original issue, but may be related.

 

[JadeIcing]

Ditto for Ringo do a round of meds, stop and wait to see how he does. Which currently is really good for him.

 

[tonyshuman]

Yep, head-tilt can take months to eradicate the infection, and there can still be a residual tilt. I'm glad he's been doing better, although I don't know what else you can do about his eye. What I've heard is that the down eye in tilt usually doesn't close at all, and the owner needs to occasionally lubricate it with artificial tears to keep it moist, not that it closes and won't open. He may just be trying very hard to protect it since it's close to the ground.