Kidney stones...help

[horseysale]

Hi
I have a 3 yr old Lionhead bunny. Took her to the vet today as she has lately immediately (within 5 minutes) after eating anything but hay has been showing severe stomach pain....hunched up--breathing heavily --stretching and overall uneasiness. After a few minutes of discomfort she is back to her happy always hungry self.

Vet today xray'd upon my asking and said she 'thought' she had a ton of kidney stones in her one kidney and a few in her other and unfortunately there was nothing I can do. ...

Any insight? I google'd kidney stones in bunnies and besides drinking a lot (which she has always done) she has zero symptoms that are mentioned plus i'm not sure how that correlates to getting severe pain after eating say a carrot...or a piece of a papaya treat. ...

At a loss as i can't find a 'rabbit' vet anywhere within a few hrs. She sent me home with stasis meds and antibiotics?? Bunny is definitely not in stasis. ..pooping and peeing and starving....

 

[horseysale]

Update: Called to check up and spoke with another vet at the clinic. She said they seen gas in the xray and that is what is causing these attacks. She is already getting simethicone daily....what else can i do to eliminate the gas completely that is left over from her last bout of stasis 2 weeks ago??

Said it is mineralization in the kidneys and cutting back on calcium should help that and blood work is needed to check the function but to wait till we get the gas under control to bring her back for that...

At least an answer this time that made sense....

 

[Leopold_Ruby]

I hope she feels better soon

 

[majorv]

I've heard that massaging the stomach can help relieve gas buildup. I know there are certain foods that cause gas more than others, so avoiding those, in addition to the ones high in calcium, should help.

 

[horseysale]

She still just seems miserable. They have me giving her .45 of enrofloxacin twice daily as well as the metroclopramide (.8) and simethicone. I found another vet that seems to have good reviews i am taking her to Monday evening (he only sees exotics mon and tues evenings)....

Diet wise (daily) she gets a handful of pellets along with free choice organic hay (Timothy and grass) and 2 leaves of romaine and 1 small carrot.....

 

[JBun]

If you notice her being in pain soon after being fed a certain food, then you should eliminate that food to see if it clears up the gas pain. Otherwise you may need to do an elimination diet to figure out the food that is causing the issue. Usually this is done by starting with a hay only diet, then once she is feeling better, gradually adding other foods back in, one at a time and starting off with a small amount that you gradually increase each day, so if she gets gas pain again you will know exactly what caused it. You do need to ensure she is eating her hay really well if you try this though. Figuring out a diet related cause of gas pain is the same concept as used for mushy poop in rabbits.
http://www.sawneeanimalclinic.com/downloads/chronic_intermittent_diarrhea_in_rabbits.pdf

I had one rabbit that would get digestive pain from eating any type of pellet, so he had to be on a hay and leafy veg diet. Some rabbits will be sensitive to a particular veg. For now it would also be good to cut the sugary treats out of the diet, including the carrot, as excess sugars will often contribute to gut problems.

Also, a rabbit in pain won't usually eat. If you weren't given a pain med like Metacam to give to her, you should ask for some.