Questions about your vet's recommendation for blood work...

[Jenk]

I'm curious to know:

1) How frequently does your vet recommend that you have blood work done on your rabbit?

2) Does s/he recommend more frequent blood work for older rabbits--say, age 6 and up--or does s/he recommend the same frequency for rabbits of any age?

3) Does your vet recommend blood work to test for conditions that aren't treatable/curable?


Thank you,

Jenk

 

[MiniLopHop]

My vet recommends bloodwork for buns 4+ before surgery and 8+ once a year. I think she does a general CBC and possible blood count unless she suspects something.

We did culture Becky's eyes because we had issues getting them cleared up. Other than that no one has needed any lab work. Sophie had a urinalisis today, but that was just what they could do there.

We are pretty sure Becky has EC, but the vet thought the blood test was pointless since so many rabbits have been exposed. We treated for EC and she improved.

 

[majorv]

I don't reallysee the need to do routine bloodwork onrabbits. Sometimes I think vets come up with ways to makemoney. Our rabbits stay pretty healthy, but we've had to visit a vet maybe5 times over the last 4 years when a rabbit had medical issues we couldn't treat. Only once did the vet take blood, and it was for a rabbit we felt sure had EC.

 

[Jenk]

majorv wrote:

I don't...see the need to do routine blood work onrabbits. Sometimes I think vets come up with ways to makemoney.

I'm starting to feel that way about my vet. I trusted her after having left another vet who definitely milked me (and many others) for money.

My vet's office recommends doing blood work twice yearly on exotics of any age. (I believe when I first started going there a few years' ago, annual blood work was recommended.)

Our rabbits stay pretty healthy, but we've had to visit a vet maybe 5 times over the last 4 years when a rabbit had medical issues we couldn't treat. Only once did the vet take blood, and it was for a rabbit we felt sure had EC.

You are very lucky; our rabbits have cost us a royal mint in the 5 years' that we've had our rabbits. Part of the issue is my anxiety about their health issues--which include repetitive stasis for one and E. cuniculi (EC) for the other. But vets near me suggest so many tests, giving me hope that some cause of the symptoms will be found; I, like a fool, have gone along with them, and nothing definitive has been found.

I think most of my trust for my vet snapped when she suggested a fourth EC titer test for my one rabbit. She'd even told me after the third titer test that it likely was overkill, but she'd said that some rabbits' titer count drops after EC treatment; so I went along with the third test. But a fourth?!?

Jenk

 

[MiniLopHop]

Jenk- If it makes you feel better, she is following what is said in the literature. I have read a ton about EC in every vet journal I can find. They are starting to say titers should be taken on a regular basis to follow the progression of the disease.

I personally don't put much value on the titer, but your vet is probably just trying to do her best. I think it shows she is reading the current literature. This disease is still one of the controvercial ones in vet medicine- how to best detect, treat, and manage the progression. Heck, some even argue if it causes symptoms at all! (old school thinking)

 

[Jenk]

MiniLopHop wrote:

Jenk- If it makes you feel better, she is following what is said in the literature. I have read a ton about EC in every vet journal I can find. They are starting to say titers should be taken on a regular basis to follow the progression of the disease.

That could very well be, as she did tell me once--and I probably already mentioned it--that it's thought that a second titer taken 4-6 weeks' after the first may indicate active infection if it jumps into the "high" value range.

I personally don't put much value on the titer, but your vet is probably just trying to do her best. I think it shows she is reading the current literature. This disease is still one of the controvercial ones in vet medicine- how to best detect, treat, and manage the progression. Heck, some even argue if it causes symptoms at all! (old school thinking).

I'm upset about all the money spent/lost on so many tests--including "routine" blood work. There have been times when a bun could've been treated empirically without a major risk, but tests were always insisted upon.

I'm also upset that I spent about $1,500 on tests/exams/meds. due to Pink's symptoms, when another bun owner told me that E. cuniculi should've been suspected early on and tested for before most anything else. (Note: Pink doesn't have nystagmus or head tilt. But he suffers weight loss, constant shedding, voracious appetite/thirst, increased urination, and "off" behavior in terms of when he's active and restful.)

I am with you about the value of a titer test, since the appearance--and now the reappearance--of symptoms says more to me than could any titer count.