So what now??

[LuvMyRabbits]

Hi again everyone..hope all is well with everyone since last time I've posted..here again today...just stressed out and confused..wondering what the heckis my next step to just make them healthy?? Some of you may know from previous posts of mine that I'm dealing with a URI that one of my rabbits had but now they both have it.

First Spirit started with a little drainage from her eye and nose and some sneezing,Itook her to the vet they gave me tetracycline to give her that I gave for the full course ( I forget how long it was but I believe 14 days 1ml a day ). After the couse of the medicationwas finished she was still sneezing and then Shadow started sneezing as well.

Took her back to the vets for her spay and mentioned that she was still sneezing and that now Shadow was sneezing to..so I asked her if she could prescribe Zitromax for them and she did..they each had 1ml a day for 7 days of the generic brand mixed into liquid form...they just finished their course yesterday...and today they both sneezed again...

Sigh..... My poor bunnies are still sick. Poor Spirit has had this stuff going on for at least a month now..it cant be good for this to stay in her body like that and I'm really concerned. What do I do now?? What can just make them both better?? Shadow is going in for his neuter this Thursday and I dont like the idea of him going under with a URI. I mean a surgeon wouldnt operate on me if I had a cold would they?? So that scares the heck outta me..but Spirit had her URI when she got spayed and she was ok so I'm going to keep positive thoughts..but honestly this is getting very costly and I cant keep getting medicine for them that is not solving the problem just to go and do the same thing over and over. I'm not going to keep pumping medications into their bodies that arent even working..their so little and I know that cant be good for them. So I'm at a loss of what to do now..I know its not the vets fault but geeze how many times do I pay for something that isnt working..I dont want to jeopardize their lives by letting this URI stay around for any longer than necessary but I also feel like I am jeopardizing their health by wasting time and giving them medicine to solve a problembutin the end it leaves me back to square one..This is going to be my 3rd attempt at getting the right medication for their problem..and to be truthful giving them all this medicine doesnt sit well with me. Pleeeeease help!!!!!

They are both eating and drinking normally..they have fresh veggies everyday and unlimited hay and a small amount of pellets..their poops are both normal..their behavior is the same as its always been..they just sneeze..and I know its something more than just dust from the hay or something like that because of the drainage Spirit had on the first vet visit from her eye and nose. I dont know if I'm expecting a miracle or what but I love these 2 like they are my children ( some of you may understand ) and would be crushed if something ever happened to them and I just want to get it right...so what now??

 

[Maureen Las]

Well the medications have not been administered for a long enough period ; I don't know the dosage of zithromax nor the wt of your rabbits but 1 week is not a long enough course . ..no matter what the antibiotic is
if your vet is going to go ahead with surgery n the middles of URI"s then I think even less of him
please post the dosage and weight of your rabbits in the zithromax thread...

 

[Maureen Las]

I just saw your other post.; these rabbits are in the 3 kg wt range and probably could tolerate the dosage of 40 mg per day because it is an underdosing according to medi-rabbit. Thus is exactly what happened to my rabbit who was on it on a low dose for 6 weeks ;
I would advise that you discuss with your vet the possibility of trying to do a C&S and culture the bacteria

if it was myself i would want to try bicillin injections as it has saved by rabbits' lives again and again.......

 

[tonyshuman]

I think you should go for another week with zithromax before switching to another antibiotic. There was at least some improvement with it, right?

 

[LuvMyRabbits]

tonyshuman wrote:

I think you should go for another week with zithromax before switching to another antibiotic. There was at least some improvement with it, right?

Yes actually there was no sneezing while they were on it until the day after it stopped..I was very hopeful..its been 3days now since their last dose..do you think another week will do it or ?? and what about the underdosing..wouldnt it be pointless if they arent getting the amound they need.

 

[Maureen Las]

What did you decide to do ?

How's your bun?

 

[LuvMyRabbits]

angieluv wrote:

What did you decide to do ?

How's your bun?

They are doing well..behavior eating/drinking habits are good..I've only heard them sneeze twice since the day the antibiotics stopped but that just shows me its still there...Shadow goes in for his neuter on Thursday morning so I'm going to talk with her about it and show her the printout from the site for safe antibiotics for rabbits and discuss with her the dosing and the length of time for treatment this is the link I'm talking about http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Antibiotics/Safe_antibiotics.htm

My concern is the dosing.. it says there 30-50mg per day which I think on another thread came out to be like 3ml a day?? They were getting 1ml per day...they did good on it with 1ml but as we now know it didnt get rid of it..my concern is if the vet does think they maybe need a higher dosage each day how will their systems react. Spirit looked wierd the first few times I gave it to her and it scared me..first few days she just looked kinda "out of it" while on them but then that stopped..I didnt notice change in their appetite or anything so thats good but I really dont want to give them 3ml a day and have it harm them...so I want to know what I should be asking for when I go in.. I was thinking maybe 1 1/2 ml per day for a week and a half? They havent been on it for a few days now..so maybe try a full 2 week course with 1ml a day?? I just wish I knew what would work :Xwas trying to kill 2birds with one stone and not have to pay a seperate $50 office visit when hes going there Thursday since I have to buy the meds again..

So if this was you in this situation what would you feel comfortable doing? I mean dosing wise and time wise..I know that person in another thread said that a 2week course worked well..but now its been a few days since the last dose...I trust your opinion and just want to know what I should/should'nt be ok with..I dont want to hurt them while trying to get them well...this is difficult because I'm not working right now and my finance is "getting tired of getting the vet's rich for stuff that is not working" so hes not even wanting to get more medicine but I will find a way to convince him because he loves them as much as we all do..he just feels like hes being taken advantage of by these visits one after the other after the other constantly coming out of pocket but same issues keep continuing.

billicin injections?? should I even ask her about those?? just throwing that out there