Back in November, when we saw the X-rays of her elongated tooth roots and the infection, Mabel's future looked very short and incredibly bleak. She was diagnosed with "quite severe osteomyelitis of the mandibular molar roots with possible root overgrowth". She was quite subdued, and the pain was making it impossible for her to eat hay. The resulting lack of fibre in her diet alone was enough to eventually cause serious problems, and this type of infection was unlikely to respond to antibiotics. We agreed that surgery was not an option, but sought further advice on palliative care for Mabel.
Following consultation with an amazing senior specialist in rabbit medicine, Mabel was prescribed tramadol and meloxicam for pain relief, and Baytril and metronidazole (antibiotics). Slowly but surely she started to return to the Mabel we knew… mischievous, always hungry, and once again paying attention to poor Dijon, who hadn't been able to understand why she'd stopped grooming him!
Several months on, she is happy, active, playful, and even able to eat hay - perhaps not as much as she should, but it's better than nothing. She certainly enjoys her hay cookies. We know it won't last forever, but it shows that it's not always time to give up hope.
This week we've had a possible setback: the vet informed us that there is a problem with the supplier of the tramadol oral drops, and that they won't be available for a few months. Obviously this could be a major problem for Mabel. We don't know for sure if it's a combination of her antibiotics and painkillers, or one particular drug which has been helping her. We have just a few days' worth of tramadol left, so have been gradually reducing her dose and watching carefully. So far she has been fine - although much more active, which could be the lack of the sedating tramadol, or a sense of Spring in the air?!
This morning Mabel and Dijon have been exploring 'our' side of the living, and also the hallway. Dijon bravely shot upstairs - not just one flight, but two, into the loft conversion. Of course, he only did it because they were conspiring against me. Mabel watched until I'd followed him up, then burrowed into the sofa whilst unattended.
Here is a selection of photos, showing: Mabel eating hay and grass; Mabel's supplementary eating arrangement, on top of her cage next to the piano, out of Dijon's reach; Dijon exploring upstairs; and Dijon exhausted from exploring upstairs.
