# Good thoughts for my Harlow, please



## Madeline410 (Jul 13, 2012)

*Good thoughts for my Harlow *update - not eating*

My girl has had polyuria on and off since I brought her home. It has been pretty bad lately, so I'm bringing her back in tonight. This isn't the first time she has been seen for this, so I've decided to try a new vet. I will update when we get home, but I wanted to ask for some good thoughts before we go. Thanks.


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

Sending you both positive thoughts. 

Please keep us updated!


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## Madeline410 (Jul 13, 2012)

So the new vet immediately noticed that she had sinus gunk (much more professionally put, of course), which my other vet never once commented on, even after I asked her to check. It all looked perfectly healthy to me, for the record. I feel so bad.  I wish I would've trusted my gut and switched vets sooner.

She did another fecal smear and a gram stain, and the fecal smear was normal, but she does have a bacterial infection going on. She said that it's possible the polyuria is related to this, and wants to give the antibiotics a week to work, then reassess. If the polyuria hasn't cleared up, we'll do the blood work. 

My shy girl did so well. She peeped a few times while the Doctor checked her vent, and she fought that swab in her mouth, but she is such a gentle thing. She gobbled her meds right up, and the Doctor even clipped her nails and wings for free for me.

Sooo continued good thoughts that our fix is just this simple, please! I have a feeling it's her kidneys, as she was on an all seed diet for years before I got her. Thinking positively, though!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

So glad you found a decent vet!!! Here's hoping she gets better soon!!!


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## cilenez (Oct 24, 2012)

keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers... hoping for a speedy recovery


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## CookieTiel (Feb 6, 2012)

Sending you some good thoughts...I hope she gets better soon


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## Madeline410 (Jul 13, 2012)

Thank you so much! Man, the vet made giving meds look so easy. I'm going to dig around for some tips, because I think she only drank about 1/4 of the dose. 

One more thing, she will not stop masturbating on the side of her cage! I've kept her cage covered for 10-11 hours the past week or so, I've rearranged her cage.. I don't know what else to do. Should I stop her when I see her doing it?


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## Madeline410 (Jul 13, 2012)

*UPDATE*



Soo she had dark, almost black poop overnight. She hasn't been eating as much as usual.. could the meds be hurting her belly? I was hoping the dark poop was from not eating as much, but everything I've read scared me about internal bleeding. We're headed in to the vet.. and of COURSE her poop is back to the normal color now. Sigh. This lady is worrying me! Wish us luck. I just want to have a healthy, happy bird!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Dark poops can also mean that her digestive system is slow or that she hasn't eaten much. If they're back to normal now then its probably because she hasn't eaten much. You can add probiotics to her food after you're done with the antibiotics to get her digestive system back on track.


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## Madeline410 (Jul 13, 2012)

Thank you. That's what I was hoping it was. I will search around the site for some recommendations on probiotics for her.

The vet did an xray, and there wasn't an egg, tumor, or anything other blockage. Her kidneys, liver, lungs, everything looked good. She also ran some blood tests since everything else has come back normal (aside from the bacteria she's currently being treated for.) I will hear about those tomorrow. Crossing my fingers for nothing serious, but I honestly don't know what to expect.

My poor babe is SO tired.  The vet said she didn't want to bleed.. and then once she did start, she didn't want to stop. They had to wrap her for a few minutes. She has also dropped from 82 to 78 grams. She was at a healthy weight for her size at 82, but the vet says she doesn't want her to lose anymore or we should worry.

Any tips on getting her to eat more? She's a seed addict- still hasn't so much as tasted a single food I've offered her. I haven't even offered any since she's been on her meds, to be honest. She does eat NutriBerries if I crumble them, but she's hardly even eating seed or millet. We have 3 days of meds left 

For those wondering, the first vet exam was $66 and the gram stain was $50. The Clavamox (antibiotic) was $33. The re-check today was $45, the x-ray was $75 for 1 view, and the blood tests together were $123. So my sweet little craigslist rescue is adding up fast. Yikes. (and if you don't want to do the math lol, that's $392, not counting her new bird exam back when I got her, which was $110 including a wing clip. Ouch.)

I'm going to let her rest and I will update you guys when I hear back about her blood work. Thanks for the support.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I would say for now let her eat whatever she wants to eat. Have you tried eating with her or hand feeding her? Maybe she would eat some birdie bread? You could slip in some veggies and pellets in that but still add some seeds so it might look more attractive to her? Sending good thoughts to you both.


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## Madeline410 (Jul 13, 2012)

I've tried everything.. she won't even eat millet or sunflower seeds, her favorites. How long do I let her go without eating? Should I syringe her some pedialite or is she still ok? She hasn't eaten all day. Not even from my hand. She'll pick up a seed and drop it.  is this normal "holy crap that vet was scary/the antibiotics are upsetting my belly" behavior, or should I be really concerned?


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## Madeline410 (Jul 13, 2012)

I tried editing the title to get some more replies, but it didn't work. :/ Should I just let her get some sleep and try again in the morning? Or keep pushing?


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Was she sedated for the blood draw? If so, she's probably out of it from that. 

It's hard to say, because not eating could be from stress, or it could be a symptom. I think if she were my bird, I'd probably make her comfortable and let her have some quiet for now. If she's still not eating tomorrow, then I'd be really concerned. But for right now you've done all you can, I think, and there is a point at which we can do more harm than good for them.


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## Madeline410 (Jul 13, 2012)

No, she was not sedated. Guh. I'm so worried. Poor thing.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Giving her a drop of pedialyte might help. Call the vet too and ask for advice. If you have the equipment to check her weight, do that too.


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## Madeline410 (Jul 13, 2012)

When I uncovered her this morning, she had eaten a bit of seeds  She's moving around much more than yesterday, too! Poor Lexie is jealous of all the extra attention Harlow has been getting.. she's dancing around my fingers on the keyboard right now, spooking herself as I type. She's such a spaz, it makes me laugh! Anyway, thanks for the support with my little sicky. Now let's just hope the news from the vet is ok.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

She was probably very stressed last night. Fingers crossed for good news!


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## Madeline410 (Jul 13, 2012)

OK, so her kidneys and liver are good, which is a relief to me. Her white blood count is low, though. She said there are no signs of internal bleeding/blood loss, so there is likely an inflammatory issue going on that has been there awhile, and it's not responding to the Clavamox. She wants to switch her to another antibiotic- Baytril, and an antifungal- Itraconazole. Anyone have experience with either? Anyone want to join me in a cry over my draining bank account?


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Baytril is very common and usually well tolerated.  I have never had a bird on an anti fungal, but I think her plan makes sense.


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## birdsoo (Jul 4, 2012)

I had a tiny budgie on a much stronger antifungal than itraconazole (it was voricanazole) , I also had a few birds on flucanazole. Also amphotericin B (called amphoterrible by some medical doctors lol) is a very strong medication and these are all used regularly in avian medicine. My birds all tolerated the antifungals well. It could also be about dose management. 

Which organs does the vet think are inflamed? How much does she weigh? How is her appetite now?


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## Madeline410 (Jul 13, 2012)

I'm not sure about the organs, honestly. She was 79 grams at her last visit (down from 82) My scale is still packed and I haven't been able to locate it. I might buy a new one. Her appetite is much better. She has been eating almost normally (seeds and pellets- no fresh stuff, but that's typical of this picky thing.) 

Her dose of the Itraconazole is 2 beads orally once daily. The label had "take for 30 days" handwritten on. I'm going to call and double check that one. Since she won't eat anything fresh, should I put them inside the syringe of Baytril? Her dose of Baytril is .05mls twice daily for 14 days.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

A fluctuation from 82 to 79 grams is well within the normal range. A bird's weight will fluctuate throughout the day depending on when it last ate and when it last pooped. The plumpness of the keel bone area says more about her weight than the exact reading on the scale.

Sorry, I can't answer your question about the meds.


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## birdsoo (Jul 4, 2012)

Fungal infections take a very long time to clear (if she has it). The period for taking antifungals are much longer than antibiotics. 30 days do not seem too weird to me when it is an antifungal in question. 

You can still call up the vet and make sure  

My cockatiels are always lighter in morning and heavier in evening and the difference seems to be in 2-3 gram range. I am glad she is eating now. You can offer some crushed and peeled sunflower seeds for some extra fat during recovery. 

Loads of kisses to her crowned sweet head


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## Madeline410 (Jul 13, 2012)

Thank you! She is doing so much better! She's more active than she's ever been. The new meds (baytril) are SO much easier to give her, as the dose is much less (.05mls, vs .2mls, I believe) and it's a lot thinner, so she can't spit it out, if that makes sense. It goes down like water, where the clavamox was gooey and she could spit it before she swallowed it. Anyway, thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it.


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## wings (Feb 12, 2009)

Madeline410 said:


> Thank you! She is doing so much better! She's more active than she's ever been. The new meds (baytril) are SO much easier to give her, as the dose is much less (.05mls, vs .2mls, I believe) and it's a lot thinner, so she can't spit it out, if that makes sense. It goes down like water, where the clavamox was gooey and she could spit it before she swallowed it. Anyway, thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it.


Is your bird being treated with baytril for a fungal infection? I'm just curious because my cockatiel was put on that med for 10 days to treat a 'possible' bacterial infection. She seemed to respond really well to it, and since coming off baytril, has slowly seemed to become ill again. I'm just curious, and trying to learn more about these things...

Hope your bird makes a speedy recovery!


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## wings (Feb 12, 2009)

I just read back in the post. I should have done that first. Disregard my question.
I definitely sympathize with your draining back account. When our little girl first got sick she had to be hospitalized for 3 days =$$$ +poo test+meds=~500. Her blood work will be ~$250. Is everything really more expensive in Canada!:wacko:


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