# Allopurinol question



## middkees (Feb 11, 2013)

My Cockatiel has been having a lot of trouble with his feet and legs probably due to gout secondary to kidney disease. Vet agreed to let me try allopurinol. After starting it, Bobbin seemed to get worse and I called the vet and said I was going to discontinue the allopurinol. Today I was talking to a friend who has gout and he told me that he has taken allopurinol and the doctor has told him to expect his condition to flareup and get worse after starting the allopurinol, but to continue it and the allopurinol would then help with the uric acid crystals. He said he has found that to be true. I am wondering if this is true with birds also. The vet is closed for the weekend so I can't check with them. I plan on asking Dr. Welle at the University of Illinois Veterinary Small Animal Clinic when I take Bobbin on August 12, but I was wondering if anyone here has had experience using allopurinol with their cockatiel. I wold like to know if anyone has found this to be true with cockatiels --- condition seems to worsen but then improves with continued use of allopurinol.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

According to http://www.2ndchance.info/gout.htm a substantial dose of allopurinol can actually cause gout in birds, and a lower dose might be ineffective. 

According to http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/budgietiel.html in some cases of avian gout they will start with a low dose and gradually increase it. 

According to http://www.holisticbird.org/pages/hgoutkidneys.htm "[Allopurionol] is merely a preventative for further tissue deposits. It does not remove deposits already in tissue. Allopurinol must be administered daily for the rest of the bird's life, according to one source. It is toxic to the liver.".

It sounds like this is an iffy drug for gout treatment in birds. I didn't read the entire article at the links above, but they might contain information about other treatment options. But I'd ignore any recommendations for homeopathy and Bach flowers; there is no scientific principle by which those things could actually work, and they appear to be high-priced placebos.


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## nassrah (Feb 27, 2012)

I am a doctor and have already used Allopurinol for a lot of gout patients.So far,none of them ever told me their condition first worsened and then got better . All I hear is that with treatment and change of food habits, the majority of them improve .I do agree with what was said about homeopathy and Bach florals.I have no experience about the use of Allopurinol in birds,but if you have noticed that your bird is not improving talk to the experts here and the vet before continuing to use it. Best of luck X x


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Allopurinol is effective for humans, but according to http://www.2ndchance.info/gout.htm it doesn't work the same way in birds. I can't judge the accuracy of the article, but the other links also cast doubt on its effectiveness for avian gout. 

I encourage the OP to read up on gout treatment for birds and then discuss the options with the vet. Maybe a change in the allopurinol dosage would be appropriate, or maybe there's a completely different treatment that would work better for you.


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## middkees (Feb 11, 2013)

Thanks to those of you who responded to my allopurinol question. I am taking Bobbin in for an avian profile CBC tomorrow so that I will have current bloodwork results to take with me to my consultation at the University of Illinois. I plan on asking the vet if he has heard of allopurinol causing a flareup at first, but then helping with continued use. I talked to a second person at work today who uses allopurinol who experienced a terrible flareup when she first took the allopurinol, but then experienced a great deal of relief. I realize that birds may not respond the same way that people do to allopurinol. I will probably wait to talk to Dr. Welle at the University of Illinois to see what he thinks about using allopurinol to treat gout in birds. Thanks again to everyone who offered their thoughts and information. It is much appreciated.


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