Thursday, January 5, 2017

Uncertain

The vet came out yesterday to see Ben.  By the time she got here, he looked 98% normal and seemed to be doing really well.  We drew some blood for a few tests and agreed to continue his antibiotics and wean him off of banamine and onto previcox (pain med), because it is safer.  We both thought we had this under control.

This morning, Ben was in trouble again.  He was very sore and lying down too much.  I put him back on banamine and when he went out and laid down on the ice for an hour and refused to get up, I gave him some more.  That finally worked and he is back on his feet and moving around, albeit very slowly and carefully.

Ben's Lyme test came back negative and his other blood test came back normal.  He shows signs of 50% muscle pain and 50% foot pain.  We can't tell if one is causing the other or vice versa.

I've sent a long letter off to the UK Donkey Sanctuary to see if they have any words of wisdom for us.  We sure could use some.

18 comments:

  1. Oh, Kris, I'm so sorry. Continuing prayers.

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  2. Could he have fallen fooling around in his pasture? Or could it be a reaction to the antibiotics? She of them can cause muscle pain as a side effect Boy he's a real mystery man!

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  3. Damn! I'm so sorry to read this Kris. I know how difficult it is to see our animals in distress and not know how to help. I sure hope the Donkey Sanctuary will come through for you Please keep us posted.

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  4. If it wasn't for bad luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all ---- or at least it seems like that sometimes. Here's hoping the Sanctuary has some answers. Poor Ben.

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  5. Can donkeys have PSSM? Would a tying up episode have shown up on blood work so long after it happened? My PSSM horse used to be pretty miserable in the winter. I'm sorry
    Ben isn't getting better. I was wondering about whether Previcox would be better, but apparently Ben says it isn't.

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  6. Hopefully you get some answers to help. Hate it when our animals have problems that aren't easily defined. Sending good thoughts and healing prayers.

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  7. What about adding TURMERIC to his food? I have to do that with my donkey every spring and fall, and I have been giving it to him everyday this winter because it has been so harsh. Buddy gets ONE Sore foot twice a year. DIfferent foot. Not always the same foot. Sometimes the absess will break, but not always. He is fine otherwise. I give him about a tablespoon in his cup of senior feed every day.

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  8. Damn it! If it's not one thing it's another! Sending some good vibes Bens way. Hang in there.

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  9. I'm so sorry to hear he had a relapse. Prayers for Ben. Hope you can find out what is going on.

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  10. Is it of any diagnostic importance that Ben's symptoms and discomfort respond so much better to Banamine than the Previcox? Keeping good thoughts for you, Ben and that the Donkey Sanctuary can help.

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  11. Oh no, poor Ben! Sorry to hear, must be frustrating and concerning to say the least. Sending healing thoughts!

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  12. I had something similar happen to Eddie, my donk Gelding years ago. Three times we had to lift him with the skid steer and prop him up. All tests for everything came back negative.
    We got through that and now 7 yrs later he seems to have no issues at all. Donkeys are very different and many vets don't know how to treat them.

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  13. Bummer that he isn't feeling better. It's so concerning when our beloved animals are hurting. I hope your sanctuary can give some good advice. It's scary and so frustrating. Dear Ben. Feel better soon healing thoughts sent your way

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  14. Come on, Ben, feel better soon for your mama!

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  15. I am so sorry to hear about Ben. A similar incident just happened to my good friend on Christmas Eve. One of her minature donkeys could not get up. She called her vet immediately and it took 5 people just to pick him up and try to get him to stand. After treating him not sure exactly what the vet gave him he seemed better and the vet left. Later that same day I stopped over to give her a blanket for him and he was again lying down and couldn't get up. He seemed to be getting worse too. I noticed he was flaring his nostrils and his belly looked a little swollen. We weren't able to get him to stand up though he kept trying. Finally, my friend called the vet again. Being that it was Christmas Eve she could make it out till later that evening. I later learned that my friend had to make the sad decision to put him down. He was 13 years old and my friend owned him since he was 6 months old and he was never sick in all those years. The had taken blood from him too and all his blood work came back normal. The vet had no explanation for her. The vet also said about a few weeks earlier a similar episode happened with another donkey and he too did not make even after taking that donkey to the hospital. I'm wondering if it is something environmental. My friends other donkey and horses all seem to be fine. Your Ben though seems to be a least responding to some medication and I am keeping my fingers crossed that he gets back to his normal self. Didn't want to scare you but I couldn't help but wonder what is going on.

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  16. dang - how frustrating. my kitties scare me with an ailment/bad day periodically, and it's such a reminder of the fragility of things. but your instincts have been good so far, and i'll bet your sanctuary friends will have some ideas/experiences that will help as well. plus all the good tips from other readers above. this prolonged cold isn't much help, though - will get barely above zero here yet again today and tomorrow, tv forecasters say. --suz in ohio

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