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14 May 2003 - Worry and Panic sets In. Denial
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:-( I sure hope this is not what we are dealing with. It' is so difficult considering all the signs and symptoms he has right now, could point to many things. Also the symptoms he displays are the same symptoms for many other ailments. I sure wish it was much easier to diagnos birds. I made a discovery this evening. For a about 2 weeks or more, i noticed a funny smell around the Triplets cage and play area, I checked the area throughly, or so I thought I did and have never been able to find anything that was responsible for this sour like smell. Well tonight, I bent down behind an area in which i've seen him play and there was a dish there with spoiled food. Immediately, I began to wonder if this is the culprit? Considering his ailment started one day out of no where and the rest of the birds are completely normal and themselves. I wonder if Austin ate any of this rotting food. If he has eaten it, would one helping (bite, or a few bites) make him ill as he is without extreme symptoms for days and days? Or would it pass through him and he should have been fine? Or perhaps he may tested this awful rotting food more then once?. I can well imagine what food poising or Ecoli could do.........but not sure what happens in a birds system when digested. It was too late to call the Vet, but I will again in the morning to mention this. Is it possible if he did ingest this that we have a Yeast/Bacterial issue here? Upsetting his digestive tract? And making him feel depressed, and just ill feeling? Would this explain why his stools are still normally formed and no diarehha? Because if I was to guess, his crop does seem abit swollen or more puffy then normal, even with taking small amounts of formula. I noticed this slight puffyness this morning, It might have existed before without me really thinking to take a look, as it is ony as off yesterday did he start showing Crop and digestive issues. I know this is a symptom of Samanella , and i also know it is PDD. He still eats his formula as he would normally. After eating, he spits abit back up.....then the remaining stays and he no longer spits up anymore. It appears that if he eats too much, or drinks too much his tummy seems more intolerant then if he takes just little bits all day long. I am unsure whether I shoud have him on heat. Figuring if a bird is ill or fighting ailments, they have to use calories to stay warm, so I put the bird heater (Safe and made to put ontop of a cage, it does not glow red, nor is it so hot that a bird can burn itself) leaving room for him to move if he wishes. Good idea? Lastly, if he indeed is suffering from a food poisining type ailment, would Baytril and NYstat help this? I think im just in complete denial it could be anything else but something easily explainable and treatable. I just can't even begin to think of anything not treatable. Because if I do, I will lose ability to function and deal with this while im waiting to find out what is going on.
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14 May 2003 - Spoke with Vet Again
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After speaking and assessing Austin again today, she isn't suspecting PDD. He isn't showing all the symptoms and signs that would indicate this to be his ailment. He does have a crop infection and his digestion is slower then normal because of that. He could very well have eaten spoiled food that has caused inflamation in the crop (we did not do the scope yet). She assured me that for Austin to pass the small mushy like pieces of vegtable that he has, is not OVERLY alarming , ( but needs to be watched of coarse) with the digestive upset he has right now. Many other factors such as thrush can even cause minor swelling in teh crop and digestive disturbances. He is definately slower then normal at digestion right now, but is passing normal stools. His diet has been today only Formula to ease digestion and ensure he gets the nutrients he needs while he is recovering. Im putting him on heat, to keep his body temp up which will also speed his digestion and help it along. Austin is in good spirits today, he seems a more active (as in moving around) then yesterday, and hasn't lost any more weight, he also is not spitting up any formula either, which is a good sign. A full day with no regurgitation. So, again, we are going to monitor him all day today, and we should see a steady small improvement that progresses. We may still elect to do the Xray to check his crop and P, just to rule out PDD. We are prefering to wait to see if he gets better before we do, as it will be less stressful on him.........obviously so long as he stays stable and continues to improve. If things start to go backwards or if he stays statis quo with no improvement again by tommorrow, then she will do the Xray and Scope. So hard to tell, because Austin is generally more quiet playfully then the other birds. He's had his moments, but generally Austin is not as hyper and playful as the others have always been. So his nature makes it harder to tell. The give away to me is lack of vocalization, which he does do. I was up all night.............worrying and in tears. This is far worse then looking after a sick baby.
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14 May 2003 - 8 Days before Austins Death
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I've done research all day long on PDD and other viral and fungus infections. I am reading the same information. That especially any other GI infection can cause symptoms similar to PDD. (P is for proventriculus yes, just easier then making a typo,especially for me in my state right now :-) ) The P can dilate and swell in an Xray and still not be PDD that the bird is suffering from. I've read the only true way is to take a tissue sample from the lining of the Crop . But I guess it is having all the symptoms ( The main and most important is continuos weight loss and muscle waiting) along with the Signs internally from an Xray. Here is a good Article I found: http://www.nhahonline.com/bird_pdd.htm Austin seem a bit better this afternoon again, he seemed more mobile again. I hesitated in whether to give him some soft veggies, rice (as I've read rice is good for a yeast infection in the crop) and soft cooked beans. (As I do for him and the others every night). He saw me cooking it and seemed apprehensive to have some. So I decided it should be okay........boy , he dug into the bowl 20 minutes ago, and is still chomping down. I will watch his stools for undigested food once again, but it all is cooked enough it is soft and mushes between the fingers. He is eating right now better then he has in days. After I last posted, I gave him Nystatin, waited for half hour , then offered formula. He regurgitated some of that formula up after flapping his wings. But hasn't since. Is Nystatin known to cause stomach upset in Birds? I again, will make sure i find out the name of that medication for you. I'm certain is different from celbrex, and if indeed it is different......I think its really good to make sure I find out for you, so you can make reference with your professor. Our vet travels often to the States and around Canada for Conferences on Avian Care/ Disease Update Seminars, as they are available, so I feel very comfortable with her....with my birds. Just knowing she keeps up, feels good.
we'll know tomorrow what the next coarse of action will be. If I can be promised Austins recovery with Anesthetic and Xray, I would opt for it just so I can ease my mind, and/or deal with something as early as possible.
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