Not again :(

[cml]

Ouch!

[Andromeda]

OMG That looks horribly painful! Poor Ollie! I really hope that you can get to the bottom of what is causing this, I know this whole thing must be heartbreaking.

I guess the Metacam doesn't seem to be helping?

You are doing everything you can for him. I know how frustrating it is to have a sick bird with an illness the vets can't seem to diagnose. In my case with my brown-headed parrot the illness went on for six months (and countless vet visits) before it was finally diagnosed but it's been going on for so much longer than that with you and Ollie!

[marie83]

No, I would say the metacam isn't helping given he is still screaming at slight movements most of the time. He is currently on 1 dose in the morning 0.06ml. Apparently this is the lowest dose and can be given twice per day and/or doubled but the vet didn't want to give him more than needed if possible so I think the dose will be slowly worked upwards next week, though I may ring tomorrow and see what the vet says. I can't stand to see him suffering so much.

As for the sore patch it actually looks a bit worse than that but the flash from the camera took the redness and most of the dried blood out.

I can't remember sorry, but what was yours diagnosed with in the end?

[Andromeda]

I can't stand to see him suffering so much.

I can scarcely imagine, it's really hard reading this thread about how he is suffering, it must be so much worse to be there and see it in person, I feel absolutely terrible for the little guy.

As for the sore patch it actually looks a bit worse than that but the flash from the camera took the redness and most of the dried blood out.

I'm sorry to hear that because it looks really bad in the photo, it really does.

I can't remember sorry, but what was yours diagnosed with in the end?

Streptococcus pneumoniae. He had so many tests before they diagnosed him, and I had to take him to the vet so many times! I could tell that all the people at the first vet's office started to think I was crazy, they started giving me funny looks when I would take him in and say, "No, that latest course of medication didn't work, he's still sick." The first vet even eventually suggested I take him back to the rescue where I got him---she even tried to call them herself!---which I found outrageous because here I was desperately trying to convince her that he was sick in the first place and it wasn't just my imagination.

I felt really justified in the end calling them and telling them that yes, he was indeed sick, because another vet discovered what was wrong with him.

In the end what worked was the second vet flushed his nares (the first vet never did this) and collected the mucus that drained out and did a Gram stain on it which turned up nothing, but they also did a microscopic examination of the mucus and that's when they found it.

I remember when the vet called she was totally shocked and said, "The Gram stain didn't turn up anything so I honestly forgot about the microscopic examination for a few days because I assumed it would turn up nothing. I've been practicing since the early 90s and I've never, ever seen strep pneumoniae in a bird, I've seen it in rabbits and Guinea pigs but never a bird."

[friend2parrots]

I am SO sorry that little Ollie is still suffering like this. it is heartbreaking for me just to read about it, and to see those pictures. I really hope the treatments kick in and help him, and that your vet can diagnose and cure this thing.

I don't have any knowledge on the photos that may be of help, but I'm wishing hard for Ollie's complete recovery.

[marie83]

I'm sorry to hear that because it looks really bad in the photo, it really does.


I felt really justified in the end calling them and telling them that yes, he was indeed sick, because another vet discovered what was wrong with him.

"

Thanks, its kind of good for me to hear that others think it is really bad, I'm just sometimes thinking that maybe because I obviously have that bond with him that I am thinking it looks worse than it actually is, kind of like love is blind but the opposite way- overworrying, getting obsessed..... I really do feel like the people I speak to think I'm exaggerating sometimes and making it sound worse than it is.

I do remember your story now but would like to thank you again for sharing, it helps us all learn and you know what? when I do find out what is wrong with them I will make damn sure to ring the original vet to tell him that as well thats its not acceptable to dismiss something as a behavioural issue on rock bottom basic tests and some antibiotics.

I'm just glad your little one is ok now.

Anyway Just want to thank you EVERYBODY for your continued support, the kind words, the suggestions and all your good wishes.

[marie83]

Well yesterday things seemed to be getting much worse. Ollie was on his cage floor, only moving to eat and drink. Ollie never sits on his cage floor so I was really panicing about this.

Today he seems to have picked up a bit, he is perching again under his heat lamp. His weight is still declining though, he weighed in at 67g this morning so he is now down 12g from his heaviest and 11g from his normal weight. Once again I'm waiting for a call back from the vets.

Harlie is still doing the screaming thing, not as often as when this first started but more often than a couple of weeks ago but now she also does it around her crop/neck area as well as under her wings.

I'm also still getting abnormal poop from both birds at random. Sometimes its that weird green colour, sometimes its watery, sometimes the white part doesn't look right, sometimes the faeces part is a bit loose, sometimes it looks like diarreoa, other times the poop looks completely normal. There doesn't seem to be any patterns or consistancy to this.

[Eric&Rebecca]

I'm so sorry to hear your birds are suffering.

Is there any way the vet can hurry this diagnosis along? If both the birds are getting sick then they surely need to do something more when you're doing you're upmost to look after them.

[marie83]

I'm so sorry to hear your birds are suffering.

Is there any way the vet can hurry this diagnosis along? If both the birds are getting sick then they surely need to do something more when you're doing you're upmost to look after them.

I think it would help if he didn't use a lab in Germany and if the stupid lab didn't run the wrong tests... That is what the problem with the blood sample was... they ran out of blood because they ran the wrong test. Not the vets fault but he is now looking for a UK lab that deals with exotics.
I think I may become a nightmare client, gentle pressure doesn't seem to be helping much...

[Eric&Rebecca]

There's an exotic pets hospital in Wanstead England. Perhaps he could look at sending the samples there. That's where Edmund gets his bloods sent anyway.