Somebody give me a hug :'( *UPDATES*

[Grey_Moon]

Got back from the vet with Jacko today....

*sighs*

My little girl has a hairline fracture on one toe and either a torn ligament or popped joint on another (vet tried to pop it back into place but wasn't able to). The fracture was already healing and nothing could be done. The torn ligament/popped joint can't be treated except with rest and anti-inflammatories and although it may never heal and predispose her to arthritis it isn't too too terrible.

Her proventriculus is looking great!! No swelling or dilatation

Then...then vet got that look on her face (you know, the one where you know its NOT. GOOD.)...

My baby girl at the age of 13 has to be what looks like atherosclerosis (i.e calcification/hardening) of of the aorta.

They are not 100% as they could only see a calcification in that area (could also be her ovaries etc.) but thats the only other major vessels that run through the area. She needs bloodwork done (getting that done Monday as they can only ship out to the lab on that day and didn't want the sample sitting around till then) and then they're referring me a clinic 2 hours from here for a cardiac ultrasound (this is the only way they can see progression, extent and exact location) because they don't have the equipment for that kind of thing.

The good/bad news is that this is a long-standing problem (looking over her previous x-rays the vet realized she missed it) and so reassured me that it wasn't the diet change and probably has been there for years. It's also rare for that sort of calcification to show up on x-ray so it might not even be that. It also explains her plucking.

At this point, I'm re-making her birdie bread as soon as the stores open up monday (no shipping till then ugh) and taking out any egg and hoping for the best.

This just hits really hard to home because my mother is turning 40 this year and got blindsided by two aortic aneurysms and severe artery hardening out of nowhere...I can't believe I might lose Jay to heart disease too. I mean, my mother hasn't passed on, but for an active vibrant woman who's now reduced to living like an 80 year old with severe degenerative disease I can't really say she's 'alive' either...

*sigh* ugh....well I'm good at researching. Time to hit google for some anti-inflammatory food and treatments and care for parrots with cardiovascular issues.

[marie83]

**hugsss**

Never just rains does it?

I don't really have anything in the way of advice but I really hope things are not as bad as they seem with the calcification. Hopefully she will recover quickly from the fracture and the joint rectifies itself if nothing can be done to help it go back in place.

Keep us updated.

[marie83]

Actually there is something that may be semi useful depending on the individual case, please correct me if the calcification is something else altogether and I have crossed wires but I was at a lecture by one of the top avian vets in this country earlier in the year and he said calicification is often present in hens which don't produce eggs. Basicly the hormones are there telling the body to get ready for egg laying but then because they aren't in a position to do so it causes the calcification.
I don't know if this helps but if it is true of your grey then maybe there might be some sort of hormone that will counteract or regulate this?

Just an idea and do feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[Grey_Moon]

She's scrappy, so here's hoping!

The good news is with the exception of the whole egg and peanut butter in her bread I was right on the money for treating her without even knowing it---lots of omega-3 and vitamins!

And oh gods no where are my hip waders when I need them? Its monsoon season over here I swear!

[marie83]

And oh gods no where are my hip waders when I need them? Its monsoon season over here I swear!

Urgh Tell me about it, between running back and forth between my mum who had a stroke and my boyfriends elderly mother who had a bad fall and is incapable of even making toast and my own vet runs etc I feel like I'm drowning and thats without work and college thrown into the equation. You have my sympathy and a ton of good wishes sent your way.

[Grey_Moon]

Likewise marie, likewise.

Its always said we aren't given more than we are strong enough to bear.
Gods we must be bulletproof.

[terri]

All we can do is try every availible option and love them to death everyday.Tons of hugs!!!

[Grey_Moon]

Didn't know that about the calcification thing via hens Marie, thanks!

She's due for her bloodwork tomorrow and I'm already armed with a list of herbs n supplements to try---so will bring that up too.
I'm determined not to let this be a death sentence for her, I know people and some animal studies have reversed atherosclerosis---I'm sure she can do it.
I'm gonna have to put her back on commercial pellets *yuck* but ah well---trying to see which is the best so far the Harrisons Lifetime Mash is winning--no peanuts, corn or wheat.
Will see what the vet says, threw out the rest of her birdie bread tonight and she can just munch on veggies tomorrow.

*I will NOT let this kill her* I will not let her be struck down by the abusive jerks who she managed to escape all those years ago, not when she was just beginning to get to the light at the end of the tunnel.

[marie83]

Grey moon, if anyone can get their birds condition to reverse you can with all the time and effort you put in.
How come your throwing in the towell and going back to the pellets? I do know how strongly you feel about the pellets so I know there will be a bloody good reason for it.

Hope your appointment goes as well as it can.

[Grey_Moon]

Right now I'm checking up on some inside info I got about the TOPS and I need a bird-bread or pellet that she will eat because a cooked grain/seed mix doesn't do well with her.
I'm not impressed by the nutrition in pellets, BUT I will say that I do not know everything about nutritional needs and right now for Jacko I can say that the multivitamin factor of pellets is muchly needed. The other thing is that, as my mentor pointed out, TOPS lack D3, calcium, magnesium and vitamin K (at least in amounts we know are needed) which are crucial in artery health. Eggs were my nutritional solution to provide these---with some sunlight/UV. Without them its back to the drawing board and I am *not* about to fail to provide her with these nutrients in the meantime.
She'll still be getting all her veggies/fruits as a good %50 of her diet, and plenty of wholefood supplements---but tbh I just *do not* have the confidence in myself to attempt to DIY feed a sick bird %100.

But thanks for the words of confidence Marie
I'm hoping her blood comes good in spite of the circumstances.

I'm already going to talk to the vet about bilberry, hawthorne berries, ginko biloba, promegranate juice and cayenne pepper....as well as plenty of fiber and moisture and low-fat food of course.

She had some warm all-bran mush today for breakfast until I get her pellets today. So much mess