Percy who has chronic liver disease with all the associated problems of that (gut probs etc) and scratching round vent lots as per usual. The vet now says that the last resort for him to make him comfortable would be steroid injections.... has anyone heard of this and if they have what results have they had? I am not happy with him injecting my budgie unless it's to save his life or prolong it comfortably, but steroids always seem such an aggressive form of treatment for anyone, let alone a little budgie. I haven't posted all the symptoms and treatments he's had here (there are other postings of mine about Percy), but I would really appreciate any answers/help/comments re this treatment and anything else anyone may be able to say. Many thanks.

 

Chrissie x

Rainbow was on steroids after being diagnosed with the kidney tumor, but they were oral instead of injectable. I would gladly have given the injections if necessary though, as a long time ago I bought a budgie that was very sick and had to inject antibiotics twice a day for (I think) 2 weeks, so I've done that before. Not fun to do with an untame bird, and needless to say it put taming back several months... It was a scary thing to do, only because you have to be so careful not to puncture an organ. Frequent injections will make the injection sites sore. Anyway, about the steroids - with Rainbow it was a last resort to try and reduce inflammation. Eventually I stopped them because he was becoming very weak, and I thought the increased urination (resulting from the increased thirst) was making his kidneys work too hard. At first it seemed to help, but in his case I think it may have prolonged the inevitable, as his condition was terminal and I knew that going in. I cannot say the same for Percy because I do not know his prognosis or what shape he is currently in. You should decide that. I think steroids can be helpful. If Percy is in good condition otherwise, it may be wise to consider it.

 

As far as side effects, the most notable was increased thirst/increased appetite. Would you do the injections yourself on a regular basis or would you take him to the vet for treatments? Did he tell you how often he wanted Percy to be dosed? If you have to do the treatments, you might think about an oral steroid instead, unless you are not squeamish about the other.

 

Bless you Chrissie, for being so concerned and taking all the extra measures you take to make his life more comfortable. (((hugs))) to you. :angel1:

Bless you Chrissie, for being so concerned and taking all the extra measures you take to make his life more comfortable. (((hugs))) to you. :angel1:

 

Hi Rainbow

 

Thank you so much for answering this I am really grateful for your input as always. The vet didn't actually discuss how, what and where (thank goodnes really), he did say Percy was in good condition at the moment which he is. It's just that he is continually scratching which is distressing to see, though the noticeable area is his vent which he tries to scratch with his feet. I STILL feel it could be an infection/parasite there, but the vet who hasn't tested for that lately said he doubted it!! In fact he gave me Fuciderm (which is for dogs) a corticosteroid gel for treating eczema and other skin condition in dogs. I'm not happy about this (after having bought it from the vet and read the leaflet esp as one of the side effects can be an enlarged liver which Percy already has!).

 

Anyway, I really am upset with all this as you will imagine with what you went through with Rainbow. I don't think I could give Percy injections and as the vet hasb't discussed it fully I don't know what it will entail. I am going to try and take Percy to yet another vet next week if possible. He is well in himself, chirpy lots so it's very very difficult to say "this is it"..... I just want to know really if there is something other than the liver disease making him scratch his vent area... he's ALWAYS done it so I feel it's not just that, only that he's doing it more.

 

Thank you so much for your help here, you don't know how much I value that. I will keep you posted as much as I can, suffice to say I'm getting more and more nervous about it all as Percy being 4 yrs old now and knowing this is a terminal illness, I am absolutely dreading "the day". Especially as he was on my lap last night and I was playing with him, I said to him, "Come and cuddle mum", he looked up and ran all the way up to my chin and rested his head there..... so you can imagine how I feel talking about "the end" etc etc... when he is like this, this is why I try so hard to get as much help for his as possible, I couldn't have it any other way.

 

Take care Rainbow and thank you SO much for your help.

 

hugs

Chrissie x