Hello! This is my first post and I'm looking for some advice about medicating my 7 year old cockatiel.
Donut is very tame, and has been my close companion for almost 7 years. I've never neglected her needs.
I took her to the vet almost a year ago as I noticed after a long fly, she was losing some control of one of her legs. The vet suspected she had a mild Cardiomegaly and was therefore losing peripheral perfusion to her foot. (I'm a CCRN with a bg in cardiology and found a lot of the terminology and even the meds are the same in veterinary medicine).
So the vet started her on 3 medications, twice daily for life. She said herself "If it was any more than this, I would weigh her comfort before treatment". She has Frusemide as well as an ace inhibitor and the equivalent of digoxin. I worked hard for 3 months getting her into a routine where I could medicate her day and night.
Here's where the problem comes in; I noticed she lost trust. Sitting in a corner, not talking to me or her 2 bird buddies. Less interest in food and toys etc. I continued medicating her for another 6 months..But
I made the mistake of reading some journal articles regarding the efficacy of these medications in cockatiels as well as whether there was evidence that it improves their life span.
Long story short: there is no evidence that these help, outside of symptomatic care.
She has no associated shortness of breath no evidence of pain and since ceasing the medications is more lively and subjectively happy.
So my question is (especially directed toward any veterinarians) -Is weighing Donuts subjective comfort over the prescription made by an expert slack on my part?
Thanks, pet lovers.
TL;DR: Bird needs medications but medications may decrease her quality of life. What do I do?
[link] [comments]
from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/gpjq25/some_moral_advice_regarding_medicating_bird_please/
No comments:
Post a Comment