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How much hope is there for birds with heart disease?

AGS

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Here he is playing today. I think he is doing even better than he was when he was put on just the isoxsuprine alone. Just really grateful he gets to be himself again. And glad I pressed the issue about increasing the dosage because the person hadn‘t even asked Dr. Driggers his opinion and also suggested euthanizing him.
 

Kassiani

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Widget! He’s just adorable! And sometimes vet techs and others working in a Vet’s office offer their opinion when it wasn’t asked, smh. You’re doing a great job for your boy!
 

AGS

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Made this photoshop of Widget lol. He probably wants this to be real. He loves other cockatiels (aka pictures/videos of other cockatiels) but he can’t be with another bird due to the giardia. The person we got him from was going to euthanize him because he was bullying their birds but I’m not sure how true that is because he seems to like them. Plus he was quite underweight like maybe the other birds were bullying him away from the food.

 

Kassiani

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I love that! It makes him look as though he and his buds are having a great time! Widget is a beautiful cockatiel!
 

AGS

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He is definitely very beautiful. It’s sad though that the color comes with a whole mess of issues.

I think he is getting worse again. He’s still doing pretty well, but he took a few days off playing and whistling. When he first started showing symptoms (when I still thought I might just be imagining it) one of the first things that happened is he started playing less frequently.
 

Kassiani

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Oh @AGS , I’m sorry to hear he has had a down week. Forgive me if you’ve answered this, but have you been able to resume his oxygen therapy?
 

AGS

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I do have the machine, but I haven’t been using it. Honestly I don’t notice any difference when I use it versus when I dont. Except that it stresses him out and he uses up all of his energy running around.
 

Kassiani

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I’m sorry it stresses him, but I imagine it would stress any smaller bird.
 

AGS

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Yeah, it’s a hard decision whether it’s worth the 1 hour of oxygen even though that’s also 1 hour of stress. It’s definitely nice to have the machine though just in case.

At least he’s still doing pretty well. I do think he’s declining again but he‘s still doing better than he was when he was just on the first medication. He whistled yesterday and today and played as well.
 

Kassiani

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Hang in there, @AGS! I can only imagine how stressful this has been for you. I'm sure there are days you are exhausted. Sending prayers for strength and peace, and for many more good days for you and your Widget!
 

AGS

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Something I’m not sure if I should be concerned about, a few days ago I woke up at around 8-9am and heard Widget on the bottom of his cage. He was sitting next to a spot where the sheet wasn‘t covering the cage and watching me. I was worried but I know sometime he climbs down there and runs around when he wants to come out/wants me to wake up. He didn’t do it the next day but the day after that he did it again and again today. He always climbs back up on his perch eventually, and the whole night he sleeps on his perch. I have been trying to fix my sleep schedule and sometimes I wake up pretty late so I think maybe he just wants me to wake up. Plus he does have a habit of figuring out the can do something then doing it forever. Even when his illness was really bad (like death’s door) he still slept on his perch. So I would think if he was doing it because he was ill, 1. It would have to be some new illness, and 2. He most likely would stay down there at night as well rather than sleeping on his perch, correct?
 

AGS

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Widget still seems to be doing pretty well. Last time he got better (when he was just on the isoxsuprine alone) it didn’t even last a month before he started getting worse again. This time I think it’s been over a month.
 

AGS

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Poor Widget. This morning while it was still dark he had a night fright. I woke up to check on him and he seemed fine. I always check his wings especially since those would be the most likely to be injured/bleeding and I didn’t see anything so I put him back to bed. When I woke up later there was little specks of something at the bottom of his cage and I saw his wing has dried blood on it. Seems like it stopped on its own, not sure if that’s normal or because he doesn’t bleed as fast due to the atherosclerosis. There wasn’t actually any blood that had dripped or splattered anywhere, just the specks at the bottom of his cage that look like he chewed up a scab. Now he keeps messing with the spot and I‘m worried it will start bleeding again.
 

Karen

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I'm sorry you and Widget are going through this. Can you keep him busy to take his mind off his wingtips? Can you apply a warm compress to the area to help it stop bleeding?
 

AGS

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The bleeding stopped on its own but now he’s making it bleed because he’s ripping the scab off. Every time I stop him he just does it again. And it’s hard for me to tell if it’s bleeding because rather than dripping blood it just soaks into his feathers. It’s at a spot where all the feathers are folded together so I can’t even see the wound unless he stretches.
 

AGS

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Wondering if there’s anything that can help him because of the blood loss? I know to keep him hydrated, but any foods that could help, like stuff with iron? I can take him to the emergency vet if 100% necessary but I’d prefer to avoid it if possible, just because of stress as well as the fact that he flaps his wings in the carrier and could just start up the bleeding on the way (and it is 20-30 minutes to the vet depending on which one we go to). He has a regular appointment on the 8th next month.
 

Karen

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If the wound is still bleeding you will have to put pressure on it with a warm wet gauze pad.
 
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