- Joined
- 10/24/09
- Messages
- 2,099
Dende had surgery quite a few weeks ago. Since then she has chewed her skin open in a specific area next to her leg.
She bites it open in one shot. So the vet fitted another E-collar on her and we waited for the area to heal (thinking that it was just the irritation of the surgical wound healing that caused her to pick at it).
It healed perfectly and I dropped Dende at the vet for observation while her collar was removed. Within a split-second she had torn open her leg again. So bad that she needed stitches.
Now the vet suspects that Dende sustained nerve damage in that area from the surgery. Something they have only seen in about 5 other birds as a result from surgery (and honestly, they perform hundreds of surgeries each year)! This is causing her to not be able to really feel in that area so she is biting it open.
Dende has been put on Gabapentin which is a drug that might help with the nerve damage problem. She has been on this medication for the last 2 weeks. This drug works by building up in the system and needs to be given twice a day. In the mean time the collar stays on until the drug has time to take effect.
I have an appointment on 3 November to take Dende to the vet to have the collar removed and they can observe her closely there to see if she starts picking again.
Well, yesterday Dende managed to remove her collar. She wouldn't have had it off her for more than about 5 minutes before I caught her, but in that time she bit another hole in her leg.
I took her back to the vet today to have another collar fitted. I cried on the way home.
I feel very, very helpless about the whole situation. Frustrated. Angry. Heartbroken. Guilty.
I think a lot of owners who have self-mutilators might feel this way. I don't know what to do. I just really... don't.
I pray so hard that the medication will work. It has to work. Dende is absolutely miserable with her collar on. She has stopped playing with toys. She can barely perch. She has to sleep at a very strange angle because the collar is so large (it has to be because anything smaller and she manages to get her leg).
I'm not looking for sympathy. Not for me at least. I guess I'm looking for answers. Some hope that the medication will work by 3 November even though it hasn't worked up to this point yet. Some love for Dende. Good thoughts. Prayers. Anything that will help my baby stop hurting herself.
She bites it open in one shot. So the vet fitted another E-collar on her and we waited for the area to heal (thinking that it was just the irritation of the surgical wound healing that caused her to pick at it).
It healed perfectly and I dropped Dende at the vet for observation while her collar was removed. Within a split-second she had torn open her leg again. So bad that she needed stitches.
Now the vet suspects that Dende sustained nerve damage in that area from the surgery. Something they have only seen in about 5 other birds as a result from surgery (and honestly, they perform hundreds of surgeries each year)! This is causing her to not be able to really feel in that area so she is biting it open.
Dende has been put on Gabapentin which is a drug that might help with the nerve damage problem. She has been on this medication for the last 2 weeks. This drug works by building up in the system and needs to be given twice a day. In the mean time the collar stays on until the drug has time to take effect.
I have an appointment on 3 November to take Dende to the vet to have the collar removed and they can observe her closely there to see if she starts picking again.
Well, yesterday Dende managed to remove her collar. She wouldn't have had it off her for more than about 5 minutes before I caught her, but in that time she bit another hole in her leg.
I took her back to the vet today to have another collar fitted. I cried on the way home.I feel very, very helpless about the whole situation. Frustrated. Angry. Heartbroken. Guilty.
I think a lot of owners who have self-mutilators might feel this way. I don't know what to do. I just really... don't.
I pray so hard that the medication will work. It has to work. Dende is absolutely miserable with her collar on. She has stopped playing with toys. She can barely perch. She has to sleep at a very strange angle because the collar is so large (it has to be because anything smaller and she manages to get her leg).
I'm not looking for sympathy. Not for me at least. I guess I'm looking for answers. Some hope that the medication will work by 3 November even though it hasn't worked up to this point yet. Some love for Dende. Good thoughts. Prayers. Anything that will help my baby stop hurting herself.
