Limping Amazon

[bertsirkin]

Boosie is a cross between a BlueFront and Panama Amazon. She's 30 years old now and just started limping last week. She's been to the Vet twice now, and other than examining her and putting her on metacam (which she didn't tolerate very well) and now Tramadol, which she's been on for 2 days (2x/day) now, hasn't changed much. Except for the time when she was on the Metacam, she seems to be alert and as playful as her right-leg will permit. She is able to climb down her cage to her food to eat, and when not sitting still, seems normal, except for a limp. But all of the time she's sitting still, her right-foot is always up.

Her left foot has some "wear" marks from the constant use - the vet gave me a creme for her foot that has aloe and some analgesic properties (can't remember the name right now). At least the wear marks aren't getting worse.

I have read some other threads where other birds were on Tramadol - what I don't understand, is why I don't see ANY difference since she's been on the Tramadol - I would have expected there to be less pain, and more use of the right-foot - but she is pretty much the same as she was 5 days ago when this first started.

Also, what's the best way to administer the Tramadol. Right now, I have to hold her against my chest, and force-feed her the two dosages (it's a large .45mls dosage that I split up into two sequential syringes). Needless to say, she's not happy about it and I'm afraid I may be hurting her foot as she struggles.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
bert

 

[Danita]

I was told that tramadol is good for pain associated with the spine or something like that.
I would tell the vet it isn't working, if you have paid for visits, just call them. They might give you something on top of what you are giving or send you to a compounding pharmacy.
At one point I was giving Metacam daily and tramadol for break through pain.

You can put it in juice or soak it on a cracker, that never worked for me though.

 

[bertsirkin]

I told the vet this AM, but she indicated that it could take more time for the Tramadol to take effect. I found that odd, as pain meds usually take effect shortly after you take them.

BTW, how did you find to be the best way to administer the drugs to your bird?

thanks,
bert

 

[webchirp]

Did you have any bloodwork done to rule out things like gout or liver issues? Tramadol worked wonders immediately when my greencheek had a leg injury...

 

[Mrcrowley]

That trmadol is heavy duty pain killer with nasty side effects for human's i can emagine it would not be so good for birdies. Most of the effects happen if you stop taking it and it is common to start at low dose and add more as time goe's on.

 

[bertsirkin]

No bloodwork has been done - or recommended by the vet thus far.

 

[suncoast]

Are you seeing an avian vet or a regular vet. You need to be proactive for your girl. I'm sorry some vets just dismiss bird problems. Was an x-ray done to see if she is possibly egg bound, a cause for limping in hens. Does her vent look swollen? Is her foot swollen? Is anything wrapped around her toe? Was an xray taken of her foot/leg to see if it's a fracture? Does she not want you to touch it? What do her poo's look like? Is she eating, preening, vocalizing, perching and playing okay?

Ginger

 

[lolajenday]

M



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[bertsirkin]

Are you seeing an avian vet or a regular vet. You need to be proactive for your girl. I'm sorry some vets just dismiss bird problems. Was an x-ray done to see if she is possibly egg bound, a cause for limping in hens. Does her vent look swollen? Is her foot swollen? Is anything wrapped around her toe? Was an xray taken of her foot/leg to see if it's a fracture? Does she not want you to touch it? What do her poo's look like? Is she eating, preening, vocalizing, perching and playing okay?

Ginger

Yes, it is an avian vet.

An x-ray was NOT done - there was a fairly thourough exam, but no x-ray or blood work.

Her foot looks fine. Nothing looks swolen, and both feet look pretty much the same (althouth the left-foot has some "wear marks" from constant use)
She does let me touch her right-foot, and it doesn't seem painful to her.

Her droppings look normal - although I haven't looked at her vent area (I'm at work now)

Except for the time she as on the Matacam, she seems normal, although a bit reluctant to do too much. She is climbing her cage to get food and occassionally moves from perch to perch. She seems to want to play as much as usual. She is vocalizing pretty much as normal - maybe a bit less, but she is less active than she normally is. She's never had her wings clipped and is normally flying good distances within our house - but I haven't been letting her do that this week.

I've been reading up on avian gout - and that has me a bit scared!

bert

 

[Stevo]

I found metacam works well with my Amazon when I 'cut' it into a small portion of peanut butter (about the size of my little finger nail).

It would be nice if you would be able to find the mechanism of the injury, rather than simply treating the symptoms. At 30 it could be arthritis, a tumor pushing against a nerve, any of the suggestions above, or any number of other issues.

 

[Birdbabe]

I was thinking arthritis too, My 10 year old ringneck dove has it, and she limps worse when the weather is bad. I hope your little girl feels better. Any concerns, and I mean any, talk to your vet, Mine always appreciates my input too. No one knows her like you do. Good luck.