Update Sisi (aspergillosis)

[Tvdv96]

Sisi and I just came back from the specialist. Poor little girl is happy to be back in her trusted surroundings I think, she was so tired.

The specialist did a physical exam, he also heard that Sisi her lungs weren't great. He heard squeaky sounds and her breathing was just weird. The rest of the physical exam was good.
Poor girl was really out of breath after the physical exam.

The specialist opted for a CT-scan for now, but he couldn't really see anything on it. He also took some blood from Sisi to examine further and he would also take a look again at the CT-scan results. He didn't give an indication when I would hear more, but I think they will have the results next week.

 

[sunnysmom]

I hope the vet figures something out to help her feel better.

 

[alshgs]

Wishing you and Sisi all the best!

 

[Greylady1966]

One step at a time.. easier said than done I know. I don't think I've ever asked for pictures of anyone's parrots but I'd love to see a picture if Sisi I need a grey fix today.

 

[Tvdv96]

I hope the vet figures something out to help her feel better.

I hope so too

Wishing you and Sisi all the best!

Thank you so much!

 

[Hankmacaw]

My heart goes out to you. It is such a long hard climb with asper. Love her a lot.

 

[Tvdv96]

One step at a time.. easier said than done I know. I don't think I've ever asked for pictures of anyone's parrots but I'd love to see a picture if Sisi I need a grey fix today.

Yes definitely one step at a time, it's hard sometimes.. but I'm glad we're getting help from a specialist
Here's a pic of my little girl, she loves to sit on the backrest of the couch so she can see everyone and ask for lots of scritches

 

[Tvdv96]

My heart goes out to you. It is such a long hard climb with asper. Love her a lot.

Thank you so much! I will definitely love her a lot, she's such an amazing girl

 

[Greylady1966]

Beautiful! Who couldn't stop to give her scritches?? That's all I'd get done all day. Lol thanks for sharing the picture.

 

[Tvdv96]

Beautiful! Who couldn't stop to give her scritches?? That's all I'd get done all day. Lol thanks for sharing the picture.

Yes she is a real love bug, she was also cuddling with one of the vet techs today it's indeed really hard to get things done when she is with you, she's so cute when she wants her scritches!
No problem at all

 

[Greylady1966]

If I stopped playing attention to Nikki and started walking away she would clear her throat like what do you think your doing??! Lol

 

[Tvdv96]

If I stopped playing attention to Nikki and started walking away she would clear her throat like what do you think your doing??! Lol

I absolutely love that! amazing how they know to make the right sounds or say the right words at the right time.

Here's an extra video of Sisi enjoying her scritches a while back (hope this works)

http://instagr.am/p/CHSHqJiJW7K/

 

[Greylady1966]

It worked! Thank you, just made my day. She looks so relaxed.

 

[zoo mom]

Such a beautiful girl. I hope you can get her healthy.

 

[Tvdv96]

Such a beautiful girl. I hope you can get her healthy.

Thank you so much!

 

[Tvdv96]

After Sisi her happy dancing video, yesterday wasn't a good day for her. She was really quiet and she was wheezing a bit

And today I finally got called by the specialist, but I'm none the wiser. he didn't really check the CT scan again and he didn't really see anything in her blood, I asked about an endoscopy but he said that would be pointless because a CT scan is better.
I'm a bit at loss at what to do now, I can just see that my little girl isn't feeling well and I'm so crestfallen because I just don't know what I can do for her right now.
I did make an appointment for Monday with my own vet to discuss what I can do now, and if it'll be a good idea to get a second opinion at an other specialist.

 

[Greylady1966]

Did he say why he didn't check the CT? My IMO nothing is pointless if it could help. I would see your vet and look into a second option.

 

[Hankmacaw]

She needs to be on medication - there are several others other than Itraconazole. Voraconazole, terbinafine. fluconazole, clotrimazole are all used and although all fungicides have detrimental side effects these medications do not have side effects specific to African Greys. Amphotericin B (the big dog of fungicides is very hepatoxic when administered orally or intravenously) but when administered by nebulization it is not as hepatoxic. I recommend that you discuss with your regular vet 1. Nebulizing Sisi with Anph B for 4-5 days then switching to voraconazole orally. This method has been used by several veterinarians quite successfully.

Here is some information. Treatment Recommended for Avian Aspergillosis - Aspergillus and Aspergillosis

With regard to treatment Dahlhausen recommends combionation therapy involving several antifungal drugs, some more obvious than others:
“Researchers have also been developing some new combination therapy protocols that have proved very successful in treating Aspergillus infections, Dahlhausen said. Traditionally, the drug of choice has been itraconazole, but many veterinarians are now using a combination of antifungals.In addition to itraconazole, the drug arsenal may include amphoteracin, terbinifine (Lamisil), diflucane and glucanozole, according to Dahlhausen.”
Methods of application are also discussed:

"Often these drugs are administered by nebulization. Treatment may last anywhere from a few weeks to several months. “Exactly which drugs we use depends on the bird,” Dahlhausen said. “African greys in particular tend to be very sensitive to itraconazole and can suffer from liver toxicity if they get too strong a dose.”Lately, he said, he has been relying more on Lamisil for treatment. “In some very deep-seededAspergillus infections, Lamisil is often effective when other, more standard therapies aren’t,” Dahlhausen said.“Lamisil has a very good absorption when given orally and is very good at penetrating these granulomas. Also, it’s a fungicidal medication, so it actually kills the fungal organism, whereas some of these other drugs might not.””

Typical course of treatment:

“In his practice, Dahlhausen uses itraconazole initially for five to six days along with Lamisil and then continues with just the Lamisil for the rest of the treatment period.“Lamisil is a very safe drug, so it’s great for long-term therapy,” Dahlhausen said.”

Prognosis:

“While aspergillosis is a very serious disease, “The success rate for treating aspergillosis is improving greatly,” Dahlhausen said.“In the past, aspergillosis was a death sentence, and the majority of birds wouldn’t make it. But when I look back over the last several years in our practice, we were able to successfully treat the majority of birds that we saw with aspergillosis.“The keys are early diagnosis and an effective long-term treatment in combination therapy.””

 

[Rain Bow]

Sending healing thoughts to her! I hope you can get her comfortable w/ a good nebulizer treatment!

Hugs!!!

 

[Tvdv96]

Did he say why he didn't check the CT? My IMO nothing is pointless if it could help. I would see your vet and look into a second option.

No, he didn't give a reason why he didn't check it again unfortunately. Those were exactly my thoughts, but the specialist didn't want to do it.. so I think a second opinion will be better.

She needs to be on medication - there are several others other than Itraconazole. Voraconazole, terbinafine. fluconazole, clotrimazole are all used and although all fungicides have detrimental side effects these medications do not have side effects specific to African Greys. Amphotericin B (the big dog of fungicides is very hepatoxic when administered orally or intravenously) but when administered by nebulization it is not as hepatoxic. I recommend that you discuss with your regular vet 1. Nebulizing Sisi with Anph B for 4-5 days then switching to voraconazole orally. This method has been used by several veterinarians quite successfully.

Here is some information. Treatment Recommended for Avian Aspergillosis - Aspergillus and Aspergillosis

With regard to treatment Dahlhausen recommends combionation therapy involving several antifungal drugs, some more obvious than others:
“Researchers have also been developing some new combination therapy protocols that have proved very successful in treating Aspergillus infections, Dahlhausen said. Traditionally, the drug of choice has been itraconazole, but many veterinarians are now using a combination of antifungals.In addition to itraconazole, the drug arsenal may include amphoteracin, terbinifine (Lamisil), diflucane and glucanozole, according to Dahlhausen.”
Methods of application are also discussed:

Typical course of treatment:

Prognosis:

Thank you so much for all your help! I will definitely discuss this with my vet if he can prescribe this for Sisi, and hope I can get her more comfortable with that.

Sending healing thoughts to her! I hope you can get her comfortable w/ a good nebulizer treatment!

Hugs!!!

Thank you so much!