GI Stasis! HELP PLEASE!

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this forum and was recommended here by a caring person! My little buddy is in GI stasis and has been since Sunday. He had emergency vet care 2 x's this week. Yesterday he went in for tooth shaping (the whole cause of not eating and GI Stasis). I just noticed his first droppings in about 3-4 days. He is on Reglan, Cisapride, and Metacam for pain. I am force feeding critical care every 6 hours (10mL). I am also giving him tiny amounts of water with an eye dropper at each feeding. He got subcutaneous fluids wednesday and thursday from the emergency vet and then our new (more experienced vet). I was given advice to provide him an almond to get him moving. However I was later informed that was a HORRIBLE idea. To late, I gave him one. Does anyone know what I can do now! He's fighting, and i'm not going to stop. I just need advice, support, and ideas on how to get his tummy moving. The vet did feel a mass, which when under anesthesia she said was definitely fecal matter. I hope i'm not to late. I can't bear to lose my little buddy. He's the most wonderful chinny.

Hey guys this is the girl from the other forum that was told to give her chin a almond and a bunch of other crap.
Please Help her she's had a rough time!
Is there a mod on who can make sure her posts get though quickly?

Oh, I hope he comes through.

Digestive enzymes are good. Fresh pineapple juice has some good enzymes in it that help move things along.

Giving him the extra water is a wonderful idea. Keep doing that, he needs to stay hydrated. Poor little guy...

Keep up the meds and everything else your doing.Try to get him to run around, some exercise will help get things moving

Gentle circular rubbing of his tummy after eating for 5 minutes also

You are on the right track. Are you giving tummy massages, warm compresses and simethicone? I would not give him pineapple juice as it is sugary.

Here is the link to what I went through with Sparky when he arrived in full stasis.

Try to get more water into him and if need be, get him back to the vet for subcutaneous fluids or have your vet show you how. Hydration is huge in combating stasis.

Pineapple has the good enzymes...my vet has always said to give a little to help break through. You don't give more than a ml or two in a day. I mix it with a little Life Line sometimes, I've had good results with that. I mix in the simethicone, as well. You can buy digestive enzymes at a vitamin store...those work well, too.

You have all the right medications for encouraging motility and preventing pain. If you got him to produce some poos, you are moving in the right direction! Keep up with the CC feedings (although I would do them more frequently, every 3-4 hours) and the dropper with water. It is very important that he stays hydrated as the intestines of chins in stasis tend to rob the food mass of water... a dry hard mass is much harder to pass than a moist one. I would also add some probiotics (plain acidophilus) to each handfeeding. Even though CC has some, I always add more probiotics to help support their digestive tract. A dropper full of simethicone will also help to expel any gas that has formed in his intestines. Belly massages and a little bit of unstrenuous exercise will also help get things moving.

It can be a long road but you have to be persistent when treating chins with G.I. problems. It often takes a while for their intestines to start undergoing peristalsis on their own again and for food intake and feces output to get back to normal.

Does your vet do acupuncture? I recently learned that acupuncture is extremely beneficial in treating rabbit stasis. I wish I'd known about it when I was treating Sparky.

AZChins said:

Pineapple has the good enzymes...my vet has always said to give a little to help break through. You don't give more than a ml or two in a day. I mix it with a little Life Line sometimes, I've had good results with that. I mix in the simethicone, as well. You can buy digestive enzymes at a vitamin store...those work well, too.

Click to expand...

My vet says no to any fruit juice. I would go with the digestive enzymes before I would give fruit juice to any chin.

I need to find an acupuncturist! I had a lady adopt a chin last year, she was studying acupuncture and she mentioned therapies in animals. Hmmmm...

The digestive enzymes would probably be more concentrated, so that would definitely be the way to go. There's no sugar in them and they'd work the same way.

Wow.I never even thought about acupuncture.
It help my husbands Aunt a lot with her pain.
I may have to try it myself.

menagerie said:

You are on the right track. Are you giving tummy massages, warm compresses and simethicone? I would not give him pineapple juice as it is sugary.

Here is the link to what I went through with Sparky when he arrived in full stasis.

Try to get more water into him and if need be, get him back to the vet for subcutaneous fluids or have your vet show you how. Hydration is huge in combating stasis.

Click to expand...

I'll second Meanie's post - warmth, plenty of fluids, belly massage, gentle exercise, at least 50-60ml OCC (Oxbow Critical Care) of more if he will take it. Plus all his meds, of course.

It's well worth reading the linked thread too - it might give you some encouragement when things feel really tough.

Hang on in there with the little fella - good luck to you both.

Wow! Thanks everyone for the encouragement and tips! You all seem very well versed in chinnys! I ended up taking my guy into the vet when I noticed some tummy distension. He has a very packed stomach and nothing is moving through. They are keeping him over-night and through tomorrow to get subcu fluids and reglan injections among other things. I read a previous post and was going to massage his belly when I noticed the distention. I am hoping he pulls through the night. The dr. said he was borderline critical. He said he didn't seem in much pain, that putting him down was not something to think about yet, so I'm just going to keep on hopeing. It's a relief to have the vet taking care of him tonight as i'm exhausted from worry and trying to keep him on a regular schedule of meds, feedings, and completing school work as I graduate form school in a week! I'll keep everyone posted. And thanks again! I am so appreciative!

menagerie said:

Here is the link to what I went through with Sparky when he arrived in full stasis.

Click to expand...

I actually saw this first thing when I got into the forum, it's what gave me the advice to start the massage, which is when I noticed the further distention and got him into the vet. So THANK YOU. If I hadn't tried that, I wouldn't of noticed or been inclined to check.

Get some sleep!Raisin's in good hands.

OK little Raisin you get some rest too and get better.You've got your Mommy so worried.

Well here is the update on my lil Raisin. He is producing droppings now. The vet said his stomach is smaller but still not where they want it to be. However he is making strides in the right direction. The fact he is producing droppings and hadn't been for the past 4 days gives me so much more hope. I believe the hydration, tummy massages, and injection Reglan is helping the most. They are taking excellent care. I decided to fork over another large sum of money and keep him in another night to get even stronger. The cisapride is finally reaching his lower GI and thats whats helping right now. To me the money means nothing, if he can be saved and have another few good years I consider this all worth it. Thank you again to those who jumped right in with advice and encouragement. I'll let you all know how he's doing come tomorrow when I will be bringing him home. I scared to bring him home, that I won't know how to take best care of him, but i'm going to do EVERYTHING I can!

I'm so glad Raisin's felling a little better.Sounds like he's on the road to recovery.
Don't worry,you'll do fine.
Now you get to do what we call the Happy Poo Dance.:dance3:
You never knew poo could be so beautiful!

That's the honest truth! I always wish they didn't kick their poo so far from their cage, now i'm like bring it on, show me more! haha.

I am happy to say Rasin is home now and producing small, but moist droppings. He is on 5 meds right now, including cisapride, reglan, phytomucil, simithicone, and metacam. He is also now on a fine grind critical care as his tummy was getting to large from the amount of feedings I was giving him and the consitency. He takes his critical care so much better now, right off the syringe. I am giving him plenty of water from a dropper and he takes it well. I put a pop bottle filled with hot water and wrapped in a towel in his cage and he loves snuggling on it. I am giving him tummy massages, and allowing him light exercise several times a day. I'm hoping we'll pull through this. He still isn't interested in his food. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, I just want is GI stasis to improve more. His teeth were shaped, and no root growth detected. So hopefully once his mouth stops hurting he'll eat on his own again. If anyone has anything else they think I should be doing, please add! Thanks! Steph

It sounds like you are doing a tremdendous job with him. I'm glad you came to CnH and were able to get some good information on how to care for him.

I know you're not out of the woods yet, as stasis can take a long time to get through, but I'm glad to hear that he is at least making some progress. It should give you confidence that you are doing a great job!