Sick, got better, now sick again...what's going on?

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I'm so exhausted, I don't even know where to begin.

I began a full offensive against the giardia last Friday night (9/13), for both Max and Giggy. They both received their first dose of Panacur (they were prescribed .4 mL every 24 hours for 3 days). I removed all the wood from their cages (including shelves). It became obvious after a few minutes that it wasn't safe for them to be in the cages without shelves because they were climbing the 3 foot walls then jumping down. So I disinfected their carriers with bleach and had them there for the night. I decided to handfeed them over the course of treatment, so they wouldn't step in poo, then pick up pellets with their paws and reinfect themselves. so they stayed in their carriers at night, then in the mornings I moved them to their cages, and ran the carriers through the dishwasher on the antibacterial cycle. I changed clothes between handling them for feeding. I washed the clothes and their carrier liners on the longest wash cycle with hot water and bleach. I did this on repeat Friday night through yesterday morning. From start to finish, each morning and evening the process took about 2 hours. By Sunday morning, Max's poo was no longer smelly. Giggy was the same as he always had been (he had never shown any outward symptoms). I was hopeful. Yesterday morning I decided to leave their food bowls in their cage, since they had finished treatment. They both ate during the day, and also ate last night (still in their carriers).

Now, tonight, Max's poo is smelly again. Obviously the giardia is still there. Who knows if Giggy still has it since he never had symptoms. I called the vet, and someone is going to call me back.

Is there anything stronger than Panacur that can be prescribed? What else can I do? Did I do anything wrong in trying to so aggressively treat the giardia?

I feel so hopeless, I'm so tired, and I'm so worried. I'm trying to look at the bright side of things, which is that at least they don't have diarrhea.
 
Panacur is not my vets 1st pick for giardia. He usually sends home flagyl. I would ask for different meds. It is a 5-7 day treatment instead of 3 day like panacur. That has always worked well for me. I always do a follow up fecal in a month to make sure it is all gone. What hay do you feed? Parasites can also be spread through hay depending on your source. I'm assuming you are continuing to use pro biotics. Keep using them a few days after you finish the meds. It can take up to 30 days to get back to normal gut flora counts.
 
Oh no Shayna... I've been away for a few days and now I see this. I've been dealing with a few issues with Benny myself but you've got be exhausted. I hope Max gets better quick and that Giggy doesn't get too sick so you can get back to somewhat normal. I'm praying for you all tonight! Hang in there! ***hugs***
 
I can't remember the hatching time as its been years since I dealt with it, but when you finish the first round, you go several days, maybe a week, then do it all over again. The giardia rehatches and you have to treat the second round as well!
 
Panacur is not my vets 1st pick for giardia. He usually sends home flagyl. I would ask for different meds. It is a 5-7 day treatment instead of 3 day like panacur. That has always worked well for me. I always do a follow up fecal in a month to make sure it is all gone. What hay do you feed? Parasites can also be spread through hay depending on your source. I'm assuming you are continuing to use pro biotics. Keep using them a few days after you finish the meds. It can take up to 30 days to get back to normal gut flora counts.

The vet still hasn't called me back, but when they do I'll ask about flagyl.

I feed hay from American Pet Diner.

Oh no Shayna... I've been away for a few days and now I see this. I've been dealing with a few issues with Benny myself but you've got be exhausted. I hope Max gets better quick and that Giggy doesn't get too sick so you can get back to somewhat normal. I'm praying for you all tonight! Hang in there! ***hugs***

Thank you, Sandi! I hope Benny gets better soon too <3

I can't remember the hatching time as its been years since I dealt with it, but when you finish the first round, you go several days, maybe a week, then do it all over again. The giardia rehatches and you have to treat the second round as well!

Thanks, for the information, Amanda!

___________
Update:
Last night I weighed their food bowls. Overnight Giggy ate 15 grams of pellets, and Max only ate about 6 grams. I knew that Max had been eating about 5-6 grams each night, but I didn't realize that it wasn't a "normal" amount. Max has lost weight too, while Giggy has maintained his weight. So this morning I gave Max the CC/probiotic mixture, and will do it again when I get home. I'm just going to continue handfeeding (but still making hay and pellets available to him) until he's over this. I'll handfeed Giggy as well, but perhaps only 10mL of CC/probitoic per day since he's eating on his own and maintaining weight.
 
I spoke with the vet yesterday and we decided to stay with the Panacur. The reasoning being that the giardia did respond to the Panacur (Max's poo stopped smelling by Sunday morning, after 2 doses). With Giggy, it's impossible to tell what's going on since he's never shown symptoms. They are going to give me a whole bottle of the Panacur instead of the pre-dosed syringes, so I don't have to drive back and forth. This is a HUGE help to me since the bet is 1.5 hours away.

I'm starting to get used to the disinfecting and feeding routine, but it's still exhausting with two sick chins. On top of taking care of them I've been given more responsibility at work which is stressing me out, and I'm also trying to plan my wedding. I'm just trying to take it all one day at a time, and sometimes it's one minute at a time.
 
Fenbendazole (Panacur) is a good choice for treating Giardia. Flagyl is about 65% effective in eliminating Giardia.

To avoid reinfection, I would also wash chins' paws, coop cups, and water bottles daily; wash dust container and change dust (cysts may be in the fur).

If you have echinacea herb (leaf/root), it is a good idea to use it; it supports the immune system and helps speed up recovery.

Sending best wishes for a speedy recovery :)
 
Max and Giggy had their last dose of Panacur last night. Max's poo is still SLIGHTLY smelly, but definitely not as odoriferous as it was before.

This most recent round they were on it for 7 days, and the first round was 3 days (there were 4 days between the end of round 1, and the start of round 2).

Should I wait a few days and see what happens? Should I have fecals done for both of them now? I'm also going to call the vet and see what they suggest.
 
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