Noble Macaw vet visit (long)

I had to take time to digest the information I received from our visit today. Mihijo went in for his lupron shot and a recheck of his breathing (I called in Wednesday about his breathing. I did not like the way he sounded and it appeared labored to me).

The visit started by Dr. Blair listening to his breathing. She gave him his lupron shot but agreed with me that his breathing seemed labored. Requesting and x-ray she wanted to see if there was fluid around the heart and to check size of heart. She also wanted to see if there was fluid in the air sacks.

I agreed to have him x-rayed and this was preformed. Dr. Blair then pulled his 2002 and 2004 xray so that we could compare them. On the x-ray where the bird is on his back the liver and heart should make a hour glass figure on it. The 2002 shows this formation well where the 2004 x-ray showed it as a bit filled in but his x-ray today shows no hour glass figure at all but heart and liver meshing into a oblong looking shadow. Dr. Blair was very concerned that that liver is enlarged. Needing more information she asked for me to step back with her to the ultrasound room because she wanted to check the liver for "tumors". While she and the tech were doing the exam I kept Mihijo very calm so that he would not breath faster and stress out more. I will say he did much better with all the procedures done to him than he did last Friday with just the blood draw.

Since I was working with the parrot I was not watching the ultrasound screen. When the doctor asked me to look I saw that the liver although enlarged did not show any masses. Dr. Blair seemed happy with that.

After all of this we talked. She has some major concerns with the liver and heart...they take up some of the the room that the bronco lies (little tiny air sacks) need for Mihijo to breath better. The heart and liver are compressing on his air sacs making the breathing more difficult for him.

This is what she wrote on his discharge papers:

"Mihijo has an enlarged heart and liver shadow - compared to 2004, it is markedly enlarged. This is compressing his air sacs and making breathing more difficult for him.

Hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol and other lipids) can lead to a number of abnormalities including liver disease, heart disease, and vascular disease. His current issues may very well be secondary to chronic high cholesterol levels, but there may be some compounding hormonal factors. He received lupron injection today - this will decrease the hormones in his body.

Continue all current therapies. We will follow up with a recheck profile (Blood draw $95) and radiographs ($97.50) in 8 weeks.

Please call if his condition changes. "

She warned me his condition is serious and that he could expire however she holds hope that the lupron shot will lower his hormones which will lower the cholesterol which hopefully the other abnormalities will fall back in line. (liver shrinking back to normal size??)

Please prey or hope or what ever it takes for Mihijo to recover enough to get him out of danger. I am very concerned that he will not make it to his 17th hatch date.

Needless to say I am upset but try to remain positive for my Mihijo.

Noblemacaw

I am so sorry to hear all about your poor birds health problems. I will pray that he gets healthy and you will not have to experience the loss of your little friend so soon. It is not fair when they touch our lives so immensely and then have to leave us so soon.

Thank you for such a detailed vet visit. It really does help others when they see their parrots having the same issues and what to maybe ask the vet about and expect.

I hope that your Mihijo is going to be okay! He will be in my thoughts!

I"m thinking about you and Mihijo......you are doing everything you can please rest assured of that! I'm praying like everyone else on here! Hugs!

Hugs to you both. You will both be in my prayers.

Rio Mom said:

Hugs to you both. You will both be in my prayers.

Click to expand...

and in mine... Love the picture.

I was wondering how you two were doing... The good news is that it isn't a tumor!

What have you changed in his diet?

I wish the best for the two of you! <3 <3

The vet asked me to cut out dried fruits and nuts, (I use to feed him goldenfeast south american blend II) no more table foods, (he use to get a bit of what ever I was eating but mostly dairy like cheese and yogurt I cut out) I switched his pellet to Roudybush low fat and he gets cooked grains and flaxseed oil on his wet food.

She was fine with my recipe for his wet food. This consists of mixed veggies, brown rice, squash, yams, 16 bean mix, and elbow noodles not cooked. I make a huge batch and freeze it in pint freezer bags. So all the parrot is eating is my fresh mix, with cooked grains and flax seed oil squirted on it and the low fat pellets. By dinnertime Mihijo is screaming for more wet food but he is learning that once the wet food is gone..its gone for the day.

Poor parrot.

Noblemacaw

Do you have any idea WHY his cholesterol got so high in the first place? It sounds like you have been taking pretty good care of him.

Dr. Blair believes that parrots in captivity do not live their full life spans because of the artificial environment we provide for them. This pet environment causes their hormones to rise and have problem following the natural pattern in nature. Thus the hormones are always elevated. Mihijo has always been a very social and laid back bird for his kind. He is very gentle, does not ever bite and LOVES FOOD!

In 2002 Mihijo began plucking. At first I thought it was because I bought a new home but as I spent 2 grand in the attempt to get him to stop. He never did stop until I got the hormones to lower. At that time he did not moult in a YEAR because his hormones never dropped.

The research shows that when a parrot does not drop the hormones its very hard on the body causing the lipids to rise which in turn will skew all the other numbers to become high. Mihijo always presented with an enlarged heart. Dr. Jenkins (she saw him since he was a hatchling but she is now retired and he now sees Dr. Blair) but Dr. Jenkins even with her confiring with other avian vets across the US could not figure out why his heart was enlarged. Even then his enlarged heart was never big as it is now.

I also remembered that his father died young. I just remembered this last night when talking to my friends about Mihijo. Part of the high cholesterol could be genetic, the enlarged heart could be genetic but Dr. Blair believes the hormones also play a large part in Mihjo's illness.

She always told me I take very good care of my birds. Dr. Blair held me while I cried after she told me that Diego did not make it. She tried to heroically save Diego but was unable to. Dr. Blair will always try her hardest to not loose Mihijo. Especially on the heals of my loosing Diego this past summer.

Hopefully this helps give a clearer picture where we are coming from with Mihijo's illness. He needs LOTS of prayers for his recovery. This is going to be a long hard road and we don't even know if he will be able to survive much longer.

Noblemacaw

Please Mihijo, stay strong, do what the doctors say to do and PLEASE GET BETTER, please!