Aspergillus bill is mounting...advice needed

[garrydoolan]

Hi,

I am looking for advice after our three year old Blue Fronted Amazon took ill last week.
I took him to tan avian spe******t on the second day he stopped talking. He had become listless and the vet felt it could be Aspergillus. They did a blood test, x-ray and endoscope and confirmed Asper. By that stage, the bill was already £500 and we could not afford to keep him in the vet as he is not insured.
We took him home, bought a nebuliser and tried giving him the anti-biotics etc. But he stopped taking them from us and I was struggling to get dfood into him.
He had to go back into the vets on Saturday and is still there. they say he is still listless and they want to do another blood test again.
I suppose what I want to know is whether we should bring him home. I know they can feed him and get anti-biotics into him. But he has not shown any improvement in a week and I think he would settle better at home.
I know Asper is a long-term condition, so I wonder whether he will recover just as well at home as in the vets. We have to be honest, money is really becoming an issue now and we can not go on paying the vets at the rate they demand.
Any advice from somebody who has been in this situation would be greatly appreciated.

Garry

 

[Sulphiria]

Im so sorry. Is it possible the vet would work out some kind of payments with you? I hate hearing stories about loving pet owners who want to do everything they can to help a pet and money becomes the issue. I hope it all works out.

 

[BillsBirds]

Talk to the vet, and see if they think the bird needs to stay with them, or would do better at home. Also, talk about payment plans, or something. Most vets will work with you. Today, nobody can afford expensive medical bills. For ourselves, or our pets. Good luck.

 

[KellyH]

I would also talk to the vet and be honest with them about the cost being too much for your family. Maybe they could teach or show you what to do with any medication so that you could take care of him at home?

 

[Spiritbird]

Have you said what you are saying to us to the vet?? I would also do some quick reading up on the disease process and treatments so you are well informed. The vet could order test after test otherwise. I know this is heartbreaking and we share the pain with you. Do you have any ideas on how the bird got it?? Birdie hugs to you and family.

I found this article to be fairly comprehensive: http://www.avianweb.com/aspergillosis.html

 

[garrydoolan]

Thanks for the replies so far. I have mentioned cost to the vets - especially after they charged us a £30 fee for a discharge consultation after already charging £45 for an initial consultation - but they have not been very forthcoming.
We don't know where he picked up the Asper. We got him about nine months ago from the breeder, who had taken him back from his initial family. He always seemed in reasonable shape, although a bit breathless when he flies. We put that down to him being out of condition. But we know know that that could have been symptomatic of his illness. It is also still quite damp here in England, so that could be an issue.
The difficulty is that he is really tough to deal with. He is utterly charming, talks well and is very loving in the cage. But an absolute nightmare out the cage. I don;t mind admitting that we bit off more than we could chew when we took him on, but he very quickly became part of the family. We love him immensely, but we are concerned he may not recover no matter how much money we throw at it.

 

[Spiritbird]

I think a conversation with the vet is in order here. Does this bird have a chance of recovery, how long and how much more would it take. Let him know you are financially not able to do this if the bird's prognosis is poor. I wonder if there are any forum members who's bird has recovered from this and how the treatment went.

Here is a thread you may want to read The long road to recovery Sorry to say her bird eventually died.

 

[Remy]

Have you done some research on your own to learn more about it? Informing yourself could help you understand the situation better, and talk to the vet better. Don't be afraid to ask questions. You might also be able to learn about treatments, natural or not natural, that the the vet didn't think of.

 

[MikeyTN]

Im so sorry to hear about your bird's condition. Have you thought about getting a dehumidifier for your house from the dampness. Placing a heat lamp on him to keep him warm. Try to sweeten his meds with natural fruit juice. Feed him high protein food like hard boiled egg yolk mix with cottage cheese and wheat then syringe feed him all mixed up. Those are some major key in treating sick birds. I had to deal with viral breakout and we placed the birds in a closed room with really high temp. It all worked out in the end for me after a long struggle and a high vet bill....

 

[garrydoolan]

Thanks for all the help so far. I'm just waiting for the result of the second blood test, so I will update when we have some news. Thanks.

 

[roxynoodle]

I'm in the same situation as you with mounting vet bills from the Grey I adopted in January. I think we have finally turned a corner though on that, and the bills should be less from here on out. I suspect she will always be expensive though. My vet did offer me a line of credit. I haven't taken advantage of it yet, but I may have to soon. She allows 6 months interest free for those who qualify. Maybe your vet does, too.

Aspergillious is even in the air right now, and with the overly warm winter in both the US and UK, infections in our birds may not be preventable right now, unfortunately. I'm sorry to hear about your bird, and I wish you both the best.

 

[garrydoolan]

I am devastated to report that the second blood test was terrible news. Smokey's condition was a lot worse and he was not responding to anti-biotics and the other treatment.
The advice from the vet was that he was unlikely to recover and therefor ewe had to have him put to sleep this afternoon. I am gutted, but I just wanted to update everybody who posted on here and thank you all for the advice.
I would also like to make sure people really consider insurance for a bird. Our bill is in the region of £1000 and we have still lost Smokey. The only other option was to try a different medicine but that was £800 a bottle. If we were insured we would possibly have given that a go as a last resort.
My head is all over the place at the minute, but the only thing I am sure of is that Smokey is not suffering now.
Thanks everyone.

 

[Mayden]

Oh Garry, I'm really sorry to hear about Smokey. You're right about insurance but it's not something you should beat yourself up over right now, Smokey is no longer suffering and I'm sure he knew he was loved by you very much.

I hope you find a little comfort in that at least. No 'I told you sos' about insurance - don't deal with that, just grieve and learn from this later.

Hugs and well wishes from us here. x

 

[MikeyTN]

I am very sorry to hear you had to put smoky to sleep....you did the best you can and I'm sure smoky is looking down from birdie heaven thanking you for the care you've given him. Best regards...

 

[Wulfgeist]

I'm so sorry for you having to lose him after all that. My heart is sad for you.

 

[Spiritbird]

Very sad news and I know you will be missing him in your heart and soul.

 

[roxynoodle]

I'm so sorry to hear and will be thinking of you and your family.

 

[Remy]

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. You did the best you could, and I'm sure that he knew how much you loved him.