Back to the vet with Gilbert :\

[JellyBean]

Poor little Gilbert!!! Sending happy and healthy thoughts your way!!!!! Hope all goes well with the vet tomorrow...

 

[Newbsi]

could he have aspirated some sand or salt from the water at the beach? I am clueless but please keep us updated. It is so scary!

 

[ruffledfeathers]

So far so good. He was yelling "hello!? HELLOO?" as I was walking down the stairs this morning. I was going to bring him to work with me to keep an eye on him but he seems perfectly happy, playing and good appetite, good breathing, so I left him in the comfort of home.


I wondered about the sand--could he have sand lodged in his airway--but the vet thought that was really unlikely (especially to have had no problem until about 15 hours later). With the way the antibiotic "seems" to have helped him, I really hope the tests at least show some kind of bacterial infection.


Now that I have cried and cleared my head, I feel confident that we are going to figure this out one way or another. My bond with Gilbert is basically a defining part of my life--even I am baffled by how intensely I love him. <3

 

[Terry57]

I'm so glad Gilbert is doing well this morning. Patti, your relationship with him is amazing. The two of you have such a rewarding life together and I truly find it inspiring.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

@newsbi Is that bird in your photo yours? If so, you should enter it into this months POTM contest! (baby photos).

@ruffledfeathers I always enjoy hearing about Gilbert and his 'outings'.

 

[GreatBlue320]

How is Gilbert doing today? Any news from the tests? Thinking of you both and hoping all is well.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

I did speak to the vet for a while yesterday after work.
The tests basically show a perfectly healthy bird, except when he ran the antibody test for aspergillus, Gilbert has some antibodies present. (He has been exposed to the fungus somewhere without signs of infection, and my vet said I probably won't figure out when and where.)

Since he is back to being normal and all other tests show no sign of anything other than perfect health, the assumption is that he does not have aspergillosis, in spite of having antibodies. (He does not want to treat him and feels it's safer not to at this point.) He has normal CBC, normal weight, normal on the galactomannan test etc.


However he suggested possibly running all the tests again after a period of time (maybe not waiting for his annual but go in a few months).
With regard to the Xray--he said the only reason he isn't saying to do it is that such a small bird with "normal" blood test results, he thinks he will not see anything. But said he would not say not to do them either. (He will gladly do them if I choose, which I'm still considering having done, or possibly waiting a few months and running ALL tests including Xray).

I asked about my taking him out for walks and his spending a lot of time outdoors, asked if that increases his risks for sickness, etc. He seemed to think the opposite and that it is safe to have him 'out and about'.

While I was on the phone with vet, Gilbert was chattering away, trying to join the conversation. You would never know there was anything even slightly 'wrong' with him.

I was 'disappointed' to not have anything more black and white but my vet said 'you don't want to wish your bird has aspergillosis just to have a definite answer."

 

[Birdman666]

Now that I have cried and cleared my head, I feel confident that we are going to figure this out one way or another. My bond with Gilbert is basically a defining part of my life--even I am baffled by how intensely I love him. <3

I know what you mean. There are many times when I've asked myself how is it possible to love a bird this much...

Even if it doesn't show up in the tests (and it doesn't always), since the antibiotics are clearing it right up, it sounds like some sort of a bug...

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Unrelated but similar--
my dog gave me a lingering scare for a couple years with 'undefined' issues. He had no signs of sickness but when I brought him to be neutered as a puppy, his pre-admission blood tests showed liver problems. My vet suggested he possibly ingested a toxin, puppies eat weird things, etc. So we waited and ran tests again, but we did the fasting bile acid and then they kept him for the day and waited, fed him, ran tests again. At that point my vet suspected a liver shunt and sent me to a specialist for more testing.
The tests basically explained nothing, no liver shunt, nothing obvious, said possible microvascular dysplasia.
This lingering worry hung over me (will he not live a long life? is he going to suddenly become ill?)
However finally when he was a full adult dog all tests have come back perfect. No one knew exactly why but he is fine.
I told that long winded story just because--it sucks to worry about the unknown but sometimes the answers don't come easy and it works out fine.

 

[Birdman666]

When I was 27, I was told I'd probably never walk again, and things were liable to get worse. The doctor misread a test, and guessed wrong, and diagnosed me with an even rarer form of arthritis than the one I actually have.

Two months later, I was fine AND have remained super active all my life.

If it goes away, WHO CARES!!! Let it go, and then celebrate the wrong guesses every day... that's the life lesson in stuff like this.

Worrying about it doesn't change the outcome.

Appreciate! Y'know?!

 

[RavensGryf]

There are mold spores including aspergillus around the environment 'everywhere'. I know your worry Patti. Raven got it because of his deformed nare openings, and he will be more susceptible than most birds all his life. He has cost me thousands in the first 2 years of his life, and I don't think he'll ever be "right" with his constant allergies and infection despite cleaning and sanitizing his house daily. I don't want to talk about my bird here, but I just wanted to let you know how I understand the worry about respiratory illnesss and frustration of trying to get to the bottom of things. Crossing fingers that Gilbert clears whatever this is, and continues to thrive with your excellent care .

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Thank you. It does make me feel better to hear about your situation too. (I am someone who gets stuck in my head and I blame myself for everything...things that don't even make sense. So it's good to 'keep it real' with other people!)

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Took his pic when I got in from work. He wanted to say hi to everyone and thanks for sending him good thoughts. My five ounce best friend!

 

[GreatBlue320]

He's so handsome!

 

[ruffledfeathers]

That's exactly what I tell him every day! "You're SO handsome!" (I'm surprised he doesn't say it lol)

 

[RavensGryf]

Aww, not only handsome but so CUTE in that pic!

 

[JellyBean]

A precious unit....

 

[Blancaej]

He is such a cutie!

 

[TacoNTiki]

Patti: I was at our local parrot store and a comment that the associate made about kings cage made me think of Gilbert and this post. I was telling the associate how I bought a kings travel cage from a lady who told me it was bought from her store. I mentioned I was very happy with the purchase because I notice they don't sell kings cages anymore. She mentioned that her boss had a dispute with kings because her boss feels kings sell unsafe products for parrots. She went on to mention that I should be aware of my cage and stop using it if the paint chips because kings uses galvanized steel for their cages. I don't know anything at all about metals but I do know galvanized steel is not good for parrots. I remember you mentioning that Gilbert has a kings cage and wanted to tell you this story in case it leads to you finishing out what happened with Gilbert.