Weak or stiff back legs & frequent urination

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
Our 7 year old rex has been slowing down a bit over the past 6 months or so.  We noticed that she kept starting to bring her back feet towards her ears as if to scratch them, but then stopping.  We figured she was getting stiff as she got older, so we just tried to make her space a bit more friendly for getting aroung.  Then, about a month ago, we noticed that she was urinating outside of her litterbox sometimes and when we had her out in the yard on her harness, she'd urinate (or at least sit with her haunches pressed down and her tail up for 10 seconds or so) at least once every minute.  We've never seen her pee this often or stay "in the position" so long, so we took her to the vet.  The vet took did x-rays and blood work and said that she has spondylosis.  So now she's getting pain meds in the morning with her pellets.  
The reason I'm writing is that it seems to have gotten worse more quickly in the last week or so.  She's now often unable to hop in and out of a litter box without catching her back toes on the edge and she actually seems weak (as opposed to just stiff).  If I nudge her gently while she's sitting, she can't really push back against me much. The frequency of her urination remains the same, although she hasn't peed outside the litterbox since before her vet visit.  Could there be something besides spondylosis going on?  What should trigger another trip to the vet?  We don't want to keep dragging her there if this is just a normal age-related issue, but we're a bit paranoid.  This bunny's bonded partner got cataracts at about a year, but wasn't diagnosed with e. cuniculi until he was 4.  He's since had to have both eyes removed, due to glaucoma. (This was really hard for us, because for years we'd been told that he was fine and in no pain, but the vet who finally checked his eye pressure said he'd probably had pain for a while.  We felt terrible that he'd had to live with that.)  He's now testing negative for e. cuniculi and Bella (our rex) has never tested positive.  Any suggestions, or should we just get used to having an older, slower bunny?
Thanks for any help you can offer!
Leah

ANSWER: Dear Leah,

I'm not a big fan of E. cuniculi titer tests, as they can have false results.  What you describe is consistent with E. cuniculi, though other things (e.g., spondylosis, arthritis) can cause it, too.  Please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/paresis.html

(especially the link to the article by Dr. Brown) for a complete overview.

I would ask the vet about putting her (and her partner, if he's not already) on Panacur (fenbendazole), as a precaution.  We've used it without any bad side effects, and it might really help in this case.

I'm surprised the vet recommended enucleation for the glaucoma.  There are treatments for the condition that are far less drastic, and don't require surgery.  I'm sorry he had to go through that.  :(  But if these are the same vets that recommended the aggressive surgery, you might want to check the list linked here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

to find another rabbit-savvy vet for a second opinion.

Hope this helps.

Dana


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Dana,
Thanks for your response, I will check out the links.  I just wanted to add, since I didn't go into a lot of detail about our other bunny, that our vet (who is on the rabbit.org list) did try a couple of other things  for the glaucoma (some medication and also a procedure to do something to the ciliary bodies) but the pressure just kept going up, and his eyeball was swelling up and clearly very painful.  One eye clearly had to come out, and since the other hadn't responded to treatment, we elected to have that one removed as well.  He's seemed a lot happier since the surgery.  He is on Panacur, but I will ask the vet if maybe she should go on it as well, just in case that's what's going on with her.  Thanks again!

Answer
Dear Leah,

Oh, I'm glad the vet did try other treatments before resorting to enucleation of the eyes.  Certain types of drops (there are several mechanisms of glaucoma, and a different type of medication that works on each) and ablating the ciliary body (which secretes the aqueous fluid) are both exactly what our ophthalmologist would have done.  It's a shame nothing worked, but it's also amazing how adaptable bunnies are when faced with something like this.

Hope both your buns do well!

Dana