bunny joint pain

Question
hi there, i'm so excited to have found this website, and would like your opinion. i have a 6.5 year old mixed breed 2.6kg domestic rabbit. (he looks like a dalmation). recently he started to non-weightbare on his front left paw. when he did weightbare, he would knuckle. we took him to the vet and she said it was likely nerve damage. she gave him an NSAID injection and wanted to see him the next day. at that time (9 days ago) she took some xrays and determined that he has arthritis in the elbow of the left front leg. (she assured me that there was no indications of any other joint having this problem on the xrays). she splinted the leg and gave us dexamethasone to give him every day. after 8 days now, there is no improvement at all. i've tried to give him some asprin to ease in any pain and it's near impossible to get him to ingest it. we have an appointment for a second opinion for treatment options as this vet pretty much said if the dexamethasone isn't working, amputation is really the only other option...which seems very invasive and drastic to me! is there something i can give him? even injection wise...i'd be comfortable injecting him if need be. please help!
thanks so much!

Answer
Dear Dawnie,

It sounds as if the vet you saw was more familiar with treating dogs and cats for arthritis than rabbits.  The amputation does sound pretty drastic to me, too.

I hope the vet did not give an NSAID *and* dexamethasone together.  That could really put your bunny at risk of intestinal ulcers!  There are good NSAIDs that could help.  I would ask about Rimadyl and meloxicam.  And I also would find a rabbit-savvy vet for a second opinion:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Some vets have found that a very low dose of torbugesic (an opioid) can really help with arthritis pain.  Amazing results in individuals who are receptive to it!  So I would at least give that a try, too.

I hope this helps.

Dana