Grace's medical thread

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Fri Dec 08, 2017 3:45 pm


Grace has her second stone (that we know of) in about 4 mos. In Aug. she had one stuck in her urethra. The vet managed to pull it out with some tool & considerable effort & help from other staff. He saved her life.

So now another stone (and infection). He's not sure if she can pass it or not. We hesitate to do surgery since she's formed another stone so soon. Grace is also getting valium & metacam to relax the urethra & control pain in hopes of her passing stones more easily.

Opinions on possible surgery given there's a good chance that another stone will form, maybe soon? She's two years old and was spayed last summer because of ovarian cysts.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Dec 08, 2017 5:53 pm


I am so sorry about the stone. I have actually heard of stones reforming much more quickly (within two or three weeks) though I understand why it seems soon after four months.

I take it you have tried dietary changes? Have you tried shillintong? A couple of people have used other products to help ease stones out (recent threads, sorry I don't recall the medication names). You have the advantage of Grace being a sow instead of a boar but stones are tough on all guinea pigs. Two years is so young!

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Fri Dec 08, 2017 6:57 pm


Two or three weeks! Wow!

We're trying to be careful as to diet - we always are, but maybe not as much as some. Her veggies are vet-approved & we're making sure now to limit Oxbow kibble to 1/8 c. per pig per day.

I need to read some of those stone threads & get some ideas. 'Course it's not really known how much diet has to do with it. A lot seems to depend on the pig. But diet is one thing that can be controlled.

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Sun Dec 17, 2017 12:05 pm


We had Grace at the vet again on Fri. It looked like she was trying to urinate but couldn't. The vet very gently massaged the bladder - said it was very full - and she immediately peed and again & again. Several times.

She had been without the valium for a couple of days because of miscommunication & the fact that we need to get it from a compounding pharmacy that's a bit of a drive and takes a day or two to get it ready. Vet thinks it's possible the two days off could have contributed to her problem on Fri. Needless to say, we're going to be careful to keep a continuous supply.

We talked about handling Grace's situation with the current strategy of valium, metacam & antibiotic. He said they treated another stone pig this way & it lived to 5 years old. Fingers crossed.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Dec 17, 2017 3:50 pm


I'll cross my fingers too!

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Catie Cavy
Supporter 2011-2020

Post   » Sun Dec 17, 2017 8:11 pm


Could you use Lorazepam (Ativan) instead of Valium? My vet prescribed it as a muscle relaxant for one of guinea pigs with a stone. It came in a liquid form (probably for kids) which I was able to get easily from the neighborhood pharmacy. No compounding or special pharmacy needed. My guinea pig did successfully pass the stone. I can't say for sure what helped. She was also on shillintong and was fed fruits and veggies with high water content.

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Mon Dec 18, 2017 11:36 am


That's funny. For some reason my aging brain makes me say ativan when I mean valium. I'll ask the next time we talk to him.

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Sun Dec 01, 2019 3:35 pm


The Saturday before last Grace was acting very sick. We took her to the emergency vet and had a very long wait due to a couple of dog emergencies. While we were waiting Grace peed blood clots, blood & a small stone. She immediately felt some better. Then a vet came in and didn't charge us because she "didn't do anything". It looked like she added some stuff to Grace's record. By the next day Grace seemed back to normal. Relief, but we didn't know we'd lose Brownie to a stone & bloat the next week.

Stones :(

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Sun Dec 01, 2019 3:45 pm


One thing to add. That Saturday morning our regular vet wanted to try an injection of adequan to help with Grace's chronic bladder inflammation. It's approved for dogs & horses, but our vet (and presumably others) has used it for gp's. Gracie started looking sick about 6-7 hours later. We don't know if the injection had anything to do with it.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sun Dec 01, 2019 3:58 pm


I vaguely remember hearing about Adequan for arthritis. Google search didn't produce much information on its use in guinea pigs, but I did find several references to it being used with rabbits (similar to glucosamine and chondroitin). One such source:
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Bone_disea ... hritis.htm

As with the other supplements, this is a bovine-derived product. VIN states:
"The active ingredient in Adequan® is polysulfated GAG, which is mostly chondroitin sulfate, extracted from cow tissue (the trachea, to be exact)."
As such, there is the potential for it to cause bloating or other GI issues in herbivores, although I'm not sure if an injection (vs. oral route) would lessen the likelihood. Given her symptoms so soon after the injection, though, I'd be inclined to think it might have been the culprit.

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Sun Dec 01, 2019 4:00 pm


That's what we think. Daughter has decided not to continue with the injections & I agree.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Dec 01, 2019 4:37 pm


General dog information using "adequan" and "veterinary" duckduckgo search, yields some sites mentioning:

" Adequan helps relieve the pain of arthritis by soothing and lubricating the inflamed joint in addition to stimulating joint cartilage repair."
" Ask your veterinarian if Adequan Canine is the right choice for controlling the clinical signs of your dog's arthritis."
"The Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 1993; 696-703. INDICATIONS Adequan ® i.m. (polysulfated glycosaminoglycan) is recommended for the intramuscular treatment of non-infectious degenerative and/or traumatic joint dysfunction and associated lameness of the carpal and hock joints in horses."

It does seem to be more joint oriented than bladder oriented.

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