Cystitis diagnosis - help!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Jun 21, 2022 9:38 pm


Sorry to hear it has returned. Do trim her butt hairs too, as it will help keep her dirier and perhaps cut down on the bacterial growth and help a bit with the smell (though antibiotics will be the most effective.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Tue Jun 21, 2022 10:25 pm


Well darn. :( Hopefully another round of ABs will knock it out.

flean

Post   » Thu Sep 08, 2022 6:57 am


Well, vets couldn't really suggest everything as we have realistically been through everything and nothing has worked. Her periods of wetness have come and gone so it's definitely occasional and the vet is sticking with her diagnosis of IC.

Her bum is extremely painful for her at the moment every time she poops (which, as we know, is often) and it looks a little ulcerated. I'm reluctant to take her back to the vets as it deeply stresses her and the opiates they gave her before didn't help (and probably hindered). So I'm going to continue to apply the silver sulfradine and give her a high dose metacam and hope for the best. Also trying not to worry about the fact that her cagemate and sister is actually being nice to her, which does NOT happen in normal circumstances.

Anyway. She's still with us and worrying me terribly!

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Sep 08, 2022 8:24 am


I am sorry you are still struggling with this.

When you say her bum is extremely painful for her and looks a little ulcerated, does this look at all like urine scald?
https://www.guinealynx.info/urine_scald.html

A baby product like Desitin, Balmex, Desinex, or a similar ointment can really provide a good barrier to urine scald. And painful pooping, I take it she has had xrays and they have not revealed stones?

flean

Post   » Fri Sep 09, 2022 11:05 am


Sadly it looks way worse than urine scald or indeed how it has looked previously... Pictures would be pretty gross to share, I am on the verge of taking her to the vet in case some antibiotics might help, but it's a really hard decision as she has literally no tolerance for stress, and frequently stops eating just because I've taken her to the vet. At present she is still eating, drinking and moving around normally, although yelping in pain frequently :( :( :(

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Fri Sep 09, 2022 5:33 pm


I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but my daughter has had good results with cystease for IC. Might be worth a try, if you haven't already.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Sep 09, 2022 11:38 pm


Call the vet and see if a triple antibiotic ointment might help. If she has a bacterial skin infection, it may help to keep things under control. One would apply it sparingly because some of the antibiotics in that cream should never be taken orally (possibly licked off).

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Sep 10, 2022 9:34 am


Yelping in pain is not good, especially if she's already on a high dose of Metacam (how much?). Ditto either oral or topical antibiotics (with caution) for that skin condition. If you need to take her in, see if your vet could let you come early in the morning before the clinic gets too busy and noisy, or at the end of the day when most everyone else has left. I've had to do that with some of my more skittish guys and it has helped somewhat.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Sep 10, 2022 11:32 am


p.s. a picture may still help us. If you wish to email a clear copy to me, I can crop and resize it and put it up so viewing is controlled (using show/hide tags).
Image

flean

Post   » Wed Sep 14, 2022 5:32 am


We've been back to the vet this morning as her bum was so swollen and ulcerated that she needed help to expel her poop :( :( :(

Vet has suggested propanolamine, which is not something she's given to guinea pigs before (although she has to rabbits) - apparently a dog specific medication that helps restrict urine leaking. Her sense is that we need to stop the urine leaking out to prevent this level of pain. If the meds don't work, she said that "we will need to have a conversation"... She said antibiotics wouldn't help as the sulfradine cream is doing that job (and the ulceration is miraculously not infected) so I've obviously been doing well at keeping her clean. She's on a 0.8ml dose of 0.5mg/ml metacam once a day (which I know is high, especially as she only weighs 845g poor skinny girl), vet said I could do it twice a day and that there was another painkiller we could also add (gabapentin maybe?).

Hawkes is still super lively and energetic, eating loads, albeit her tummy is very bald from barbering and obviously her bum is very sore. I have no clue what to do. It feels wrong to put down a guinea pig just because her bum is sore???

@Lynx I've sent Monday's pic... Pretty gross.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Sep 14, 2022 10:49 am


Here you go! I am using "show/hide" tags so people can select to view the pictures. They will help us get an idea of the problem.
p.s. you may think they are bad but we've seen worse.
[SHOW]
Image

Image
NOTE: HERE IS A PICTURE FROM EARLIER THIS YEAR:

Image

flean

Post   » Thu Sep 22, 2022 4:31 am


Thank you!

She is no better with the propalin. She is not her normal self either. I don't know whether to stop the propalin and just manage her bum as I have been? Or is it kinder to let her go? She's not yet 5 but I hate the thought she's in so much pain.

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