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6 month old with heart failure any one advise?

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Emma72

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
May 13, 2018
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Location
UK, Newcastle
Hi my little piggy buttons who is female and about 6omtha old has been poorly for about a month now! We are on to our 3 vet.. she started with laboured breathing long story short first 2 bets were useless and prescribed anti inflammatory and antibiotics and she has picked to twice ... my family have come away on our planned holiday and whilst in piggy boarding buttons took bad again and the runners of the place took her to what you all call a cavey savvy vet. Where they said her lungs were full of fluid and started her on fruesmide the maximum dose.( not sure what this dose is as we are still out of the country due home Monday) she was reviewed 7 days post diuretics and the vet said not a significant improvement and there was little the could do now but there is a specialist returning from holiday next who may have some ideas I'm already 400 pounds down the road with vet bills.

So I have been reading all your posts and noticed people mention heart medication as well as diuretic?

Is there anything I can do? She has started eating again and breathing is slightly better :o((((
 
Emma72 said:
Hi my little piggy buttons who is female and about 6omtha old has been poorly for about a month now! We are on to our 3 vet.. she started with laboured breathing long story short first 2 bets were useless and prescribed anti inflammatory and antibiotics and she has picked to twice ... my family have come away on our planned holiday and whilst in piggy boarding buttons took bad again and the runners of the place took her to what you all call a cavey savvy vet. Where they said her lungs were full of fluid and started her on fruesmide the maximum dose.( not sure what this dose is as we are still out of the country due home Monday) she was reviewed 7 days post diuretics and the vet said not a significant improvement and there was little the could do now but there is a specialist returning from holiday next who may have some ideas I'm already 400 pounds down the road with vet bills.

So I have been reading all your posts and noticed people mention heart medication as well as diuretic?

Is there anything I can do? She has started eating again and breathing is slightly better :o((((
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Hi!

You can steam up your shower and place your piggy in it on a dry towel for half an hour. This works as an improvised nebuliser and can help ease the breathing. Please make sure that you are keeping her warm (but not hot) and dry at all times.

Could you please add your country, state/province or UK county to your details. We have got members from all over the world and medical brand names can vary a lot. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to account details and scroll down to location. This makes it appear with every post you make and saves everybody time. thank you!

I am tagging in @Jaycey and @helen105281 for you, who have both first-hand experience with a heart piggy.
@Abi_nurse should be able to advise you on the correct frusemide dosage, which is very small. is the frusemide prescribed or have you bought it yourself? In order to calculate any medical dosage, we need to know the weight of your piggy in the first place, anyway.
 
The piggy was 520g when I left and I’m unsure how to add country but I’m from UK, Newcastle thanks so much for replying! I really want to try every thing as she is such a gorgeous thing
 
Hi!
Emma72 said:
And the frusemide is prescribed thanks again
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Thank you for the additional information. This will help to give you the pertinent answers when more experienced members are coming on.

All the best!
 
I've had 2 pigs on Furosemide. The first had all sorts of weird issues. He was never diagnosed as a heart pig but we trialled rhe meds with him and it helped a lot.

He was on 10mg a day of Furosemide, which the vet said was the maximum dose and not really recommended except for a very short 2-3 day 'blast' to clear the fluid. We had to give him 5mg on a morning and 5mg on an evening and monitor him very closely for dehydration. Thankfully a combo of wetting his veg and him starting to drink more from his bottle helped.

He was also on heart medicine.

My second pig had poor airways due to bad genetics which sounds like it might be the case with your piggy @Emma72 . He was on 1mg of Furosemide a day. Initially it was tablets but cutting them into 1mg pieces was a nightmare so we swapped over to Frusol, which is a liquid version. It really helped.
 
Your little piggie needs a full heart scan (ultrasound) to rule in or out heart disease. If this is the case and confirmed then I would switch to turosemide (a longer acting form of furosemide) and potentially consider the use of heart medications depending on what sort of heart failure it is. I can offer the dosage but I don't know what form or dosage has been picked as it is variable. Unfortunately in cases of heart disease it is often life limiting sadly.

If it's not heart disease then potentially you are lucky it is a bad case of pneumonia, in which case with intensive care and medication she may pull through but likely be prone to respiratory problems for the rest of her life sadly.
 
Jaycey said:
I've had 2 pigs on Furosemide. The first had all sorts of weird issues. He was never diagnosed as a heart pig but we trialled rhe meds with him and it helped a lot

He was on 10mg a day of Furosemide, which the vet said was the maximum dose and not really recommended except for a very short 2-3 day 'blast' to clear the fluid. We had to give him 5mg on a morning and 5mg on an evening and monitor him very closely for dehydration. Thankfully a combo of wetting his veg and him starting to drink more from his bottle helped.

He was also on heart medicine.

My second pig had poor airways due to bad genetics which sounds like it might be the case with your piggy @Emma72 . He was on 1mg of Furosemide a day. Initially it was tablets but cutting them into 1mg pieces was a nightmare so we swapped over to Frusol, which is a liquid version. It really helped.
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Did you genetic piggy manage on the fruesimide ? For a while ? The vet thinks it’s something congenital maybe ?! It’s such a shame
 
Abi_nurse said:
Your little piggie needs a full heart scan (ultrasound) to rule in or out heart disease. If this is the case and confirmed then I would switch to turosemide (a longer acting form of furosemide) and potentially consider the use of heart medications depending on what sort of heart failure it is. I can offer the dosage but I don't know what form or dosage has been picked as it is variable. Unfortunately in cases of heart disease it is often life limiting sadly.

If it's not heart disease then potentially you are lucky it is a bad case of pneumonia, in which case with intensive care and medication she may pull through but likely be prone to respiratory problems for the rest of her life sadly.
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Thank you for taking the time to reply , I think I’m just clutching at straws hoping a can find a solution!
 
@Emma72 Yeah he did really well. He wasn't as young as yours when he started to show signs but he wasn't very old when he started to have issues with his breathing. My vet went down the route of antibiotics for quite a while first and it didn't help.

If furosemide helps your little one then she may possibly lead a very happy normal life.
 
Jaycey said:
@Emma72 Yeah he did really well. He wasn't as young as yours when he started to show signs but he wasn't very old when he started to have issues with his breathing. My vet went down the route of antibiotics for quite a while first and it didn't help.

If furosemide helps your little one then she may possibly lead a very happy normal life.
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I hope so ! I’m going to take it back to see the other vet next week then it’s had the best chance! It’s such a lovely natured little thing !
 
I have had pigs on heart meds in addition to diuretics. It is usually an ACE inhibator like Benazepril though sometimes they also need Vetmedin which works differently. Once the balance of meds is found they can live longer than you would expect. Some of mine were on medication for 4 years or more with tweaks as needed.
 
helen105281 said:
I have had pigs on heart meds in addition to diuretics. It is usually an ACE inhibator like Benazepril though sometimes they also need Vetmedin which works differently. Once the balance of meds is found they can live longer than you would expect. Some of mine were on medication for 4 years or more with tweaks as needed.
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I’ve the piggy’s back it’s lost 10g when it’s been away and the other has gained 120g so it’s definitely not getting better.

It’s on 5mg of fruesimide twice daily ( hard to 1/4 the tablets aa they are so small )

It’s breathlng is still laboured and it is nodding . But it is eating ok

I’ve started the critical care feed again to try and boost it up a bit and some diorolite water! She water be restricted what heart failure does anyone know?

I don’t know what else I can do :o(((
 
@Emma72 Please don't restrict water. Diuretics can be quite dehydrating so let her drink what she wants. 10mg is quite a high dose so I'd expect her to drink more.
 
That’s what I thought ( I’m a human nurse lol ) so I thought I’d syringe her the critical care and some diorolite water but her breathing sounds really loud tonight , I guess it’s been like this when I’ve been on holiday I’m so sad I can’t do anything for her :o((((
 
I think we all hate that helpless feeling whether we’re supporting a pet or fellow human.
Just offering support
 
I would ask the vet about heart meds too, to see if that helps. My vet agreed to a few weeks trial of an ACE inhibitor to see if there was an improvement. They could also consider and xray or scan to see if the heart is enlarged though it may be difficult to see anything while there is fluid. They would need to be done conscious too if there is a chance they are a heart pig.

Does she have any other symptoms? such as:

Deep sleep - difficult to rouse
Blue tinge to nose or other extremities.
Bumblefoot
Nodding when breathing
Abdominal bloating
Is she small for her age?
 
helen105281 said:
I would ask the vet about heart meds too, to see if that helps. My vet agreed to a few weeks trial of an ACE inhibitor to see if there was an improvement. They could also consider and xray or scan to see if the heart is enlarged though it may be difficult to see anything while there is fluid. They would need to be done conscious too if there is a chance they are a heart pig.

Does she have any other symptoms? such as:

Deep sleep - difficult to rouse
Blue tinge to nose or other extremities.
Bumblefoot
Nodding when breathing
Abdominal bloating
Is she small for her age?
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Hi Helen , yes looking back she has had them from coming from the pet shop ! But I thought I’d put some photos on this thread later to help others as I have spent the last week searching for answers on the internet and there doesn’t seem to be much info on heart pigs ! I have managed to get an appointment with the specialist in the morning ... I’m going to keep this thread going with the outcome too for others reference
 
So symptom wise
She’s never moved when picking her up from the minute we have got her

She has laboured breathing

She has cold hind feet

Always resting in her hidey

Has dark edges on her ears

Made sounds in the early days that I now think was hooting

Had blue tinge in her upper eye , so I’m Defo thinking it’s heart I’ll see what the specialist says tomorrow I’m trying to attach a picture of her ( she’s so cute) her ears and her breathing 05BEA59F-13AF-4738-BFE5-BDBD7480F3A8.webp422D0082-C7AA-4D95-9AE0-2910D09D0E4F.webp422D0082-C7AA-4D95-9AE0-2910D09D0E4F.webp
 
I had a guinea pig with a heart condition. She had an enlarged heart and fluids around it that was only diagnosed when we took her to an exotic vets for UTI. She was prescribed frusol (furosemide which is a diuretic) and also metacam. She had these from then on till she passed away after 10 months. But she had too many problems apart from the heart problems (UTI, bladder stones, stones in ureter, and then eventually one of her kidneys failed). I believe once diagnosed with a heart problem, the guinea pig will have to be on medications for the rest of its life.
 
anyar.dris said:
I had a guinea pig with a heart condition. She had an enlarged heart and fluids around it that was only diagnosed when we took her to an exotic vets for UTI. She was prescribed frusol (furosemide which is a diuretic) and also metacam. She had these from then on till she passed away after 10 months. But she had too many problems apart from the heart problems (UTI, bladder stones, stones in ureter, and then eventually one of her kidneys failed). I believe once diagnosed with a heart problem, the guinea pig will have to be on medications for the rest of its life.
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Thank you for replying! It’s all a learning curve! What is metacam? Yeah I think she will have a short life but hopefully maybe I can make it a little more comfortable
 
Metacam is a pain relief medicine with anti-inflammatory included. It's also know as Loxicom.

One of my pigs who was never officially diagnosed as a "heart pig" but showed many signs, and improved a lot on the medication lived another 2 years. He passed away from an unrelated condition.
 
Jaycey said:
Metacam is a pain relief medicine with anti-inflammatory included. It's also know as Loxicom.

One of my pigs who was never officially diagnosed as a "heart pig" but showed many signs, and improved a lot on the medication lived another 2 years. He passed away from an unrelated condition.
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It’s funny she was better when she was on the anti inflammatory medication ( when they were saying it could of been and infection) I might start it again and see what happens ! It can’t do any harm ? Surely !

It called meloxaid ?
 
I’ve uploades the video here is the link
She’s lost 15g since yesterday despite critical care feed 😰

 
Such a beautiful little girl! I hope you'd get her sorted out tomorrow and the vet would help you more with regards to treatment and medications. Wishing you and your baby girl good luck. Just keep on top of the syringe feeding. It'll do her good. We used to feed our sick piggies 15mls every 3 hrs. just to make sure they were having enough.
 
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