barefootwanderer28
New Born Pup
Hi Everyone, my first time posting on here, apologies in advance for the long post! I’ve had a read of other posts and thought it would be a good idea to ask for any advice people may have for my particular case. I have a guinea pig, Cassie, that is 2 years 5 months old, I’ve only had her for 2 months. I know she was bred once and all the babies were DOA but she recovered well and didn’t need any medication.
As soon as she started to settle in, she started squeaking in pain when going to the toilet and I was occasionally finding sludge from her peeing. I see an exotic vet that examined her and didn’t find anything obvious, but suggested it could be something with the bladder or her joints. We have tried Arthrocam 0.38ml and then Gabapentin 0.69ml. The pain continued intermittently but the squeaking was definitely less intense, the Gabapentin worked a little better but not much of a difference between the two. She was then x-rayed which showed no bladder stones or obvious sludge. The vet only noted that her posture was a bit hunched and she was leaning on her back heels, indicative of pain, but it doesn’t narrow down where the pain is coming from. They also did a dip stick in a pee Cassie did on the table and said the pH was normal, but there were traces of blood.
We agreed to try both Arthrocam and Gabapentin together for 1 week. At this point I had already taken Cassie off her veg for 2 days and started Pro-C Professional as her poo was a bit smaller and they were getting small tails more frequently. This did the trick, her poo is now normal and back to a normal size. The pain when peeing/pooing has continued regularly, I do think them being bigger has added to the discomfort a bit.
I started transitioning her over to Piggy Parcels Joint and Bladder Support pellets just over a week ago. I’ve also been giving some bladder support and digestive support supplements, though she only wants a small amount each day. She now has bottled water, I am currently giving her cucumber, celery and a coriander sprig. I am introducing each veg gradually to see if any have an impact. I noticed after re-introducing romaine lettuce she started passing a lot of sludge which stopped very soon after removing that from her diet. Also, any recommendations for veg that are good for Vit C and bladder issues would be great please, as she won’t touch any peppers!
She has been happier in herself the past few days, despite the pain continuing. However, I found a better way to administer the medication so that I don’t need to restrain her head, which she is MUCH happier about, so I think that is the reason rather than the medication. I very much feel her bladder is the issue and expect this is sterile cystitis, which the vet also said may be what is going on. My vet did say there is another pain medication we could try, I didn’t get the name unfortunately. I have also read cartrophen injections are recommended when it is difficult to get under control. I plan on introducing homeopathy as an extra support, and I am hoping that as the glucosamine from the pellets builds up and I continue with everything else, that it will become better managed, hopefully with medication only needed for flare ups.
I definitely don’t think Cassie is a severe case, and even with the regular pain when toileting, she is happy in herself and has a good quality of life, the pain is fairly well managed with the meds atm. Is it worth giving additional glucosamine in another form to help it build up quicker or will this not make any difference/be an issue? Does anyone have advice in terms of trying another pain medication or going straight to cartrophen injections, I would have to speak with my vet about the injections. Thank you =)
As soon as she started to settle in, she started squeaking in pain when going to the toilet and I was occasionally finding sludge from her peeing. I see an exotic vet that examined her and didn’t find anything obvious, but suggested it could be something with the bladder or her joints. We have tried Arthrocam 0.38ml and then Gabapentin 0.69ml. The pain continued intermittently but the squeaking was definitely less intense, the Gabapentin worked a little better but not much of a difference between the two. She was then x-rayed which showed no bladder stones or obvious sludge. The vet only noted that her posture was a bit hunched and she was leaning on her back heels, indicative of pain, but it doesn’t narrow down where the pain is coming from. They also did a dip stick in a pee Cassie did on the table and said the pH was normal, but there were traces of blood.
We agreed to try both Arthrocam and Gabapentin together for 1 week. At this point I had already taken Cassie off her veg for 2 days and started Pro-C Professional as her poo was a bit smaller and they were getting small tails more frequently. This did the trick, her poo is now normal and back to a normal size. The pain when peeing/pooing has continued regularly, I do think them being bigger has added to the discomfort a bit.
I started transitioning her over to Piggy Parcels Joint and Bladder Support pellets just over a week ago. I’ve also been giving some bladder support and digestive support supplements, though she only wants a small amount each day. She now has bottled water, I am currently giving her cucumber, celery and a coriander sprig. I am introducing each veg gradually to see if any have an impact. I noticed after re-introducing romaine lettuce she started passing a lot of sludge which stopped very soon after removing that from her diet. Also, any recommendations for veg that are good for Vit C and bladder issues would be great please, as she won’t touch any peppers!
She has been happier in herself the past few days, despite the pain continuing. However, I found a better way to administer the medication so that I don’t need to restrain her head, which she is MUCH happier about, so I think that is the reason rather than the medication. I very much feel her bladder is the issue and expect this is sterile cystitis, which the vet also said may be what is going on. My vet did say there is another pain medication we could try, I didn’t get the name unfortunately. I have also read cartrophen injections are recommended when it is difficult to get under control. I plan on introducing homeopathy as an extra support, and I am hoping that as the glucosamine from the pellets builds up and I continue with everything else, that it will become better managed, hopefully with medication only needed for flare ups.
I definitely don’t think Cassie is a severe case, and even with the regular pain when toileting, she is happy in herself and has a good quality of life, the pain is fairly well managed with the meds atm. Is it worth giving additional glucosamine in another form to help it build up quicker or will this not make any difference/be an issue? Does anyone have advice in terms of trying another pain medication or going straight to cartrophen injections, I would have to speak with my vet about the injections. Thank you =)
