Anxious Mess - IC or Stone

[AnxiousPigOwner]

Hello I'm a new member here but have used this forum as a resource of info for many years.

I wanted to help you with regards Potassium Citrate as it is hard to know what is safe to use, and my guinea has it on the advice of my exotics vet. My guinea pig has a life long condition which affects his urinary system and he is on a lot of meds. He has liquid potassium citrate mixture which you can get from Chemist4U. He has 0.1ml twice a day for life, which is the standard dose for GPs.

I had another piggy with stone problems and he was on the same dose, also for life.

All my bladder piggys have half a capsule of cystease daily for maintenance. I have had two piggies with intermittent blood in urine, all sorts of tests, nothing found. So it was assumed to be calcium irritation. Both given cystease daily and Metacam once or twice just when showing blood.

I also boil up pearl barley and give them the water to drink as this is soothing for the bladder.

Hope that is of some help.

Hi,

Thank-you so much for your reply. I've been struggling to find anything I deem suitable to even send to my Vet to check. Would you mind sharing the link to the product you use and I'll share it with my Vet to get his thoughts. He did provide me with the dosage and said he would like to approve etc before we order. I've been scouring posts on here to see if anyone had mentioned a particular product and didnt have much luck.

My girl also gets cytstease and metacan daily and we are also topping her up with syringe fluids at the moment and will likely continue to do so to try and ensure the sludge is washed out.

I haven't heard of giving pearl barley before - I will mention this to my vet. Please may I ask how this soothes the bladder?

Thanks again & welcome (i am also a fellow newbie!)

 

[Goblins707]

Hello

I am glad to be of help I understand how stressful it is.

Here is the link for it: Potassium Citrate Mixture - 200ml

I add 0.1ml to 1ml of water, and give twice a day. It was recommended by a vet at Great Western Exotics in Swindon when my Guinea was referred there for a CT scan and diagnosis of his problems. They are extremely knowledgeable vets.

Pearl barley water is an old remedy for cystitis: Just buy some dry from the supermarket, boil about 1 tbsp for 10 mins, then simmer for 20 mins until soft and the water is thicker. Then syringe feed the liquid every so often. I also let them eat the cooked barley, they love it. This remedy was recommended by the late Peter Gurney in his Guinea Pig books.

I see you are in Hertfordshire. If it is any help, my exotics vet is in Berkhamsted and is very good. Harriet at Village Vet, and when she's not available her cover Benjamin is also an exotics vet.

Also, are you using dog Metacam? My vets always prescribed the dog one they consider the guinea/cat one too low strength.

 

[AnxiousPigOwner]

Hello

I am glad to be of help I understand how stressful it is.

Here is the link for it: Potassium Citrate Mixture - 200ml

I add 0.1ml to 1ml of water, and give twice a day. It was recommended by a vet at Great Western Exotics in Swindon when my Guinea was referred there for a CT scan and diagnosis of his problems. They are extremely knowledgeable vets.

Pearl barley water is an old remedy for cystitis: Just buy some dry from the supermarket, boil about 1 tbsp for 10 mins, then simmer for 20 mins until soft and the water is thicker. Then syringe feed the liquid every so often. I also let them eat the cooked barley, they love it. This remedy was recommended by the late Peter Gurney in his Guinea Pig books.

I see you are in Hertfordshire. If it is any help, my exotics vet is in Berkhamsted and is very good. Harriet at Village Vet, and when she's not available her cover Benjamin is also an exotics vet.

Also, are you using dog Metacam? My vets always prescribed the dog one they consider the guinea/cat one too low strength.

Thank you so much for your help.

I will email our vets when they open tomorrow and will also keep in mind Hariet at The Village Vet (thank you for the tip!).

Quick question on the potassium citrate (I will also ask our vet), but how exactly does it work. Our vet said it binds the calcium together to help them pass more - which sounded like it made sense when he mentioned it, but the more I think about it, is binding the calcium together not dangerous? Binding calcium together sounds like the formation of a stone? I'm feeling a little confused now.

Also a question for either yourself or anyone else, my piggies weight has dropped a bit. I have been weighing her daily for months and she usually sits between 1070-1090g but since having her bladder expressed and the increase in fluid to help flush the remainder of the sludge her weight has been sitting at between 1060-1080g. I have been given supplementing feeds (which she was also getting when she was at 1070-1090). Should I be concerned about this consistent lower weight? Could the sludge that has come out really have made a difference to her weight or is this a cause for concern. I will keep up the supplenting feed and the weight checks. I will include this on my email to the vets but thought id ask the question on here too.
She is eating her veggies, grass, hay etc and is pooping well.

Thank you so much for your help @Goblins707 you have been an angel!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Potassium citrate can make calcium more soluble and therefore easier to be removed in the urine; also to make urine more acidic and less likely to make crystals/stones.
However while it might help, it also might not - It is rather hard to make piggy urine more acidic. What it can’t do is resolve any existing issues but it may help in reducing new issues/stone/sludge formation.

Weight loss is only considered weight loss once it hits 50g. Anything less is just normal fluctuation so no in your case I would not be concerned about the weight but would say to keep monitoring.
It’s not necessarily that sludge removal has made her weigh less, it’s more likely that she reduced what she was eating due to the procedure but your supplementary feeding has stabilised her