Anyone Got Any Medical Sucess Stories?

PiggyPack

PiggyPack

Junior Guinea Pig
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I couldn’t help noticing, how people’s success stories are often swamped in the never ending amount, of often saddening, ailment questions.

Of course I’m not complaining, it’s always great to see all the forum staff and everyone on here working hard to keep up with everyone’s questions, as medical threads are often the first place people come to get much needed advice! :D

But I was just wondering, does anyone have any medical success stories? It’d be really nice to hear about sick piggies that have recovered, from either major or minor illness! :yahoo:
 
What a good idea - it is encouraging to have some good news stories as well as being able to support those with more serious issues.
Here’s mine for starters.
About 2 years ago we came home from holiday to discover that Jemimah had developed an abscess although at that point I didn’t know what it was.
The vet fitted me in the next day, diagnosed the abscess and began to clean it out.
It was not nice and must have been painful.
I came home with Hibiscrub and syringes and do began a long process of twice daily cleaning and weekly visits to the vet.
Fortunately the treatment worked although Jemimah did need a course of antibiotics as a slight infection developed.
She did not enjoy the cleaning or the antibiotics but finally the abscess healed.
Since then she has had one more abscess and her sister Keziah also had one.
Then Merab decided it was her turn and now she too has another.
After that first one I knew what to look for when I checked my piggies so none have ever been as deep and nasty as Jemimah’s first.
All piggies recovered well and I expect the same for Merab now.
 
A few years ago, Archie suddenly got a huge mammary tumor, we took him to cavy savvy Piddle Valley Vets and the tumor was very quickly and neatly removed, he recovered fully by the end of the week and has been fine ever since :nod:
 
Merab's Slave said:
What a good idea - it is encouraging to have some good news stories as well as being able to support those with more serious issues.
Here’s mine for starters.
About 2 years ago we came home from holiday to discover that Jemimah had developed an abscess although at that point I didn’t know what it was.
The vet fitted me in the next day, diagnosed the abscess and began to clean it out.
It was not nice and must have been painful.
I came home with Hibiscrub and syringes and do began a long process of twice daily cleaning and weekly visits to the vet.
Fortunately the treatment worked although Jemimah did need a course of antibiotics as a slight infection developed.
She did not enjoy the cleaning or the antibiotics but finally the abscess healed.
Since then she has had one more abscess and her sister Keziah also had one.
Then Merab decided it was her turn and now she too has another.
After that first one I knew what to look for when I checked my piggies so none have ever been as deep and nasty as Jemimah’s first.
All piggies recovered well and I expect the same for Merab now.
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That’s so wonderful to hear, good for Jemimah, I bet she’s so greatful! I really hope Merab’s treatment will be just as successful. Lots of love :luv:
 
My Cissy had a massive mammary tumour a month or so ago (time has escaped me so idek when this was) and I was terrified as if was probably 1/4th of her size.

She had a full mastectomy that side and recovered perfectly and so quickly. I don't think she's even noticed that she's missing a nipple! It was such a neat operation too!
 
A year ago I went upstairs to find Brambles head tilted so much she was pretty much flat to the floor, she could only sort of drag herself in circles. We rushed her to the vet who gave her antibiotic, painkiller, appetite stimulant injections and we were told to bring her back in 24 hours, it was either that or PTS but she showed so much fight the vet wanted to giver her a chance. We took her back every day for a while to make sure she was improving and not suffering. She was given panacur the next day too. She couldnt feed herself, her weight plummeted from 720g to about 400g because she was a nightmare to feed with the nerve damage in her face, her teeth wouldnt wear properly and she had to go in each week to have them burred, luckily only her incisors though so no anaesthetic. Again because of the nerve damage her left eye couldnt lubricate itself, so she needed drops in it every day, she lost her vision in that eye as well as most if not all of her hearing and her front left leg became very weak.

Slowly but surely she got stronger again, I fed her every 3 hours night and day for about 3 months, grated veg for her that I had to put in her mouth because she couldnt pick them up with her mouth. She started being able to lift her head up more, the head tilt almost completely went away, most times if you didnt know she had it, you wouldnt be able to tell! Then she started eating hay by herself, and pellets and veg, her teeth started wearing evenly. She began being able to lubricate her own eye again, I helped her figure out how to walk straight, supporting her side when her front left leg was weaker.

Now she's pretty much 80% a normal piggy! She needs extra grooming help because she gets tired easily and has a little trouble reaching her bottom and maintaining balance, she has a little bit of a sensitive tummy and she needs encouragement to exercise sometimes.. but she has the best little personality. Turned out she has E.cuniculi which is a parasite that infects the brain, unfortunately this all left her with neurological damage so she will always be a little wobbly, but she is a little fighter and it barely slows her down. She is even top piggy in her pair :xd:

The top 2 pictures in the collage were her when she was poorly, the bottom 2 was a couple of months after treatment. The last one is her now, nice and happy and healthy, enjoying her little life :love:


16427593_10208215789613251_2177754224077469269_n.webp
20180405_002551.webp
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
My Cissy had a massive mammary tumour a month or so ago (time has escaped me so idek when this was) and I was terrified as if was probably 1/4th of her size.

She had a full mastectomy that side and recovered perfectly and so quickly. I don't think she's even noticed that she's missing a nipple! It was such a neat operation too!
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That’s amazing! :yahoo:
 
Eriathwen said:
A year ago I went upstairs to find Brambles head tilted so much she was pretty much flat to the floor, she could only sort of drag herself in circles. We rushed her to the vet who gave her antibiotic, painkiller, appetite stimulant injections and we were told to bring her back in 24 hours, it was either that or PTS but she showed so much fight the vet wanted to giver her a chance. We took her back every day for a while to make sure she was improving and not suffering. She was given panacur the next day too. She couldnt feed herself, her weight plummeted from 720g to about 400g because she was a nightmare to feed with the nerve damage in her face, her teeth wouldnt wear properly and she had to go in each week to have them burred, luckily only her incisors though so no anaesthetic. Again because of the nerve damage her left eye couldnt lubricate itself, so she needed drops in it every day, she lost her vision in that eye as well as most if not all of her hearing and her front left leg became very weak.

Slowly but surely she got stronger again, I fed her every 3 hours night and day for about 3 months, grated veg for her that I had to put in her mouth because she couldnt pick them up with her mouth. She started being able to lift her head up more, the head tilt almost completely went away, most times if you didnt know she had it, you wouldnt be able to tell! Then she started eating hay by herself, and pellets and veg, her teeth started wearing evenly. She began being able to lubricate her own eye again, I helped her figure out how to walk straight, supporting her side when her front left leg was weaker.

Now she's pretty much 80% a normal piggy! She needs extra grooming help because she gets tired easily and has a little trouble reaching her bottom and maintaining balance, she has a little bit of a sensitive tummy and she needs encouragement to exercise sometimes.. but she has the best little personality. Turned out she has E.cuniculi which is a parasite that infects the brain, unfortunately this all left her with neurological damage so she will always be a little wobbly, but she is a little fighter and it barely slows her down. She is even top piggy in her pair :xd:

The top 2 pictures in the collage were her when she was poorly, the bottom 2 was a couple of months after treatment. The last one is her now, nice and happy and healthy, enjoying her little life :love:


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Yippee! And what a gorgeous piggy :love:
 
Eriathwen said:
A year ago I went upstairs to find Brambles head tilted so much she was pretty much flat to the floor, she could only sort of drag herself in circles. We rushed her to the vet who gave her antibiotic, painkiller, appetite stimulant injections and we were told to bring her back in 24 hours, it was either that or PTS but she showed so much fight the vet wanted to giver her a chance. We took her back every day for a while to make sure she was improving and not suffering. She was given panacur the next day too. She couldnt feed herself, her weight plummeted from 720g to about 400g because she was a nightmare to feed with the nerve damage in her face, her teeth wouldnt wear properly and she had to go in each week to have them burred, luckily only her incisors though so no anaesthetic. Again because of the nerve damage her left eye couldnt lubricate itself, so she needed drops in it every day, she lost her vision in that eye as well as most if not all of her hearing and her front left leg became very weak.

Slowly but surely she got stronger again, I fed her every 3 hours night and day for about 3 months, grated veg for her that I had to put in her mouth because she couldnt pick them up with her mouth. She started being able to lift her head up more, the head tilt almost completely went away, most times if you didnt know she had it, you wouldnt be able to tell! Then she started eating hay by herself, and pellets and veg, her teeth started wearing evenly. She began being able to lubricate her own eye again, I helped her figure out how to walk straight, supporting her side when her front left leg was weaker.

Now she's pretty much 80% a normal piggy! She needs extra grooming help because she gets tired easily and has a little trouble reaching her bottom and maintaining balance, she has a little bit of a sensitive tummy and she needs encouragement to exercise sometimes.. but she has the best little personality. Turned out she has E.cuniculi which is a parasite that infects the brain, unfortunately this all left her with neurological damage so she will always be a little wobbly, but she is a little fighter and it barely slows her down. She is even top piggy in her pair :xd:

The top 2 pictures in the collage were her when she was poorly, the bottom 2 was a couple of months after treatment. The last one is her now, nice and happy and healthy, enjoying her little life :love:


View attachment 84229
View attachment 84230
Click to expand...
That’s a real miracle story.
So glad all your hard work and commitment to Brambles paid off
 
When I had my boy Sid a couple of years ago, we woke up one morning at my caravan and he was completely paralysed in his back legs but otherwise was eating and trying to move. He had been fine beforehand, so took him to the local vet (not exotic unfortunately). As he was 5 at the time, the vet said it was probably his age and we should PHTS but I couldn't accept that so took him home and researched his symptoms. I found an article by Peter Guerney about sudden drop in calcium and giving Osteocare for a few days so I did this. Pleased to say, after just a couple of days Sid was back to normal and went on to live happily for another 2 years. I'm so glad I didn't listen to that vet. Always go to exotic vets for guineas.
 
My Anselmo had two bladder stone operations, quite close together. As he was an older boar (around 5) the vet wasn't very optimistic for his future. He was very reluctant to offer any assistance or advice. He pretty much wrote him off saying that he would never survive another surgery (despite bouncing back twice already) and he was definitely going to get another stone

I swapped to a different vet and Anselmo became a "guinea pig" for a medication that had been very successful in other animals.

Anselmo was a tough old boot and continued to live a happy existence. He got arthritis later in life and only a low dose of Metacam was needed to keep him on his feet and running at top speed around his cage and climbing the bars.

He lived until he was 7, and passed away from a different issue!

It made me smile and think about him yesterday when I heard of another piggy that was now using the medication. Anselmo was a bit of a pioneer at my vets for it, and it's great to know his experiences are helping other piggies still.
 
Sundae was my biggest success story, she had chronic bladder issues and dental issues with a HUGE abscess in a molar tooth root which required several tooth filings and a really extensive lancing and draining of the really deep abscess, but she always bounced back and lived to be almost seven years old. My vet staff loved her, as they saw her regularly, but she was worth it! My vet always said she was a guinea pig with a heart of a lion, even when she was likely uncomfortable she never stopped behaving normally, trying to eat, etc. She just took it all in stride. We've also been through a few more minor ailments... Hadley was treated for a respiratory bug and recovered fully, Leela had an eye infection and recovered fully, Linney had a ruptured cyst on her back that was surgically removed and was fine, etc.
 
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