Bladder sludge!

[Lauren22]

Hi,
My boar Hubert had bladder stone surgery about a month ago now, and recently the sludge has returned.
I changed his food to selective gluten free nuggets, he only gets 50g fresh per day and unlimited hay.
The veg he gets is, cucumber, green beans, celery and pepper.
I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle with this issue as he has started to squeal sometimes when he passed stools (not all the time).
Is there anything else I can do?

 

[Siikibam]

What did the vet say with regards to the sludge? Is he on any anti inflmmatory?

 

[Lauren22]

Not now he has finished the loxicom medication

 

[Free Ranger]

Poor old Hubert. The only thing I can suggest is drinking more water to flush everything through... if he can wash the sludge out as it forms and keep the pee flowing freely there is less chance of stones recurring, but you probably already know all this. Adding water bottles/bowls right next to the pellets or hay so he can just turn and sip while he's eating? Or one pointing into his hidey if he hides all the time like my George?

One of my vets had an old boar with a stone - she was a bit wary of celery but a big fan of pepper - but she did say that there was no magic solution. I saw her when I had a sow with a whopping stone in her urethra and she did used to eat lots of celery. I dropped it down to a few thin slices once a week and upped her pepper to 1/6 - 1/4 pepper per day instead of say, half a one per week. She wasn't too fussed at first (it was usually green pepper which is not so sweet) but she developed a taste for it. Her problem didn't recur but that might just have been co-incidence. I calmed down after about 6 months and gave her slightly less (perhaps foolishly, I'd been worried because I find green pepper hard to digest myself and I didn't want her with belly ache!) It was quite handy as I buy those 'traffic light' peppers and the pigs eat the green one.

Her boar was also on daily metacam (loxicom)(and a big dose) as he would not have survived an op so she was just keeping him comfortable for as long as possible. She said there were pros and cons to that but if it hurt him to pee he held it in and that made everything worse. It's something to consider as recurrence of stones post-op is apparently not uncommon so if I was balancing things up I'd be thinking anything I can do to keep him flowing is for the best.

I only had one boar with stones (well - that I know about) and unfortunately he passed the night after his surgery, poor lad. I've been lucky for the past couple of years but they may well strike again. It's harder for the boys, the girls at least have a chance of passing these cruel things.

 

[Lauren22]

Poor old Hubert. The only thing I can suggest is drinking more water to flush everything through... if he can wash the sludge out as it forms and keep the pee flowing freely there is less chance of stones recurring, but you probably already know all this. Adding water bottles/bowls right next to the pellets or hay so he can just turn and sip while he's eating? Or one pointing into his hidey if he hides all the time like my George?

One of my vets had an old boar with a stone - she was a bit wary of celery but a big fan of pepper - but she did say that there was no magic solution. I saw her when I had a sow with a whopping stone in her urethra and she did used to eat lots of celery. I dropped it down to a few thin slices once a week and upped her pepper to 1/6 - 1/4 pepper per day instead of say, half a one per week. She wasn't too fussed at first (it was usually green pepper which is not so sweet) but she developed a taste for it. Her problem didn't recur but that might just have been co-incidence. I calmed down after about 6 months and gave her slightly less (perhaps foolishly, I'd been worried because I find green pepper hard to digest myself and I didn't want her with belly ache!) It was quite handy as I buy those 'traffic light' peppers and the pigs eat the green one.

Her boar was also on daily metacam (loxicom)(and a big dose) as he would not have survived an op so she was just keeping him comfortable for as long as possible. She said there were pros and cons to that but if it hurt him to pee he held it in and that made everything worse. It's something to consider as recurrence of stones post-op is apparently not uncommon so if I was balancing things up I'd be thinking anything I can do to keep him flowing is for the best.

I only had one boar with stones (well - that I know about) and unfortunately he passed the night after his surgery, poor lad. I've been lucky for the past couple of years but they may well strike again. It's harder for the boys, the girls at least have a chance of passing these cruel things.

Awesome thank you! I will start syring feeding him water.
He has an appointment to see the vet next week anyway to I will ask for some more loxicom then thank you!

 

[Free Ranger]

Ooh - be a bit careful about syringing water as they can inhale liquids quite easily, especially if they're fighting the syringe. I guess if you want to offer a syringe and see if he goes for it...? But you don't want a URI on top of everything else

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

Do you/can you filter their water? Tap water contains a surprisingly significant amount of calcium, especially in hard water areas.

 

[Scooter Pie]

I have a sow who had a lot of crystals and sludge. Vet said on ultrasound her bladder looked like a snow globe. She's now on two meds twice daily for life...potassium citrate and hydrichlorothiazide. They really helped. One thing they do is make her more thirsty so she drinks more and flushes everything out.

We have to order them from a compounding pharmacy. Might be worth asking about

 

[piggieminder]

I was advised to filter tap water, avoid celery, root veg and any pellets that contain soy. Rusty still gets sludge but not so much, he had stone surgery last January.

 

[Lauren22]

I do filter their water sorry I forgot to mention.
I will definetly look into the medications thank you!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi,
My boar Hubert had bladder stone surgery about a month ago now, and recently the sludge has returned.
I changed his food to selective gluten free nuggets, he only gets 50g fresh per day and unlimited hay.
The veg he gets is, cucumber, green beans, celery and pepper.
I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle with this issue as he has started to squeal sometimes when he passed stools (not all the time).
Is there anything else I can do?

Hi!

The calcium absorption process is very complex so a lot can go wrong. Diet is only one angle, and it takes quite a few weeks for it to work through; it is just the only angle we can influence.

I would recommend putting your boy on glucosamine to help support the battered lining of the bladder and urinary tract walls. They have a natural coat of glucosamine, which prevents the very corrosive urine from coming into contact with raw tissue. This gets badly scratched whenever you piggy pees and the crystals are tumbling against the walls.

We generally recommend a cat bladder food supplement called feliway cystease capsules for ease of use. Mix the contents of one capsule with 2 ml of water until fully absorbed and give either 1 ml every 12 hours or 2 ml every 24 hours. Shake well before use. A small medicine bottle like the ones you get from a vet are best for the mixing and shaking.
Again, this is not a quick process and will take several weeks.

You will unfortunately have to contact your vet again and see whether they are experienced enough to do a gentle bladder flush; if done wrongly, the urine can back up into the kidneys.
My Cariad needed those flushes every few months once something in her own calcium absorption flipped and she grew a whopping stone in a matter of weeks. I was slowly able to extend the intervals quite a bit to allow her to live for another 2 years (reaching an average life span) and make it also through an emergency spay just a few months after her emergency bladder op right in the middle of my mother-in-law dying and us organising her funeral... But she was one of the more extreme cases.