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Bladder Stones On Xray, Not Found During Op

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Lindylou2

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Hi, our 23 month old boar Bramble was recently (3 weeks ago) neutered so he could have a female friend. One week after neutering, when the pain relief (Metacam) and antibiotics (Septrim) had finished, he started squeaking when peeing and pooping, and was straining when pooping. Took him back to the vet and they didn't think it was anything related to the neutering, and put him back on pain relief (Metacam). The squeaking initially seemed to subside but after a day or two it was clear he was still in pain. Took him back to the vet, they dip-sticked his urine and it had blood+++. They x-rayed him and found 2 very small bladder stones. The vet put him on Tramadol, Metacam and Baytril and booked him in for bladder stone op with the exotics vet. Bramble had his bladder stone op today, but they found no bladder stones. The vet made small incisions into the ureters but still could not find anything. I now have a £500 bill and my piggy is still no better. They re-xrayed him after the op, and they can still see stones in the same place on the xray, but can't tell which side they are on - the stones only show up on the side view xray. The vet has said his bladder was extremely inflamed, so he definitely has cystitis, but don't know whether it is caused by stones.

The poor little chap is still in recovery, and is likely to stay at the Vets for a couple of days. I just don't know what to do. I can't believe we have put him through all of that and still have not removed any stones. He is now in a worse position because he has to recover from another op with all the possible complications, and nothing is resolved. I don't have endless amounts of money to go for CT scans the vet has suggested. When he had the xrays and ultrasound it was £80 each. He was having no problem before neutering.
 
I am ever so sorry! How upsetting for you!

I hope that the stones can be located if they are indeed there and that the cystitis can be treated. I wish your poorly boy a good recovery. That is a lot of money! :(

For the cystitis I would strongly recommend to give glucosamine-based cystease or vegetarian glucosamine. Some people also recommend the gloopy sieved water in which pearl barley has been cooked. All of these are food supplements that coat and protect the bladder walls.
 
Thank you Wiebke, I discussed with the Vet the possibility of using Cystease (I was well prepped by reading this forum) and she agreed we can try it. We'll be changing his diet to try to stop those evasive stones from getting any bigger, and because we live in a hard water area we'll only wash his veggies in filtered water and use filtered water for his drinking water. We'll try anything, so pearl barley is definitely on the shopping list.

I guess we'll have to see how it goes, and hopefully, if we can get the cystitis under control, he'll be a lot more comfortable. I just don't know what to do about the evasive bladder stones.
 
Thank you Wiebke, I discussed with the Vet the possibility of using Cystease (I was well prepped by reading this forum) and she agreed we can try it. We'll be changing his diet to try to stop those evasive stones from getting any bigger, and because we live in a hard water area we'll only wash his veggies in filtered water and use filtered water for his drinking water. We'll try anything, so pearl barley is definitely on the shopping list.

I guess we'll have to see how it goes, and hopefully, if we can get the cystitis under control, he'll be a lot more comfortable. I just don't know what to do about the evasive bladder stones.

That is a worry, especially as they have turned up twice in an x-ray; it is recommended to take x-rays from different angles. It can be very hard for an operating vet to locate them, especially if they are stuck in the urethra or ureter somewhere. :(

My Terfel was once all prepped for a bladder stone op when he got another pre-op x-ray from two different perspectives that did not confirm any stones. He had a very lucky escape and lived happily for another 3 1/2 years.

I would strongly recommend to switch to a low calcium diet. Stones can cause bladder irritation/inflammation.
 
I'm so sorry your having such a bad time. Bladder issues are very annoying to deal with. It may well be sediment which is sitting in the bladder and showing up on the X-ray rather an a stone itself. Or potentially calcification stuck to the bladder wall itself (which could be impossible to remove) . Have you (or your vet for that matter) tried giving him lots of fluids to try to flush the bladder out naturally? This may help and then they could re X-ray. CT scans can be worth it, and my recent one only cost £240 (it can actually be more cost effective than taking a series of X-rays sometimes), but saying that I would certainly try flushing the bladder out and a few weeks of antibiotics before considering this.

x
 
Thank you Wiebke and abi_nurse, we will try extra fluids and switch to a low calcium diet. The vet has suggested post op septrim, tramadol, and metacam along with the cystease. A few weeks break from vets fees (apart from meds) will be very welcome before trying anything else!

I feel so bad for putting Bramble through what now seems to have been a pointless op. Did we rush into it? Should we have tried continuing with the antibiotics and painkillers for longer to see if there was improvement?
 
Hello, Try not to feel bad and torture yourself with these thoughts, you made a choice based on the information available with his welfare and health in mind and that is the sign of an excellent piggy slave.

The meds will help him recover. Would advise getting some gut stim such as metachlopromide (emeprid) too as Tramadol being an opiate can slow the guts down a little.

Lots of healing vibes to Bramble
 
Thanks Sport_billy, after castration Bramble was given Zantac for gut motility, so hopefully he will come home with something like that again. Thanks for thehealing vibes.
 
Thanks Sport_billy, after castration Bramble was given Zantac for gut motility, so hopefully he will come home with something like that again. Thanks for thehealing vibes.

Sounds like you have a clued up vet too. Which one is it?
 
Hi Lady Kelly, the link is for rabbit food, is that definitely OK for guinea pigs? With cranberries and bilberries - mmmm, sounds very tasty! Bramble is a very picky eater, so switching his food would take weeks/months, but while syringe feeding (after moving on from critical care) presumably anything that can be mashed would be fine.
 
Sounds like you have a clued up vet too. Which one is it?

We live in Bath, the vet was Elisabetta at the Rosemary Lodge Vets/Bath vet referrals . It has been very difficult to find an exotics vet in Bath, and she only joined the Surgery recently. She is very clued up on small mammals/exotics and regularly writes articles for vet journals, very expensive though!
 
Will make a note of them. Always good to hear of vets with an interest in piggies.
 
Hi Lady Kelly, the link is for rabbit food, is that definitely OK for guinea pigs? With cranberries and bilberries - mmmm, sounds very tasty! Bramble is a very picky eater, so switching his food would take weeks/months, but while syringe feeding (after moving on from critical care) presumably anything that can be mashed would be fine.
No you need Vetcare Multi- Modal food - it's by the same people but it's for guinea pigs - it's in a white and purple box - My Bumble has it for his bladder problems - and was recommended to me by my vet 2 years ago.
 
No you need Vetcare Multi- Modal food - it's by the same people but it's for guinea pigs - it's in a white and purple box - My Bumble has it for his bladder problems - and was recommended to me by my vet 2 years ago.

Oh no! My vet ordered this in for me and they are very knowledgeable so I didn't question it. When I call up to feedback the specialists results I will leave a message to let her know
 
Very sad news about Bramble, he passed away during the early hours of Friday morning. On Monday,he survived the 2 hour op, and on Tuesday afternoon we were able to take him home. He was able to spend his last days with my daughter and myself caring for him and cuddling him in his familiar surroundings, and providing all of that really intensive care guinea pigs need post-op. Had he survived the difficult days post-surgery, he would have been faced with lots more tests and surgery to try to make him better, so it is a relief that we don't have to put him through all of that. We feel so sad to have lost him, he was such a cute, happy, and friendly little fella. I'll miss chatting to him, and cuddling him, and spoiling him.
We've decided against getting any more guinea pigs, we were going to get Bramble a girlfriend when he'd recovered from the neutering, but now we don't need a buddy for a lone pig, we won't get any more. We've had our hearts broken too many times now, and they are just such fragile little creatures.
Thank you for all the support and advice we were given. This site gives such valuable advice, from people who have gone through similar experiences, and understand what wonderful pets guinea pigs are, and how bonded we feel with our pets. I've used this site for information for many years, but I only just signed up on Monday. Although Bramble didn't survive his battle, I'm glad I signed up because I can now thank you for all of the unknown help I've taken from this site over the years, as well as the responses to my post. Thank you all.
 
I am so sorry Bramble didn't make it, I hope you & your daughter are ok. I fully understand your decision, I've kept piggies for 16 years but the current ones we have have had no end of health problems & unless you insure them from the start then vet bills can go sky high :( It's a shame that pet shops etc sell piggies as easy children's pets because they clearly aren't, as you say they are quite delicate animals that need special care. I am glad you have found the forum such a great help, I have too over the years & learnt so much. Having said all that I still think piggies really are the best pets ever, if only I didn't get so attached to them, as like you I find it heartbreaking when they are ill xx
 
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