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Bladder Stones :(

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HenryRalph

HenryRalph

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello everyone,

Ralph has been suffering with UTI on and off for months now, and he has lost a LOT of weight over the past week and has been in a lot of discomfort whilst peeing and pooping, also his poops have been really small as he hasn't been eating much.

I took him to the vets today and straight away she felt a bladder stone :(

I feel so upset and helpless! He is being referred to a exotics specialist to have the surgery but I don't really know anything about it yet.

He's only 10 months old :(

The vet has also prescribed metacat to help with the pain and I had to sign an agreement for him to use this as it's not meant for guinea pigs.. I'm a bit worried to give it to him, has anyone given metacat to their piggie before? And also has anyone been through bladder stones before and can offer any advice? :( or advice on how I can get poor Ralph to eat more?

Very sad guinea owner at the moment :(

Amy x
 
Hi! I am very sorry; it very much depends on where the stone sits in boys as they have got an awkward inglenook in their urethra, but generally, bladder stone ops are one of the most frequent operations in guinea pigs.

I have not heard of using metacat in guinea pigs and can't find information on it; but metacam, which is a painkiller/anti-inflammatory that is either available for cats or in a higher strength for dogs, is widely used for guinea pigs in both strengths. It is standard practice to let owners sign any medication that is not licensed for guinea pigs; this is more frequent these as more meds are used. Your boy certainly needs a painkiller, as the excruciating pain is what is causing his loss of appetite and weight loss.

Please top him up with hand feed for the time being to make sure that he keeps as much weight as possible going into an operation. You will also need to have it handy for post-op. https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/

For the long term, you want to look at his diet. Calcium absorption is a complex and not yet well understood process, so there is a number of factors playing into it. Guinea pigs have naturally alkaline urine and - like cats - are much more prone to bladder problems. Some guinea pigs seem to have a disposition for them. However, diet is the one area that you can control.
You can find information on low calcium foods in the link below. An example for a low calcium diet is also to be found under "daily veg" in our general diet (the so called IS diet). The currently best low calcium pellet are called bunny; give 5 pellets per piggy per day. A very important factor is filtering the water.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/low-calcium-diet-for-bladder-piggies.105930/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...or-a-balanced-general-guinea-pig-diet.116460/
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/food/guinea_pig/bunny/195679

Sadly, most complimentary or non-invasive treatments that have been championed in the last few years have not stood the test of time. The ca : ph diet works for a very few, but as it is in effect very high in calcium, it can make things a lot worse if you don't get the balance just right. Most people with stone/urinary tract problems have had much better success with a balanced low calcium diet.

What is still working are either bladder wall coating glucosamine products (like vegetarian glucosamine or cystease, a bladder coating cat food supplement that has been in use for guinea pigs for a few years now) or the gloopy water in which you have boiled pearl barley for 20-40 minutes; they all help to protect the irritated/inflamed bladder walls.
 
I think you may mean metacam as I've never heard of metacat. Signing a disclaimer is perfectly normal, by law as vets we have to get owners to sign disclaimers as none of the medications we are prescribing for guinea pigs are officially licenced (tested if you like) for the use in the species.

I agree with all of the above that has been said and can't add huge amounts more. Surgery is usually the best option when you find a stone I'm afraid but it's not difficult surgery and win a bit of diet change after it's most definatly fixable.

For now, give him lots of love. Feed him up and love him lots before his big day. Glad your seeing a specialist about this.

Let us all know how you get on.

x
 
HenryRalph said:
Hello everyone,

Ralph has been suffering with UTI on and off for months now, and he has lost a LOT of weight over the past week and has been in a lot of discomfort whilst peeing and pooping, also his poops have been really small as he hasn't been eating much.

I took him to the vets today and straight away she felt a bladder stone :(

I feel so upset and helpless! He is being referred to a exotics specialist to have the surgery but I don't really know anything about it yet.

He's only 10 months old :(

The vet has also prescribed metacat to help with the pain and I had to sign an agreement for him to use this as it's not meant for guinea pigs.. I'm a bit worried to give it to him, has anyone given metacat to their piggie before? And also has anyone been through bladder stones before and can offer any advice? :( or advice on how I can get poor Ralph to eat more?

Very sad guinea owner at the moment :(

Amy x
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Yes iv used metacam its officially a cat/dog pain killer but as there's very little meds officially registered for piggy's vets use what is safe and available for them and in these cases we have to sign a declamation as the drugs being prescribed is not livened for our small furrys. Please try not to worry to much.
 
Ralph is booked in to see the vet on monday, think he is staying over night and having his operation on the Tuesday but need to find out more tomorrow.

He seems so down and lifeless at the moment it's so sad to see :( he's so cuddly as well.

I hate having to wait, want him to be better now! Really hoping everything goes well x
 

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I hope the op goes well. The main thing in the meantime is keeping him pain free which the Metacam will help with. Is he eating ok?
 
helen105281 said:
I hope the op goes well. The main thing in the meantime is keeping him pain free which the Metacam will help with. Is he eating ok?
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Thank you, me too :(

He's not eating his pellets, but is eating his veg and straw.. I have soaked some pellets in water and mushed them up and fed him some of that which he doesn't seem to mind x
 
That's good he is eating and that you are topping him up where needed. Can I just check that you mean hay?
 
Thanks for clarifying. Good that he is maintaining his weight.
 
Hope Ralph got on OK at the vets yesterday & if he had a prededure today it went well & he starts to feel better soon x
 
Tinkoz said:
Hope Ralph got on OK at the vets yesterday & if he had a prededure today it went well & he starts to feel better soon x
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It's this Monday coming, he hasn't been yet unfortunately.. Shame there's a wait! Going to give them a call tomorrow to see if they can push it forward at all though :)

But thank you xx
 
Ralph is at the vets at the moment, they're doing tests and X-rays tomorrow to see where the stone is and he is having his operation tomorrow afternoon. It was so horrible leaving him there and saying good bye for a few days!

Hoping all goes well, poor ralphy :( x
 
I am heart broken :(
The X-ray showed stones in his bladder, and 2 large stones in a tube near the kidney which would mean the kidney would need to be be removed, but they also found slight crystals in the other kidney which means that it wouldn't necessarily be strong enough on its own if the other one was to be removed.

They have said the kindest thing would be to put him to sleep :( I don't know what to do, I don't want Ralph to suffer but I'm so upset by the thought of losing him and feel so sorry for Henry being alone.

I'm a mess right now :'(
 
I'm so sorry it is not better news. Only you can decide what to do, we can only say what we would do in the same situation. If it were my pig I would let him go as that is a lot for him to recover from and as he already has crystals it is possible that more stones could form in a short space of time. Others may advise differently. I have also not heard of a kidney being removed before on a guinea pig.
 
I am really sorry - so heartbreaking for you. Would echo what Helen says - keep talking to your vet to come to a decision. Recovery from a straight forward bladder op is hard (just been through that with one of mine with just 1 stone) so this complex option would be very hard and painful. My vet has removed kidneys in piggies but only rarely and it is fiddly but you must just talk through with your vet.
Dont worry about Henry today - just focus on Ralph. hugs for you.
 
I'm so sorry you've not had better news. :(

I lost Tango last year due to kidney failure and stone related issues - he also had a stone/sludge in his ureter (the tube from the kidneys to the bladder) but because of the underlying kidney failure removing it wouldn't have been a 'cure' option for us, not to mention that its a very delicate procedure that even my extremely experienced piggy vet would feel cautious about. We decided to move forward with palliative care for Tango as he was still very much enjoying himself and showing a good quality of life and we managed his pain with tramadol (a stronger opiate based painkiller than metacam). When it became too much for him and he stopped being his normal self we knew it was time and we had to help him on his way.
Quality of life should really be your focus here, along with more talks about the procedure of kidney removal with your vet to see if it really is a viable option.

I feel if I were in your shoes I would send Ralph peacefully and comfortably on his way, but its a very hard and heartbreaking decision that we all must make for ourselves. You know your little guy and you'll ultimately know whats best for him. Big hugs for you and Ralph.
 
Sorry about the bad news.

I too had this with Sheamus, I had taken him to three different vets, one said it was a blockage, one said it was his head and the PDSA said it was probably bladder stones, it was confirmed that he had two, the problem was the PDSA were making him wait six days before operating, sadly he lost too much weight even though he was being hand fed and he was taken in for an emergency appointment where we were told it would be kinder to have him put to sleep, I spoke to the vet on the phone who explained he was in pain, that even if they did the surgery he could die on the table and if he did survive he may not heal properly because of the lack of protein in his body and also that he could get the stones back again, although I was VERY attached to Sheamus I decided with an heavy heart to take the vets advice... I believe that he was failed by the vets in a practice called "the vets" he had seen three there in total, one for an health check where it was pointed out he'd lost weight, she shrugged it off and the PDSA also let him down. I've been feeling very fed up and missing him a lot since.

I personally would let your guinea go if he is in discomfort and pain, yes it's very upsetting but at least he'd be out of pain.
 
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Thank you for all your kind words..

I decided not to go through with the surgery as it's not fair on him.

The vets have let me bring him home for the last few nights, it's so heartbreaking seeing him so 'unralphlike' he's so lifeless and it's so sad. :'( it was so horrible, but beautiful seeing Henry be reunited with him, he ran straight over to him, gave him kisses and then lay next to him for ages.

I am such a mess right now, I'm so happy to see him again but my heart is breaking seeing him this way and knowing that I have to let him go </3 :'(
 
I know it's hard but when one of mine is this poorly I try really hard to not let human emotions take over and I know that as hard as it is for me, the final decision is the right one for the pig. It is about quality of life and I always go by the saying better a day too early than a second too late.
 
helen105281 said:
I know it's hard but when one of mine is this poorly I try really hard to not let human emotions take over and I know that as hard as it is for me, the final decision is the right one for the pig. It is about quality of life and I always go by the saying better a day too early than a second too late.
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree :( I want what's best for him and this is no life for him anymore :(
 
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