• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Blockage or growth?

whizziewoo

whizziewoo

New Born Pup
Joined
Nov 3, 2019
Messages
11
Reaction score
11
Points
155
Location
County Cork
Hello,

I took my female guinea pig to the vet yesterday and they scanned her abdomen and said she had impaction and prescribed a laxative. I brought her home, tried to give laxative (but most wasn't consumed) and massaged her tummy. She did about 40 poos during the course of the evening. She still has an appetite and I gave her cucumber to get some fluids into her (but would this cause uncomfortable gas?)
This morning I repeated and also applied vibration. She passed some more poos. She's clearly in pain when she strains, poor thing. Sometimes her abdomen is a little taut (but not overly bloated) and sometimes softer. She also fidgets on her front legs, or rather applies weight then lifts repeatedly until she lies down. Is this a sign of pain or something else?
She peed a small amount of cloudy urine and then peed more and clearer since the cucumber. I was worried about bladder stones. She was also engaging in cleaning behaviour. There is some gurgling.
However, I'm asking for your advice as to whether the scan may have indicated impaction but could it be a growth of some kind instead like a cyst, tumour or abscess etc?
P.s. I've read Wiebke's excellent info on GI problems, thank you for all your hard work.
 
whizziewoo said:
Hello,

I took my female guinea pig to the vet yesterday and they scanned her abdomen and said she had impaction and prescribed a laxative. I brought her home, tried to give laxative (but most wasn't consumed) and massaged her tummy. She did about 40 poos during the course of the evening. She still has an appetite and I gave her cucumber to get some fluids into her (but would this cause uncomfortable gas?)
This morning I repeated and also applied vibration. She passed some more poos. She's clearly in pain when she strains, poor thing. Sometimes her abdomen is a little taut (but not overly bloated) and sometimes softer. She also fidgets on her front legs, or rather applies weight then lifts repeatedly until she lies down. Is this a sign of pain or something else?
She peed a small amount of cloudy urine and then peed more and clearer since the cucumber. I was worried about bladder stones. She was also engaging in cleaning behaviour. There is some gurgling.
However, I'm asking for your advice as to whether the scan may have indicated impaction but could it be a growth of some kind instead like a cyst, tumour or abscess etc?
P.s. I've read Wiebke's excellent info on GI problems, thank you for all your hard work.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear that your piggy is poorly. Your really need advice from one of the Forum health experts. So i will ask the site admins to move this to the Health & Illness section of the forum where you will get a quicker response as it is monitored.
 
Sorry to hear about your piggy!
i agree, expert advice needed; though my piggy showed similar symptoms with a bladder stone so it may well be worth your vet checking for any issues with the urinary tract also.

Hope you get some answers soon. Sending love!
 
whizziewoo said:
Thanks, yes, I dread bladder stones...
Click to expand...
Sorry, didn't mean to worry you! I don't have the experience or veterinary qualifications to diagnose, just saying it might be worth asking about :) it could be a number of things, so don't panic yet!
 
Bradshaw Piggies said:
Sorry, didn't mean to worry you! I don't have the experience or veterinary qualifications to diagnose, just saying it might be worth asking about :) it could be a number of things, so don't panic yet!
Click to expand...
It's okay! It has also crossed my mind and I'd be on the lookout as I imagine it's probably one of the worst things a poor piggie could suffer.
 
Hi!

Sows don't suffer from impaction. It may be a partial blockage or a short term partial or full GI stasis caused by a pain issue, which can be temporary or ongoing. It is often very difficult or impossible to figure out what is going on, especially when the cause is a very temporary issue.
Anyway, whatever is going on - which any of us can only wildly speculate about and which I would recommend the other posters to please be mindful of when throwing possible issues into the ring - treatment and support care for any gut problem is same. Have you been prescribed gut stimulants? Metoclopramide tends to empty the gut, so you get lots of poos in one go.
I would also rather assume that the cloudiness of the urine is connected with a possible temporary pain event that has impacted on the bladder as well as the gut, which wraps itself very tightly around the urinary and the reproductive tracts, so what happens in one, often impacts on the others.

I had a mystery episode with Beryn in January. It went from suspected partial or short full GI stasis sometime after her breakfast (when I found her her gut was just starting to move but the glugging was still very faint) morphing into some major but not severe bloating by the time my local vet could see her as an emergency in his lunch break two hours later. That was followed by a temporary back leg paralysis on the next day which thankfully reverted again over the next couple of days; the bloating issues lingered another couple of weeks before settling down. Cause - anybody's guess; could have been a blood clot in spine or some other short term intense source of pain. All you can do is hang on in there and if necessary have her thoroughly checked through if problems persist. Beryn has been perfectly OK since apart from her left leg just the tiniest tad stiffer, but then she is 5 years old and getting slightly arthritic in her back legs. It's not keeping her from running up and down the roaming ground.

All the best for getting through it!
 
Thank you Wiebke. The vet called it impaction but he may not have been aware this refers to boars in guinea pig circles? They tend to deal with farm animals mostly!
They prescribed just a general laxative - lactulose. She has been pooing so that's why I was concerned she may have been misdiagnosed and may have a growth, but perhaps these all look different on the sonograph?
Okay, I'll keep minding her and as long as she's eating, peeing and pooing I'll hope for the best. Is it okay to keep massaging her tummy?
My other guinea pig who I asked for advice on here before looked like she was a goner - possible stroke - but she made a full recovery and is in fine fettle! Thank you.
 
whizziewoo said:
Thank you Wiebke. The vet called it impaction but he may not have been aware this refers to boars in guinea pig circles? They tend to deal with farm animals mostly!
They prescribed just a general laxative - lactulose. She has been pooing so that's why I was concerned she may have been misdiagnosed and may have a growth, but perhaps these all look different on the sonograph?
Okay, I'll keep minding her and as long as she's eating, peeing and pooing I'll hope for the best. Is it okay to keep massaging her tummy?
My other guinea pig who I asked for advice on here before looked like she was a goner - possible stroke - but she made a full recovery and is in fine fettle! Thank you.
Click to expand...
Having to deal with vets daily, I think they meant by 'impaction' a blockage in the gut as that is what we call it in larger animals. A blockage in the gut that we often experience with horses for example would be an 'impaction colic'. They probably meant that
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top