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Blocked Cecum/bloat

Pistachiopig

Pistachiopig

New Born Pup
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Hi,

If any experienced piggy people have any advice for blocked cecum/bloat I'd really appreciate your input please!

Pumpkin - approx 4.5+ years, sow.

-Last Friday a.m; lethargic, no interest in breakfast, distension.

-Friday afternoon vet appt; prescribed Metacam 0.35 twice daily, Zantac 0.3 every 8 hours. Hand feeding started.

-Saturday; still quite lethargic, ate some veg, nibbled on hay but with no enthusiasm.

-Sunday; OOH vet appt as Pumpkin was wheezing and breathing was laboured. The vet gave her a steroid shot, and Baytril shot. Also, Baytril to take home 0.4 twice daily. Within 30 mins the wheezing had stopped and breathing stabilized. Mucus visible around her nose.

-Monday; wheezing returned but not as noticeable as the previous day. Some small stools produced, clumpy and with mucus attached. Still no real enthusiasm for food but hand feeding continued along with prescribed meds.

-Tues/Wed; same as Monday but no wheezing.

-Thursday p.m.; seemed possibly more bloated, very miserable, mucus from nose, no noticeable stools all day, urine fine.

-Friday a.m.; vet appt, Xray showed hardened stools in her Cecum. Lodged there and not passing. Very gassy sounding abdomen. Treatment prescribed; 0.3 Zantac every 8 hours, 0.56 Septrin twice daily, 0.45 Domperidone twice daily, 0.15 Vetersegic every 8 hours, 0.45 Lactulose twice daily.

-Today; first full day on the aforementioned meds, very bloated and uncomfortable, she has eaten some hay of her own accord, still not wanting to move and clearly uncomfortable. Not drinking water or eating veg or pellets out of choice, I'm continuing to hand-feed and water her. I was pleased with the strands of hay however!

The aim is to somehow 'loosen', soften the mass in her Cecum if possible. Again, if anyone has experienced this and can offer some advice I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you.
 
Oh gosh I am so sorry :( You need to act quickly with bloat, if she has a blockage it is very serious :( Do you have a massage mat or an electric toothbrush? You can sit her on the massage mat which will help with her moving any gas etc, the electric toothbrush you can use to gently massage her tummy, however I am not certain it should be used if there is a blockage. I'll tag @Wiebke for you she has experience of bloat as far as I remember & @helen105281
 
Thanks @Poppy'sMum Yes, unfortunately I'm all too aware and getting desperate now. We do the elec toothbrush, massage pad, gentle massages on the tum, warm water, heat pad, encouraging exercise to try and relieve the gas.
 
it sounds like the vet is trying all things possible. I would discuss adding emeprid to the mix as it works on a different area to the gut than zantac. The two work in tandem together well. Are you syringe feeding?
 
Thanks guys @sport_billy @Poppy'sMum will contact my vet tomo and mention Emeprid and Cisapride. Yes I've been syringe feeding/watering since last Friday. She hasn't lost weight, but that's somewhat deceptive as she's carrying extra gas-weight and mass of poo! Has anyone heard of any success stories in regards to softening a mass in the cecum?
 
Poor thing... unfortunately I don't have any better advice than what has already been said, but I wish her all the best!
 
I highly recommend adding in Emeprid (Metoclopromide). I had a pig prone to bloat and when he got to an emergency state I found that having Emeprid injected was more effective than oral. Which makes sense as giving oral meds to a pig whose digestive system isn't working means that it's not going to be absorbed.

I'm not certain but on reading Google Cisapride and Zantac sounds very similar but Cisapride might be slightly more appropriate so it might be worth asking to swap.

How guinea pig knowledgeable is the vet? I'm wondering if ther blockage in the cecum isn't faeces but gas instead. Also the cecum is a large part of digestion so it can hold a large part of the stomachs contents as it breaks down the food. I wonder if it was just naturally full and the vet mistook it for a blockage.

How is her poop and pee output?

My routine for bloat was to give Emeprid as soon as I saw any signs. Then if it progressed to bloat I would add in gripe water, offer him lots of food (and start to syringe feed if he didn't want to eat) and start to massage him and get him out for floor time.

If it continued to worsen I would give him floor time with his enemy Podrick so he definitely started to move around.

Also, taking them out in the car helps sometimes. A few times my boy wasn't pooping for hours and on the trip to the vet the motion of the car would shake a few out of him.

If your pig continues to not poo or it is a true blockage then the vet may need to operate to remove it, but if you pig is pooping then I'd be inclined to think it wasn't a solid mass blockage.
 
Your vet sounds like they know what they're doing.


I've had this with Toast for 2 years, tried so many different gut meds for bloat and I've found Ranitadine and Cisapride to to work best together. Also Fibreplex, it seems to work wonders when Toast is off her food and bloated.

Also belly rubs, when Toast gets really gassy and Bloated I give her a good massage on her sides, it can be uncomfortable for her but really helps.

Also gripe water can help, found it's better than infacol which is usually what vets advise.

I hope your pig gets better x
 
when i had a piggie with bloat and constipation,my vet advise to give iml of vegatable oil as this softens any stools,along with Zantac and metaclopromide,and gripe water in the baby isle at any supermarket 0.3 mls,in human medicine lactulose is given for constipation,but I'm not sure if it is available in veternary use.all this medication helped Jerry to erradicate his bloat.along with pain relief.hope your piggie gets well soon.:hug:
 
You may have a problem getting hold of Cisapride at the moment because no one seems to have it in liquid or tablet form. I was extremely lucky getting a bottle before it got scarce. If you use gripe water get an old fashioned type such as Woodwards which Tesco sell or Boots, the peppermint flavour is good, 1ml 4 times a day. Stomach massage is essential (massage with electric toothbrush) or try to get her to walk around. Any movement is better than just lying. As much as you may be tempted, please don't feed her any greens as these may add to the gas in her tummy x
 
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