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Bobs got a bladder stone plus stones in an odd place

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katiepops

katiepops

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I took Bob to the vet today expecting to be told he had a UTI but he was really uncomfortable when she examined him so she decided to do an xray.
He was ever such a good boy having his xrays and sat really still for them. The xray clearly showed a bladder stone but it also showed up what appeared to be a cluster of stones in a different area which neither her or the other vet had seen before. They didn't think they were in quite the right place to be in the ureter ( I think I've got that right) so she's sending the xrays to a friend of hers who's an exotic specialist for a second opinion. Thankfully Bob is still ok in himself just grunting now and again when he poos.
I've been busy googling for images of xrays so I can spot the difference with Bobs and can now clearly see why his are different. I just hope there's something they can do for him. :(

I also took Amelia because she's been losing weight, a very gradual 200g over the last couple of months. I've been keeping a very close eye for any other symptoms and just before the weekend she developed crusty nipples. The vet confirmed my suspicion of an ovarian cyst so she's having Chorulon injections, she had the first one today and is back in 10 days for the next one. Thankfully she's fine in herself as well.

Not at all what I expected today.
 
What a good boy Bob is to sit still for his x-rays :)

Our old guinea Willow had some calcium deposits in his kidneys & also in his mouth that showed up on x-ray. Just mentioning it as it seems these calcium deposits can turn up in odd places. We certainly didn't expect there to be any in Willow's mouth!

Hoping both Bob & Amelia will be ok :)
 
These look to me like they're where his tail would be if he had one, right at the base of the pelvis. That's just my interpretation of the xray though!
 
Poor Bob :( Hopefully you can get some answers as to where the other ones are situated from the exotic specialist. Hope you can get him sorted out and on the mend, it must have been a shock expecting a UTI and finding a stone.

I'm sure the Chorulon injections will do the trick for Amelia, they sorted our piggies cysts out a treat.

Sending lots of healing vibes to Bob, let us know how he gets on, fingers crossed for him. x
 
I burst in to tears when I got in the car to come home, I think I did go into a little shock, just not what I was expecting at all. Bob had a recurring UTI a few years ago that took ages to clear, I just assumed it was going to be the same again. There had only been a few spots of blood and a few noises when he was pooing, I thought I'd just caught it early.
Glad to hear the Chorulon worked, I've heard good reports and our vet has had success. Amelia hasn't lost any of her gorgeous long blond hair and hasn't been behaving out of character at all so I wasn't sure if that was going to be the problem because she didn't have all the symptons, it was the crusty nipples that made me put that with the weight loss.
Hopefully we'll hear back from the other vet soon.
 
Poor you katiepops :(, it's always a shock when you get unexpected news like this about much-loved animals. At least you were very aware of his symptoms & probably have caught it early anyway, it's just not what you were expecting.

Hope you are ok now :)
 
Bob was such a good boy this evening, he's having a quater of a Rimadyl tablet in case he's in pain, he's never had it before so I offered it to him and he just picked it up and ate it! I've never had a pig happy to do that before, I try every time just in case.
I think he might of thought it was going to be a flaked pea though.
Here he is on the left with his best friend Spike enjoying their evening treat of flaked peas.

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it's a shock when you aren't expecting to be told something isn't it. ches had a strange area show up aswell during his xrays for bladder sludge. we were also told it could be a mineral deposit so it could be that. it was soooo tiny though. hope everything will be ok. x
 
Beautiful Bob x) Good news on the meds! Let's hope he continues to think its a flaked pea lol

Lots of healing vibes to him x
 
Thank you for all your healing vibes. I'm still waiting to hear back from my vet but thankfully Bob's not squeaking or grunting so I guess the pain med is taking the edge off.
I'm glad to say it wasn't a fluke, Bob happily took his Rimadyl today like I was giving him a treat bless him.
 
I had a call from my vet yesterday morning. Her friend (an exotics vet) has had a look at the xray and doesn't know where these other stones are either, she thinks possibly in his colon and pretty much ruled out them being in his ureter. She said there's no way he could pee or poo if they were and he clearly can, he happily walked of the vet bed and peed directly on the sofa the cheeky thing. She also said it looks more like bladder sludge than a stone to her which is one good thing. My vet's sent the xrays to another vet for what will be a 4th opinion so we're still waiting to see.
Bob is thankfully still happy to munch his Rimadyl tablet and is acting completely normal, no squeaking or blood.
 
It is great news that he is weeing fine. Bit of a puzzling piggie then eh?!

I mentioned to our vet the other day about Bob eating the Rimadyl tablet, she laughed as apparently the newer ones taste of beef! So you have a carnivore on your hands by sounds of it, I'd watch your toes :)) He'll be eating a pepperami next....

Lots of healing vibes and love to Bob x
 
I thought they were meant to be meaty, that's so funny. Bob is the one pig who has never even mistakenly bitten my finger thinking it's food, he's ever so careful, he'll nudge it out of your hand if he's not sure.

We heard back from the fourth vet (the second exotics vet) today. He was convinced it was a bladder stone and stones in his ureter and wanted to get him booked in on Tuesday to operate to remove them at a cost of £600-£800! He has done the operation before and had success. My vet has done lots of bladder stone ops successfully but hasn't removed stones from the ureter before and didn't feel confident to do so.

I asked her to see if another exotics vet who I know sees lots of guinea pigs would also have a look to try and get two to agree. She emailed him and he called her straight back. He agreed with vet number four but felt it worth trying to treat medically rather than with surgery. He has said to keep him on Rimadyl but also one vitamin C tablet a day and syringe lots of water with dandelion extract to try and reduce the inflamation (with the Rimadyl) and getting him peeing so much he flushes the stones out.
The theory is with only two visable drops of blood and just a few grunts means it could be that he's already passed some.
It is a risk that they could cause a blockage but it's probably just as much of a risk putting him through major surgery. I've spoken to my vet a couple of times to day trying to decide what to do and we're going to give the non invasive flushing a go. The fifth vet is close enough for me to get to him if I need to and has an emergency service over the weekend so my vet suggested to call him directly if anything happens this weekend and get Bob to him because she's not in and they use another practice who wouldn't have a clue what to do with guinea pigs!
Fingers still crossed for him, I hope he takes his dandelion extract as well as his Rimadyl!

Does anyone else have any experience of this?
 
Bob's being a very good boy and drinking his dandelion tea (warm water and dandelion extract). We've got in to a nice little routine he gets a flaked pea after each syringe, he can't drink it fast enough, When he's all done he gets his Rimadyl. I am slightly worried about how much he likes it. I think I've got a drugy!
Thankfully Bob still hasn't realised he's ill.
 
Just caught up with this thread. Glad to hear Bob is doing well, have no experience but wanted to send him lots of love x
 
What is the situation now?

My sow had a stone pulled out I think I paid around 200-300. my other piggy was spayed had, ultra sound and x rays and histopathology it cost in total about 600 I had some consultation fees as well. I paid 200 for emergency care of a piggy who passed away, this was all in Jan.

That might give you an idea on cost, my vet is a more expensive one. Normally op fees include after care, ie if they need to stay in and consultations, my spay had two included.

I am not sure on techniques, one vet wanted to put her to sleep, so I guess that implies the ops are not easy. I had no choice but to give my piggies a chance they were strong and had better chances with being operated on. One had cancer the other a massive stone.

I shopped around only when my vet could not operate quick enough, but they realised I was serious going elsewhere and fitted us in. They knew I was an income generator.

Good luck. Xx
 
Sorry to hear Bob has bladder stones but glad he is being so laid back about his meds!

Just regarding op prices, Leonard (sadly RIP) had a complex bladder stone op last November (his xrays were a bit confusing also, stones very high up). I use a fairly expensive exotics vet and the op was around £300 including post op pain relief and VAT, so £600 plus sounds high. But as said above, they may be factoring in staying over after op which Leonard didn't do.
Hope the flushing is helping? Non-invasive sounds preferable but my own vet was quite sceptical about the success of flushing. It is so hard when you get different opinions though - you really have to go with your instinct after detailed discussion with your own vet (or 5 in your case!).
Lots of healing vibes for Bob the pea eater - come on Bob. x
 
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