Connie again

[Claire W]

I took yet another urine sample in on Wednesday night as Connie is due to finish her antibiotic course today and she now has Calcium Crystals in her urine Not sure if she still has blood in it though. My vet is phoning me later to discuss where to go from here. I think that they want to give her another X ray as it has been a few months since her last one and probably flush her bladder out She still seems happy in herself and is eating and drinking fine. She isn't squeaking and lifting her bum up as much when she goes to the toilet so surly the Septrin must have made some difference!

 

[marshie82]

I'm so sorry that Connie is still having so many problems Claire, it must be such a nightmare for you. It's been going on for such a long time now, I honestly thought that poor Connie would have been well by now.

I hope all goes well with the vet today x

 

[tattyruncy]

Awwww poor Connie She does sound like she is a bit better
Ask your vet if it is normal to have some crystals show in the urine?
My vet told me that this was usual for some guinea pigs :{ I don't know if that is true - maybe someone more knowledgable will help out with that one as we all know vets aren't always right unfortunately.
Hope all goes well today with the vet Love to Connie xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Poor Connie, and poor you Claire! You'd think this would have cleared up by now. Was she ever given a course of painkillers/anti-inflammatories? Rimadyl can be given in conjunction with Septrin to combat the inflammation, pain and infection itself.

 

[Claire W]

Poor Connie, and poor you Claire! You'd think this would have cleared up by now. Was she ever given a course of painkillers/anti-inflammatories? Rimadyl can be given in conjunction with Septrin to combat the inflammation, pain and infection itself.

Yes, this time around she has been given a course of Metacam which seems to have helped her.

 

[MemberX]

Claire is this only at set times during the month or is it random? I know pigs don't usually bleed when they are in heat but it can happen? Just thinking has this been looked at? Hope she is ok!

 

[Laura-CCC4]

A previous vet told me Metacam had a tendency to irritate the bladder in some piggies - may not be relevent to many pigs but it's something that was mentioned when it was prescribed for my Charlie when he had a UTI, and I found it did with Charlie. Rimadyl *may* be a better one to try if you did want to discuss it with your vet.

What dose of Metacam has Connie been on?

 

[Claire W]

A previous vet told me Metacam had a tendency to irritate the bladder in some piggies - may not be relevent to many pigs but it's something that was mentioned when it was prescribed for my Charlie when he had a UTI, and I found it did with Charlie. Rimadyl *may* be a better one to try if you did want to discuss it with your vet.

What dose of Metacam has Connie been on?

She's been on 0.2ml once a day. When she started to have it last Friday, the vet did say that it could upset her and if I noticed any changes in her to stop giving it her straight away. Luckily, it doesn't seem to have affected her in a bad wayx

 

[Claire W]

Update

The vet has just phoned and we had a good chat. Connie is going in on Tuesday morning for an X ray to see if there are any stones. If there are not any stones, she is going to have a full bladder flush My vets have offered to transfer her to a specialist but to be honest, I'd rather keep her there for now as we have a good relationship at the vets and for something like this, I'd rather know where she is etc. She said it is about £60 for the GA and X ray plus around £100 for an operation if she needs one. Does this sound about right? The X ray last time was £60 so I already new that. I need to just keep an eye on her and keep her on the antibiotics until then x

 

[pompypigs]

Oh Claire, I do hope Connie gets better soon xx

 

[pelicano]

A previous vet told me Metacam had a tendency to irritate the bladder in some piggies - may not be relevent to many pigs but it's something that was mentioned when it was prescribed for my Charlie when he had a UTI, and I found it did with Charlie. Rimadyl *may* be a better one to try if you did want to discuss it with your vet.

What dose of Metacam has Connie been on?

Interesting, as I've used both Rimadyl and Metacam in my bladder girls, and I honestly can't remember whether the vet changed it from Rimadyl to Metacam or the other way round! I have a feeling they started on Rimadyl then the vet changed it without really explaining why, so that's the opposite to your experience. It was quite a long time ago though - my memory is starting to go, along with my marbles! :{

Thinking of Connie - am following her story all the time. x

 

[tattyruncy]

Awwwwww I'm sorry to hear this Sending lots of love to Connie xxxxxxx Thinking of you xxxxxxxxxxx

 

[alcesterpigs]

A useful over the counter painkiller is Buscopan, one tablet crushed added to water and syringe fed. You sat £60 for GA and xray, does that mean GA in order to take an xray? If so, there is no need for GA to take a pig xray. Have you tried phoning CCT for another opinion (free)? Keep persevering.
PS How is it that there are 2 threads?

 

[Stinklepig]

A useful over the counter painkiller is Buscopan,

I can't wait to hear how an antispasmodic can relieve inflammation (most likely through infection) related pain...

Buscopan is *generally* safe in guinea pigs, but as with all chemicals there is a tiny risk it may cause further complications. It's also a treatment for intestinal muscle spasms/ rythm, not a pain reliever in itself (it reduces stomach/ gut pain by reducing the spasms/ cramps).

As far as I can tell, the problem here is bladder pain/ infection (or sludge/ stone). An actual pain relief would seem to be the way to go, and that means Metacam, Rimadyl, or maybe at a push Child Neurofen (I have used that with no problems, but why mess around when there's access to an accepted piggie safe NSAID in the form of Metacam?). I personally avoid Rimadyl purely because the correct amount is so tiny I wouldn't trust myself to measure it out safely!

 

[alcesterpigs]

spig
As you say it reduces pain by reducing the spasms of the smooth muscle lining of the bladder that cause the pain. The advantage of Buscopan is that it deals with the cause of the pain.
I am trying to work out why you don't trust yourself to measure the dose of Rimadyl? More information is needed, please.