Experiences of heart piggies greatly appreciated, Dodger is a suspected heart pig.

[funnehmare]

Bit of background. Dodger has been with me just under 18 months, always been very speedy (loves to zoom and play piggy trains), eats and drinks normally, recently she has put on a fair bit of weight but not excessively just a bit more podge than before. I heard her hoot for the first time three weeks ago, it was only a few times and then she stopped and began hooting again about a week or so later. I heard her again on Monday so I booked her in as she was also having sneezing fits so thought it may have had a respiratory related combined with the weight gain, as I know hooting can be related to excess weight causing fluid retention in the lungs.

The vet struggled to hear her heart during normal examination but could definitely hear the clicky breathing sound she has recently developed. Decided to just have a quick x-ray which highlighted Dodger has a rather enlarged heart, which if I'm honest I was kind of expecting. My vet mentioned it is possible there may be another cause for the enlarged heart, so she is also on a course of antibiotics just to tackle that possibility. I've been given a diuretic for Dodger as well. I'm due back to the vets with my her and another piggy Jammy (who is from the same rescue op as Dodger, and has hooted once or twice) to see how she is coping with the meds and if need be investigate further.

Has anyone else had a heart piggie and feel like sharing their experiences with me? I'm feeling relief more than anything, I guess because I have an answer and I'm not in a constant state of apprehension. Now I know I can give Dodger and possibly Jammy the right care they need to live happy piggy lives.

Thankyou in advance x

 

[klee]

Esme has recently been diagnosed as a heart pig. A few months back she went through a phase where she stopped eating for herself and was very much force fed pellet mash. At the time she did this funny breathing thing which looked like she was pulling her sides in an awful lot- you could clearly see her hip bones and she looked a really odd shape. I actully thought this might have been a pain response from not eating so i rang the vet who said to bring her in straight away as it sounded like she was having difficulty breathing.

She was initially diagnosed on xray as having fluid on the lungs/ pneumonia and an enlarged heart and was given furosemide and an antibiotic incase the infection was causing the excess strain on the heart. Since being on her diuretic probably about 3-4 months now we have seen a major improvement, whereas she used to be quite lazy and not move much, she now races round the living room like a loon.
We did have another episode a week or so ago of laboured breathing again, which had little improvement with additional doses of furosemide (as prescribed by the vet) so is now on vetmedin in conjunction with thw furosemide which touch wood is working well and she takes her medicine like a star.

Helen has several heart pigs so is pretty knowledgeable, I know she helped me with my girl

 

[sport_billy]

Sorry to hear this, as Klee says Helen has lots of experience with several heart piggies. Lots of love to Dodger, now you know what it is you can manage her condition

 

[helen105281]

First of all, Klee am so pleased your pig has been put on Vetmedin too, it can work wonders. None of mine have needed it yet but I know how effective it can be.

Funnehmare, I have 7 heart pigs, all are on Nelio which is the same as Fortekor (Benazapril) and they have Frusemide when needed if I can sense that they have fluid on their chest, this usually coincides with humid weather. It is good that you have had an actual diagnosis to work with. My vets were willing to try a 2 week trial of Fortekor to see if there was an improvement, maybe this is something your vet could consider?

My most complex heart pig is Mrs Fuzzy, who is tachycardiic as was my late Nigel. Heart meds have helped her a lot. She was a typical heart pig when she arrived, tiny, not very energetic, laboured breathing, but after being on meds for a few months she has put on nearly 400g, and has her spark back.

Feel free to PM me for any advice, I also have access to a fantastic artlcle on heart pigs on my friend's forum.

 

[klee]

First of all, Klee am so pleased your pig has been put on Vetmedin too, it can work wonders. None of mine have needed it yet but I know how effective it can be.

Funnehmare, I have 7 heart pigs, all are on Nelio which is the same as Fortekor (Benazapril) and they have Frusemide when needed if I can sense that they have fluid on their chest, this usually coincides with humid weather. It is good that you have had an actual diagnosis to work with. My vets were willing to try a 2 week trial of Fortekor to see if there was an improvement, maybe this is something your vet could consider?

My most complex heart pig is Mrs Fuzzy, who is tachycardiic as was my late Nigel. Heart meds have helped her a lot. She was a typical heart pig when she arrived, tiny, not very energetic, laboured breathing, but after being on meds for a few months she has put on nearly 400g, and has her spark back.

Feel free to PM me for any advice, I also have access to a fantastic artlcle on heart pigs on my friend's forum.

Wow Mrs Fuzzy is doing so well. That is a lot of weight for her to put on and I bet it shows. I am waiting for Esne to regain the weight she has lost, after the last episode she lost over 100g in less than a week, I weighed her last week and will do again tomorrow when I get home. I'm hoping now the meds have had time tp work she may regain some more weight- obviously some will have been fluid but I will have to see

 

[PopcornPigs]

I have had a heart pig. Doris was around 6 when she was diagnosed, she was hooting, had laboured breathing and sometimes a very loud snorting. She was first put on furosemide diuretic which helped a lot. She was then also put on Vetmedin which seemed to also help. Finally, to help with the snorting we trialed using 'Sudofed' which is a decongestant (that wasn't for her heart though). This seemed to help with her breathing. She maintained her weight quite well although was quite a light pig overall and the medication definitely helped her get by.

 

[funnehmare]

Esme has recently been diagnosed as a heart pig. A few months back she went through a phase where she stopped eating for herself and was very much force fed pellet mash. At the time she did this funny breathing thing which looked like she was pulling her sides in an awful lot- you could clearly see her hip bones and she looked a really odd shape. I actully thought this might have been a pain response from not eating so i rang the vet who said to bring her in straight away as it sounded like she was having difficulty breathing.

She was initially diagnosed on xray as having fluid on the lungs/ pneumonia and an enlarged heart and was given furosemide and an antibiotic incase the infection was causing the excess strain on the heart. Since being on her diuretic probably about 3-4 months now we have seen a major improvement, whereas she used to be quite lazy and not move much, she now races round the living room like a loon.
We did have another episode a week or so ago of laboured breathing again, which had little improvement with additional doses of furosemide (as prescribed by the vet) so is now on vetmedin in conjunction with thw furosemide which touch wood is working well and she takes her medicine like a star.

Helen has several heart pigs so is pretty knowledgeable, I know she helped me with my girl

Firstly thankyou for sharing with me Esme's story. I'm still doing some reading but hearing first hand accounts is always more beneficial . I'm so pleased the drugs are helping Esme and that you've seen such a dramatic change in her . I think the problem for me is that I have no other symptoms other than heavy sleeping, a slight clicky sound to her breathing and the occasional hoot to work on, so I have little idea that the drugs are doing what they are meant to be doing! She's always been such rambunctious pig. Did Esme's change in behaviour/health (before diagnosis) come on over night or was it more of a gradual decline? The hooting began out of nowhere and stopped almost as quickly.

Dodger is on 0.1ml twice daily of Frusol which I'm assuming is the same as Furosemide? My vet recommended we start with the lowest dosage and work our way up, although if I'm not seeing anything really change in her, I'm not sure how we would gage this other than perhaps more xrays? She did mention another drug, but I can't remember the name of it, but she didn't want to start using is straight away as it has the potential to make piggies pass out as it can force their BP too low.

Keeping my fingers crossed the drugs continue to do their thing for Esme xx

 

[funnehmare]

Sorry to hear this, as Klee says Helen has lots of experience with several heart piggies. Lots of love to Dodger, now you know what it is you can manage her condition

Thanks Lee. I'm feeling a little more confident about it all after a weekend to absorb it all. She's a madam with her meds...although I would be too if they taste as bad as they smell!

 

[funnehmare]

First of all, Klee am so pleased your pig has been put on Vetmedin too, it can work wonders. None of mine have needed it yet but I know how effective it can be.

Funnehmare, I have 7 heart pigs, all are on Nelio which is the same as Fortekor (Benazapril) and they have Frusemide when needed if I can sense that they have fluid on their chest, this usually coincides with humid weather. It is good that you have had an actual diagnosis to work with. My vets were willing to try a 2 week trial of Fortekor to see if there was an improvement, maybe this is something your vet could consider?

My most complex heart pig is Mrs Fuzzy, who is tachycardiic as was my late Nigel. Heart meds have helped her a lot. She was a typical heart pig when she arrived, tiny, not very energetic, laboured breathing, but after being on meds for a few months she has put on nearly 400g, and has her spark back.

Feel free to PM me for any advice, I also have access to a fantastic artlcle on heart pigs on my friend's forum.

Thankyou for your reply Helen! Crikey 7 heart piggies sounds like a lot to deal with! Did you begin the course of Nelio before the Fursemide? I will note that one down, although I think that might have been the drug she was talking about (as I have just doublechecked what Nelio/Fortekor does) as it lowers the BP, so I think it'll be on the cards but she preferred to leave it as a secondary option, but I will mention it again so I can ask a few more questions. I think I was a little stunned, even though I had this feeling she'd be a heart pig, and I didn't ask as many questions as I'd have liked.

Yes please to the article if that's ok with you. I'm trying to find more things to read up on about it, just so I know what I'm dealing with!

I have had a heart pig. Doris was around 6 when she was diagnosed, she was hooting, had laboured breathing and sometimes a very loud snorting. She was first put on furosemide diuretic which helped a lot. She was then also put on Vetmedin which seemed to also help. Finally, to help with the snorting we trialed using 'Sudofed' which is a decongestant (that wasn't for her heart though). This seemed to help with her breathing. She maintained her weight quite well although was quite a light pig overall and the medication definitely helped her get by.

Thankyou Popcorn pigs . After hearing how well the drugs seem to work I'm feeling more positive, my only concern is that I don't really have any behavioural/health signs to go on. She is tiny compared to the others but she's just as heavy as my lightest large pig (if that makes sense), the Vet said she was a good weight for her size but that I might see some weightloss due to change in water retention. The Sudofed usage sounds interesting, I've heard of it being given to dogs and horses before but not piggies.

 

[helen105281]

I will PM you about the article.

Yes it is a bit much but we cope and know their little quirks. They were on diuretic and Benazapril at the same time and we now only give the diuretic when needed. They also have Co_enzyme Q10 which helps.

 

[klee]

Firstly thankyou for sharing with me Esme's story. I'm still doing some reading but hearing first hand accounts is always more beneficial . I'm so pleased the drugs are helping Esme and that you've seen such a dramatic change in her . I think the problem for me is that I have no other symptoms other than heavy sleeping, a slight clicky sound to her breathing and the occasional hoot to work on, so I have little idea that the drugs are doing what they are meant to be doing! She's always been such rambunctious pig. Did Esme's change in behaviour/health (before diagnosis) come on over night or was it more of a gradual decline? The hooting began out of nowhere and stopped almost as quickly.

Dodger is on 0.1ml twice daily of Frusol which I'm assuming is the same as Furosemide? My vet recommended we start with the lowest dosage and work our way up, although if I'm not seeing anything really change in her, I'm not sure how we would gage this other than perhaps more xrays? She did mention another drug, but I can't remember the name of it, but she didn't want to start using is straight away as it has the potential to make piggies pass out as it can force their BP too low.

Keeping my fingers crossed the drugs continue to do their thing for Esme xx

Too be completely honest it was only really her stopping eating and the laboured breathing that were noticeable symptoms, her being less active was only noticeable once she had started her medicine and was running around all over the place.

The stopping eating and breathing was quite sudden, she had stopped eating about 2-3 weeks previously and I think was given antibiotics which seemed to help along with syringe feeding and then it happened again with the laboured breathing.

Esme is currently on 0.05ml twice a day of dimazon (Furosemide 50mg/ml) by mouth which works out at 2.5mg twice a day. I don't know what the strength of your frusol is so I couldn't make a comparison. My vet didn't want to increase the furosemide dose completely, and has suggested using the additional half doses when her breathing worsens. The relief she got from the furosemide probably took a few days however I had the added complication of getting her guts working properly again so it was hard to judge when she was getting better although it didn't take too long.