Gut stasis

[Perkypanda]

I came home today to find my beautiful Millie had died at just 3 and a half

On Wednesday night she was hunched in the corner at about midnight after being fine all day. I thought it may be bloat so massaged and got some gas out. First thing yesterday we went to the vets as still not eating and I hadn’t seen her poop. We were given pain meds and emeprid. I managed to coax her to eat and drink, she had her meds and seemed to perk up. She started to poop although not normal size or shape.
This morning she was at the bars and seemed much more perky so thought she was on the mend. She had her meds fine.
I’m not terrified that I did wrong by giving her a little bit of lettuce (half a leaf) and a small slice of cucumber which she was happy tucking into. She wouldn’t tolerate the critical care and but was eating small amounts of hay.

I know nothing can change the outcome but worried I may have done something to hasten her death. Just hope she passed quickly and without pain.

My poor Hetty was obviously with her and was shouting when I walked in the door bless her. So now also worried about her too.

 

[Wiebke]

I came home today to find my beautiful Millie had died at just 3 and a half

On Wednesday night she was hunched in the corner at about midnight after being fine all day. I thought it may be bloat so massaged and got some gas out. First thing yesterday we went to the vets as still not eating and I hadn’t seen her poop. We were given pain meds and emeprid. I managed to coax her to eat and drink, she had her meds and seemed to perk up. She started to poop although not normal size or shape.
This morning she was at the bars and seemed much more perky so thought she was on the mend. She had her meds fine.
I’m not terrified that I did wrong by giving her a little bit of lettuce (half a leaf) and a small slice of cucumber which she was happy tucking into. She wouldn’t tolerate the critical care and but was eating small amounts of hay.

I know nothing can change the outcome but worried I may have done something to hasten her death. Just hope she passed quickly and without pain.

My poor Hetty was obviously with her and was shouting when I walked in the door bless her. So now also worried about her too.

BIG HUGS

I am so very sorry for your loss. GI stasis is one of the big killers of guinea pigs of all ages and there is very little you or any vet can do due to a very limited medication range that is safe but not the most effective (oral steroids - the most effective - are a bit no for any rodents).

Guinea pigs have a very long and very thin gut, so gas can build up quickly and is very difficult to get rid of once the whole gut or part of it stop working. Compared to dogs or cats or humans who have a much shorter, thicker gut (think penne pasta), a piggy gut is like a heap of spaghetti with a tiny hole in the middle and with comparatively much larger fermentation and composting chambers.

Please rest assured that you haven't done anything wrong and that you haven't killed your piggy.

You are just struggling with some specifically human species wiring: Unfortunately, we tend to reflect everything back onto ourselves and instinctively seek fault with ourselves. Our mind is compulsively searching for any little thing to allow us to focus the guilt and failure back onto us.
The more you love and care and the more traumatic a passing, the worse you suffer from the guilt trap at the start of your grieving process. We all go through this to some degree or other because we care deeply about our pets. It is basically the backside of our love but it has very little to do with actual failings.

Please be kind with yourself as you grapple with the shock of your loss and with your feelings of guilt and failure, trying to make a twisted sense of it that puts you in the centre of what has gone wrong whereas you have been sadly up against something that we still struggle to control and that can hit randomly out of the blue.
I have lost a few of mine to severe bloat and GI stasis over the years and so have most of our long term owner members if that helps you. Feeding veg is not ideal but it is not the killer factor.

This guide may help you putting things more into perspective:
Wiebke's Guide to Tummy Trouble

Here is our grieving guide for owners, which explains about the nasty guilt trap at the onset of the grieving process and the other stages of a much more complex and twisted journey than you would expect if this is your first loss. It also contains practical advice on how you can actively help to process your emotions in many different ways.
Human Bereavement: Grieving, Processing and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children

Would you like me to move your thread to our new dedicated Community Bereavement support section where we will support you during your grieving journey for as long as you wish to with moral support and practical tips?
End of Life and Bereavement Support Corner

 

[Perkypanda]

Thanks. I think I just needed to hear someone else say there was little I could do and it wasn’t my fault. Sadly this isn’t my first loss but it was probably my most unexpected.
I appreciate your message. Thanks again.

 

[Truffolo]

Sleep peacefully over the bridge little Millie

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks. I think I just needed to hear someone else say there was little I could do and it wasn’t my fault. Sadly this isn’t my first loss but it was probably my most unexpected.
I appreciate your message. Thanks again.

It is difficult to not get stuck in that particular mind trap, no matter how experienced you are because it is hard-wired into your brain. And because you care so deeply.

There is nothing worse than feeling so helpless in the face of the terrifying force of nature that a killing bloat is. Losing a piggy like that and so quickly and unexpectedly is deeply upsetting. Nothing wrong with that emotion. Give yourself time and space, as much as you can, to not be OK and to digest it all in your own time.
This is not something you can just be a little sad and then move on; experiences like these rock you right to the core. Love, loss, a deep sense of responsibility for our pets and the resulting helplessness in face of an uncontrollable illness, the shock of a sudden loss and not being there when your piggy dies are not things you can work through quickly. There are a lot of very complex issues packed into your reaction aside from the guilt loop. Unfortunately, you can process only so much at any given time and you have sadly got a very full plate to work your way through.
It is that bit easier when it is not your first loss but since each grieving journey is different due to each bond being unique, there are only so many issues that you can lay aside by recognising the mechanics and the deja-vu aspects but the trauma of a difficult battle for life and a sudden loss plus the individual relationship are sadly things that you cannot skip.

Unfortunately, we have to grieve as much as we love; but it is in the darkness that we grow as humans and it is the darkness that makes the light of our love shine so brightly and in so many different colours. Give yourself that time to dig your own roots deeper and to grow stronger as a human. And try appreciate the happy parts of a life well lived until very shortly before the end in order to balance things out more emotionally.

PS: Helping each other in moments like this is a part of why our friendly forum remains relevant. At least in this forum we don't have to suffer in silence and there is full understanding of what you are going through because we have been there, too.