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Heart Pig - Increase Meds?

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Sarah.aJones15

Sarah.aJones15

Junior Guinea Pig
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Location
Lincoln, UK
Issue
Fergie's stomach breathing again having been clear for 3 weeks since being treated for pneumonia & the exotic vet is away til Saturday. Do you have any recommendations which, if any, of the meds could be increased until her return? What would you do?

Background
Fergie is a 9 month old heart pig on Forusamide (0.44 x 2 of 5mg/10ml), Vetmedin (0.35 x 2 of 40mg/10ml) & Benazepril (0.08 x 2) plus Z10 (2units in 5ml) nebuliser twice a week. Can nebulise more frequently but it terrifies him & does seem to make his breathing more laboured

He had pneumonia & was on Baytril for 6 or 7 weeks then Zithromax for 10 days after Sarah Pellett at Animates had bloods done. Xrays revealed heart issues a month ago & we'd agreed that Fergie would be x-rayed locally & a phone consult with Sarah on Saturday to discuss the results & any changes since the ones we had done last month.

Next steps in light of the breathing change
I'm taking him to the local vet's tomorrow as planned to have the x-rays done. They know he's a heart pig & will do him early in the day but won't do it without sedative. I intend to ask the vet/nurse to give me some Baytril (they won't issue Zithromax unless Sarah's instructed them to) to see us through to the weekend when I'll go and see Sarah rather than entrust it to the phone.

I really value your opinions and assistance so please do let me know if there's anything I ought to be doing. Thanks.
 
I would be very wary about xraying under GA, it is incredibly risky for a pig on heart meds. Why will they not xray conscious? my local vets do now once they learnt the best way to keep the pig still.

It does sound like he needs a tweak. I am not 100% on dosing when it's not written in mg, for info though my pigs are on anything from 1,25mg to 1.75mg of Benazapril a day.
 
I wish they wouldn't anaesthetise but they insist, so does the exotic specialist. I have specifically asked both if they could do an xray without but nope.

The benazepril is 0.08ml once per day (suspension of 5mg in 10ml fluid) which is a TINY dose; 0.4mg once per day. I wonder why Sarah prescribed such a low dose? This was prescribed prior to his bloods confirmed his kidneys were OK and I wonder if she was waiting for this 1-month check up to consider upping it.

In the meantime, could this stomach breathing be an indication of something other than a URI? Where I'm going is, if it can only be URI, I'll try to influence my local vet to prescribe Baytril.
If, however, it could simply be a symptom of his heart disease, then I'd steer clear of antibiotics til the weekend when we can see Sarah (if he's still soldiering on).
If it looms like he's heading downward & no-one's around to help, I'd seriously consider upping his benazepril rather than do nothing KNOWING that would kill him.

<sigh> What to do for the best...
 
That does seem low but am not sure how to work it out in mg to ml. I have a 5mg tablet and split is as needed. It is common to go in at a low dose though and build up.

Velcro is tempting. My vets tend to tape them to the table (very loose) but the clinic I go to uses a variety of methods, a little retraint bag or using blocks to hold them in place. Some pigs do just sit there though.

That sounds to me like it could be heart related, abdominal breathing is a sign so I think a tweak is needed. I don't have any on Vetmedin yet so am not sure about that. Am going to message you with an idea though.
 
Sarah.aJones15 I am sorry to hear this, my piggy suddenly deteriorated when Sarah was last away as well & we saw Craig, he was very good. Can you give Animates a ring & ask to speak to him if possible? I would be very wary of upping the meds without checking first in case the strength is different. She does x-rays with a whiff of gas, not a GA & knows what she is doing even with a heart piggy, I would be very wary of letting a general vet use a GA on him x
 
Thanks for the messages Helen & Poppy. Just to update you:

Fergie survived the GA having spent time prior to and after it in an oxygen tent (the nurse said he'd been on her desk in the little tent like a giant snow-globe!) The xrays scared the local vet who hasn't seen the last set, but hubby & I both think it shows some obvious improvement despite the return of the uri. Off to see Sarah at Animates on Friday morning & things are OK today. Fergie's a little tired/lethargic but weighs-in ok, is eating, reasonably active and drinking ok. I'll give Craig a call if things change or Sarah's now in on Thursday according to the nurse. Only 3 days to go!

The other comforting factor is that Fergie's absolutely nowhere near as bad as he was before he saw Sarah a month ago.

By the way, Pets At Home, where we bought him from, are considering his case & it looks like they're going to cover all the costs. They offered to get their expert team to look at the xrays & meds in order to help but are equally happy for us to continue with Sarah @ Animates if that's our preference. Impressed with them thus far.
 
Well that all sounds good, am glad there has been an improvement and that Pets at Home are considering his case.
 
So pleased to hear he's ok :) I know that awful feeling of counting down the days until she gets back when she is away, mine always fall ill the first day she isn't there!
 
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