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Kidney Disease

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Love my pigs

Love my pigs

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Hey.
We went to the vet with Fifi today and she has kidney disease. Both her kidneys are twice the size they should be. She has tablets although they are meant for dogs usually as thy don't have anything to help her. We have to check how much she drinks and weighs. Has anyone else experienced this? Anything that can be done to help? Thank you x
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Poor Fifi, I really hope she get's better soon. Hugs and kisses from me and the girls. xx
 
Benzacare 5mg tablets. It's too slow down the progression but they don't think there is much hope for her. :(
 
Just googled it, looks like a heart medication - Benazepril? Did the vet say how they would help? I think there is some connection between heart meds and kidneys but can't remember what.
 
Hey I'm so sorry to hear your girl is poorly. My piggy Sookie had something similar, one of her kidneys became very enlarged. The vets thought it was a lump and had surgery to remove it and once they got in there they realised it was her kidney. They removed it and she recovered from the surgery and seemed to be fine but a few months later her remaining kidney became enlarged as well and there was nothing the vets could do. I'm sorry I don't have a story with a happy ending.
When her second kidney became enlarged they gave her steroids which really perked her up and made her quality of life as good as it could be until the end. I really hope Fifi recovers, sending healing vibes her way.
 
The tablets help blood flow to the kidneys I think. The tablets haven't been licened for guinea pigs they are crated for dogs but that's as good as they could do. Since both have enlarged they aren't sure how long she will survive. There are no tablets for them I don't believe.
 
Did the vet think she would be in any pain? I know end stage renal failure is painful.
 
She didn't mention pain although I didn't ask as I was pretty shocked. We are going back in a month and if she is in a lot pain we may put her to sleep because I really don't want to see her suffer. She hasn't lost weight or become incontinent which usually happens so we are not sure how far along she is. Due to the fact both have enlarged the vet though she may have been born with it and it's worsened.
 
Did the vet mention anything about food you can or can't give her? I know things with lots of calcium like dark greens are not good for kidneys but it may be too far along for food to make a difference now.
Big hugs x
 
Did the vet consider an xray or scan to make sure the diagnosis was correct? Excessive drinking can even be a symptom of a UTI.
 
The vet didn't mention foods or an X-ray she just asked us some questions about her eating habitats and right away said about her kidneys after feeling them. I have other guinea pigs and I do notice a difference in how she feels compared to them.
 
Did they do a urine sample test? Or did she base it on just feeling the body? Because my Bea was drinking excessively they did a diabetes test with a urine sample and a creatanine test for kidney function too. But maybe if it's that obvious on Fifi then maybe they felt it wasn't necessary...
 
I am sorry but even an expert vet couldn't be 100 % certain by feeling for enlarged kidneys :( What your vet could be feeling is large ovarian cysts :( Unless those have been discounted I would be looking to get x-rays or even an ultrasound scan done to confirm diagnosis. Is your vet on our cavy savvy vet list?
 
This is what I thought earlier when I asked in your other thread how this was diagnosed. Personally I would want proper tests done, my vet diagnosed my boy with arthritis with no testing recently & i took him to an exotic vet who xray'd - he had a bladder stone which was on route to kill him without treatment and no arthritis at all! There is too much guessing involved with small animals.

Do you have an exotic vet not too far away you can try get to? I would want that confirmed with tests, you just never know. X
 
I'm sorry to hear about Fifi. I have had several pigs with developing kidney failure (often from stones but some for other unknown reasons although lymphoma was suspected in one) Kidney failure can be a result of old-age organ failure, infection, malignancy or stones. It is possible for a good vet to diagnose kidney issues just from palpation. I know of two vets who are able to do so and they have determined correctly on several occasions (without knowing in advance any blood test or Xray results I have previously had done) whether my pigs have enlarged, shrivelled or indeed normal kidneys.
As to follow-up tests: Diagnostics requiring a GA can be risky at the best of times and even more so with a piggie with kidney failure which will also impact on heart function. An Xray may or may not show the actual kidneys but is useful to determine if the kidneys contain stones as the reason for their enlargement as it's the stones that would be seen on Xray. An ultrasound would be better (and could be done without anaesthetic) if they are looking at imaging the kidneys themselves and measuring size/looking for tumours. However most vets would resort to bloods to test for kidney function when kidney failure is suspected ....and having had the discussion recently with my own vet regarding one of my pigs, they said that even the bloods might still show as normal if one kidney had failed and the other was still working. Getting blood from piggies is extremely risky as it has to be taken from the main vein close to the heart and even my really experienced exotics vet has, on occasion, bottled out if he can't get it right at the first attempt. I will only let them take bloods as a last resort.

I'm afraid that nothing can really be done for piggies with renal failure apart from palliative care - although it is good that your vet has put Fifi on meds to slow down the progress of the disease. It is indeed benazepril and it works by preventing constriction of blood vessels thus reducing blood pressure in the heart and in the kidney filtration system so thus reducing the strain on both organs.

Be on the alert for signs of pain (we have previously used high dose metacam but now prefer to opt for tramadol for pain relief) In your case metacam may be contraindicated (ie best not to use) with the heart meds Fifi is on. If you get bloody wee or Fifi becomes lethargic then you may need to make an emergency trip to the vets.

I hope she will enjoy many more piggie years before it is her time.

Best wishes
x
 
Thanks for all the help unfortunately we couldn't find a place that does x-rays as all our vets are quite small. She has lost weight and I can feel that her kidneys which were quite pronounced has decreased in size. She isn't drinking a lot and seems to only eat pears or apples now. We have been on the medicine 4 days now. She is still bright but is squeling when we pick her up. We aren't sure what to do now.
 
Is she eating any hay to get fibre? Did the vet think she would be in any pain?
 
Don't think she has had any hay and the vet didn't mention pain. Her breathing is laboured right now.
 
If her breathing is laboured I would look at either getting a second opinion or making a decision about her future. If her breathing is the same in the morning she does need to see a vet.
 
We think this might be the because she is not looking good at all. we are trying to make her comfortable
 
If you think she is shutting down, please get her seen by an emergency vet tonight who can help her to the bridge. If she is fading it won't be a quick death and it is kinder to get the vet to help her on her way.
 
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