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Lilly has swollen genitals, gassy, and losing weight

Hope4gem

Hope4gem

Adult Guinea Pig
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Lilly has been gassy since the past few days, but no other symptoms until today when we noticed a weight loss of 26 grams. More concerning, her genitalia are swollen. I'm currently calling around to vets, but I am very worried that we won't be able to be seen because it's hard finding an emergency vet around here - even if you drive a few hours away. 20211112_161849.webp
 
Hope4gem said:
Lilly has been gassy since the past few days, but no other symptoms until today when we noticed a weight loss of 26 grams. More concerning, her genitalia are swollen. I'm currently calling around to vets, but I am very worried that we won't be able to be seen because it's hard finding an emergency vet around here - even if you drive a few hours away. View attachment 189314
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Fingers very firmly crossed for you and her!
 
Thanks for the well wishes. The only vet we can find is about 1 hour and 40 minutes away. There's currently a two hour wait time to be seen (that will only start when we get there), but hopefully she will be ok till then. I was able to get a regular vet appointment for tomorrow, but at least she can be seen tonight at the emergency vet.
 
Hope4gem said:
Thanks for the well wishes. The only vet we can find is about 1 hour and 40 minutes away. There's currently a two hour wait time to be seen (that will only start when we get there), but hopefully she will be ok till then. I was able to get a regular vet appointment for tomorrow, but at least she can be seen tonight at the emergency vet.
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That is great news that you can be seen, even if it is a distance!
It is likely that the bloating is secondary to an underlying problem that is causing the genitalia to swell up. How are her nipples? Your vet may likely want to treat for an infection, depending on their hands-on findings as well as the bloating.

Here are our trevelling and emergency care tips:
Travelling with guinea pigs
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

All the best!
 
Thanks for the kind words and the advice. We were checked in. They're getting her vitals now.
 
Wiebke said:
That is great news that you can be seen, even if it is a distance!
It is likely that the bloating is secondary to an underlying problem that is causing the genitalia to swell up. How are her nipples? Your vet may likely want to treat for an infection, depending on their hands-on findings as well as the bloating.

Here are our trevelling and emergency care tips:
Travelling with guinea pigs
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

All the best!
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Thank you so much for the advice! Her nipples look normal to me. Although it's being treated, she has a history of high calcium in her urine. So maybe it's something related to that? Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long at the vet.
 
Hope4gem said:
Thank you so much for the advice! Her nipples look normal to me. Although it's being treated, she has a history of high calcium in her urine. So maybe it's something related to that? Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long at the vet.
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It could be a large urethral stone sitting just before the opening. My Teggy had that a year ago and needed an emergency operation for that (which she thankfully did come through OK) despite the massive stone being really badly wedged in.
It could also come from the reproductive tract which is very thightly packed against the urinary tract and the gut, so any pain can quickly radiate into the gut.

However, only a hands-on examination will tell. Hopefully your vet will be able to work out what is going on.
 
Wiebke said:
It could be a large urethral stone sitting just before the opening. My Teggy had that a year ago and needed an emergency operation for that (which she thankfully did come through OK) despite the massive stone being really badly wedged in.
It could also come from the reproductive tract which is very thightly packed against the urinary tract and the gut, so any pain can quickly radiate into the gut.

However, only a hands-on examination will tell. Hopefully your vet will be able to work out what is going on.
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Thank you for the advice! Still waiting to see the vet, but I think we're next as long as no other more serious emergencies come in before we can get back. So hopefully we'll have some answers soon.
 
The vet recommended keeping Lilly overnight. They have a hospital here. They don't know for sure what's wrong, but believe it to be either urinary or reproductive. They'd like their other exotic vet to look at her, which he can do tomorrow. They also want to do xrays and possibly an ultrasound which they can do tomorrow. I'm going to let them keep her overnight, do the tests, and go from there. I'm super nervous about leaving her and feel bad that none of her cagemates are here, but it's hopefully for the best. The other option would be treating with anti-inflammatory and antibiotic and take her home, but then they don't really know what they're treating or if it will work.
 
Oh wow...that's hard to take but if it's a stone lodged in her urethra and they can determine that, it's good they can keep her for all that workup.

Where are you located? Just noticed you're in the US. Awesome you have an exotic vet hospital! Even if it is a good distance 💕

Hope things turn around for your girl
 
Hope4gem said:
The vet recommended keeping Lilly overnight. They have a hospital here. They don't know for sure what's wrong, but believe it to be either urinary or reproductive. They'd like their other exotic vet to look at her, which he can do tomorrow. They also want to do xrays and possibly an ultrasound which they can do tomorrow. I'm going to let them keep her overnight, do the tests, and go from there. I'm super nervous about leaving her and feel bad that none of her cagemates are here, but it's hopefully for the best. The other option would be treating with anti-inflammatory and antibiotic and take her home, but then they don't really know what they're treating or if it will work.
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HUGS

I hope that Lilly has a good night - at least she will be in competent hands. I also hope that a closer examination will get to the bottom of the problem. But it is always a very anxious wait. You have however done exactly the right thing.
 
Wiebke said:
HUGS

I hope that Lilly has a good night - at least she will be in competent hands. I also hope that a closer examination will get to the bottom of the problem. But it is always a very anxious wait. You have however done exactly the right thing.
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Thank you very much! I just called the vet and they have not done the tests yet, but Lilly is doing fine in the hospital. I hope to know more later this afternoon. Thank you again for the encouragement. It is appreciated very, very much!
 
Hope4gem said:
Thank you very much! I just called the vet and they have not done the tests yet, but Lilly is doing fine in the hospital. I hope to know more later this afternoon. Thank you again for the encouragement. It is appreciated very, very much!
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HUGS
Hang on in there. It's the feeling helpless and not knowing when your fears can really take over.
What you CAN do when that happens, is to concentrate on sending her warm, gentle and calm healing vibes. Try to breathe slowly while you are doing it and call up the healing energy from the groung through your diaphragm. ;)
 
Just spotted your thread. Hoping you’ve got some answers and poor Lily is more comfy.
 
The vet finally got to physically examine Lilly. He can't feel anything unusual, like cysts, on physical examination. It doesn't mean that cysts aren't there, they just might be really small. He's going to do the ultrasound later today and keep us posted. He's looking specifically for bladder sludge or ovarian cysts. But she's eating, activity level is good. Quality of life doesn't seem impacted at all, thank goodness. So she's stable. Just got this mystery issue. Will update later today as soon as we hear back about the ultrasound results. They put her on an anti-inflammatory to see if that helps as well.
 
Lilly's ultrasound is done. She's just coming out of anesthesia and doing well. They found no evidence of ovarian cysts or build up in her bladder. They're going to prescribe antibiotics as they think it may just be a bacterial infection causing the swelling. We can pick her up tomorrow at 11. I'm so relieved! Naturally, antibiotics could lead to appetite issues or stomach upset. We'll monitor her weight closely and supplement with CC as needed. I'm sure they'll recommend follow up with her regular vet which we already have scheduled. We're not "out of the woods" yet, but this is probably the best possible outcome. I can't tell you all just how much your support has meant to myself and my family.
 
Whew. What a relief.

I am happy to hear it may just be an infection. What she had sounded similar to my recently passed 5 year old sow Buttercup. But she definitely had ovarian cysts, battled with bladder sludge, UTIs and IC and did have small stones. She went through bloat and may have had a stuck stone in her urethra that passed before they could see it on xray.

Just really happy it wasn't all that for your girl 💕💕💕
 
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