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Little-pig's Recent Diagnostics

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Littlepig&co

Littlepig&co

Junior Guinea Pig
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So Little-pig is a dental piggy, he has only had one dental which was back in July. Whether he will need any more in the future is unknown. He was also found to have an elongated tooth root and the bloods showed he was anaemic and had some kind of infection going on. He has been on long term twice daily metacam since July for the tooth root and dental pain. He improved after a month or so, gained weight and even got into the high 900's and early 1000 grams. He also stopped excessively drinking.

After 4 months of being relatively stable, the excessive drinking started again and he was down to 888 grams which is quite low really for an already small built guinea pig. We went to the vets Monday and he was examined, JC thought that he had a lump in his thyroid upon feeling his throat. So they stayed overnight so he could have an x-ray, blood test and GA on Tuesday.

The x-ray showed that he has more elongated tooth roots and also he has a rounded heart (?). Also all of his teeth were thoroughly checked whilst he was under anaesthetic and surprisingly he did not need a dental; even after four months! The bloods came back today and everything is OK except his white blood cell count which is very high. So there is some sort of infection going on. JC is putting up an antibiotic for us to collect tomorrow and start him on (I forgot the name, it begins with S but is not septrin).

We have to update JC on his progress Monday before going ahead with an ultrasound or CT scan.
 
Sounds like Little Pig is in very safe hands, but it must be a worry for you. Good to hear he doesn't need another dental.
 
Was the antibiotic sulfatrim? It's another name for Septrin.

Sounds like he's in very capable hands, hope the antibiotics do the trick x
 
Adelle said:
Was the antibiotic sulfatrim? It's another name for Septrin.

Sounds like he's in very capable hands, hope the antibiotics do the trick x
Click to expand...

Yes sulfatrim is the one! Thank you, I hope so too. He is quite lively and behaving normally despite it all. He just is very skinny and drinking loads, by loads I mean about 400ml a day! x
 
If he doesn't respond to antibiotics it may be wise to consider a thyroid problem given the weight loss, excessive thirst and thyroid nodule x
 
Adelle said:
If he doesn't respond to antibiotics it may be wise to consider a thyroid problem given the weight loss, excessive thirst and thyroid nodule x
Click to expand...
Thyroid has been checked and all is fine, its very strange! The lump felt turned out to be a tooth root in the end. Although last time he had an infection he drank loads so hopefully it's only temporary! x
 
Little-pig had his ultrasound today and it is not so good news although I expected this diagnosis anyway following the x-ray recently. So Little-pig has an enlarged heart, thickening of the arteries and fluid with the diagnosis being heart disease. He has been prescribed the diuretic frusol to have twice a day to try and get the fluid passed through him. I have to weigh him daily and go back next week, which should be when we will start heart medication.

The prognosis long term doesn't seem too good, apparently he may only have around 6 months left. Just need to keep him pain free and comfortable for that time.

Here are some photos and clips of the scan:

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Sorry to hear about Little-pig's health problem. I am no expert but there are experienced members on this forum who have looked after their own piggies with heart problems who may be able to give you some useful information to support you.
 
I'm so sorry to hear this Jack. I missed this a few days ago. What matters now is that you keep him comfortable and make every moment count. There are other members on here with heart piggies. @Adelle has her gorgeous Fudge who is still thrilling the forum over a year after her diagnosis. @helen105281 also has experience of heart piggies. Chin up. He doesn't know what you do - so don't tell him x
 
Sorry I missed this too. If you feel he is still putting a lot of effort into breathing or has respiratory noise whilst on his current dose of diuretics then don't hesitate to contact the vet to discuss increasing the dose. Although these meds can be damaging on the kidneys long term, their quality of life is more important than quantity.

Vets often start low with these kind of meds to a. See how they are tolerated by the piggy and b. So they can work out what dose suits best. It will take some time to find the correct balance of meds for him but you need to persevere and don't delay with vet contact- the sooner you can get him stable, the better.

Conscious X-rays and quick and easy to do, regular X-rays at the beginning will sure he gets the correct adjustments to his meds sooner rather Than later.

Fudges meds where increased several times at the beginning and she also had another diuretic altogether and another heart med added into the mix when she'd reached the maximum dosages of the other too.. She was given 2 weeks to live because her heart failure and fluid collection where so severe.. We are 16 moths down the line and on a ridiculous amount of meds.. But I still have my girl and she still has a love for life and does all things a piggy should.

Any questions don't hesitate to ask x
 
Yes I agree with Adelle, I also have sadly a piggy in heart failure, in addition to having a growth in her chest which is probably causing the heart failure. She probably only has weeks rather than months left but she is comfy with the correct balance of Furosemide to her heart meds. Your vet will prescribe the heart meds in accordance to what was found on the ultrasound scan. Pain relief is important as well, the pressure of fluid around the heart can impact on appetite so quality of life is probably slightly more important than quantity at this point. I am sorry :(
 
Sorry I missed this top Jack. Has your vet considered an ace inhibitor in addition to the diuretic like Benazapril?
 
Little-pig was relieved of his suffering this afternoon following a deterioration of his condition. I am going to miss him :(
 
Oh I'm so sorry Jack. It doesn't matter how old you are, or how old the piggy is, it never gets any easier making the decision to help your piggy to the Rainbow Bridge. You have made the kindest decision for him but I know how much it must hurt. He was a big pigsonality. Hugest hugs xx. Popcorn free Little Pig xx
 
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