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Loosing all hope - help please

ladymary86

ladymary86

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jun 27, 2022
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Location
Uk
Hi all.

It just keeps coming.

We lost my Albert in June to cancer, Buddy in July to TMJ/kidney stones, and Reg in August to GI Stasis and dental disease. Each one came out of nowhere and was a complete shock.

This month I have George and Jeremy losing fur possibly to mites which I have treated the whole herd to.

And now, my Ted has an enlarged liver which we are waiting for blood results for, and my lovely Caleb is in surgery as I type for what was supposed to be a simple bladder stone removal. However, pre surgery scans and X-rays have shown that one kidney had stones, and the other had calcifications. My vet gave me two options, carry on with the removal and see where we are after, or PTS. I’ve chosen to carry on.

I feel like the worst owner in the world, and I don’t know what to do. I love my piggies, they mean everything to me, I take in the old and the sick when no one else wants them, but that means this horrible situation happens often. I’m happy to do anything and everything to try and either save them or give them the best end of life care.

Any advice welcome.
 
ladymary86 said:
Hi all.

It just keeps coming.

We lost my Albert in June to cancer, Buddy in July to TMJ/kidney stones, and Reg in August to GI Stasis and dental disease. Each one came out of nowhere and was a complete shock.

This month I have George and Jeremy losing fur possibly to mites which I have treated the whole herd to.

And now, my Ted has an enlarged liver which we are waiting for blood results for, and my lovely Caleb is in surgery as I type for what was supposed to be a simple bladder stone removal. However, pre surgery scans and X-rays have shown that one kidney had stones, and the other had calcifications. My vet gave me two options, carry on with the removal and see where we are after, or PTS. I’ve chosen to carry on.

I feel like the worst owner in the world, and I don’t know what to do. I love my piggies, they mean everything to me, I take in the old and the sick when no one else wants them, but that means this horrible situation happens often. I’m happy to do anything and everything to try and either save them or give them the best end of life care.

Any advice welcome.
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BIG HUGS

You can sadly never choose what from, when and under what circumstances the end comes. Only that it usually doesn't happen nicely spaced out and that you can never predict whether the immune system or an organ goes first. :(

The inner metabolic organs, especially kidneys and liver are sadly still out of reach for veterinary interventions and medication as guinea pigs metabolise differently to more common pets. It is tough when you have both a liver and a kidney piggy at the same time because you are feeling so helpless.

I, as much as any rescuer or long term owner of a number piggies find what I call 'stampedes to the Rainbow Bridge' hard to deal with because you can digest only so much at any given time and every new loss brings up the not fully processed ones; as a result you find yourself overwhelmed by a real mush of misery.
And since we humans are wired to reflect everything back onto ourselves (unless we deflect it outwards as a mindless rage), we inevitably start to question ourselves even though we know on one level that this is totally random - our mind is still seeking patterns and is still seeking to find a fault within ourselves.

If you feel that talking it out of yourself will help you, I would recommend to contact the free Blue Cross pet bereavement phone line on weekdays. Otherwise, only time and a breather will help although it sounds like you are not quite in line for one yet. What you are doing by looking after older piggies is most commendable but it comes at a heavy price at times as you are now finding out as the illnesses and losses can quickly pile up, and they can take their toll on your morale. You are a very caring person and not a bad owner.
Perhaps you may want to give yourself a bit of a breather with new intakes for a while so you can heal and recoup again. If you struggle with facing death again so soon after a string of losses then this place may help you with more trained volunteer support.
Pet Loss Support

But I hope that you will get through your own bad patch in due time and that your boys will be with you for a little while longer.

PS: Please be at all times aware of distinguishing between whether it is your own desire to not let your piggies go or whether they are actually well enough and not in any major pain to keep them on a bit longer. Our instinctive emotional protection of ourselves can do funny things to our normal ethics under duress.

My heart goes out to you.
 
Hi there you are not the worst owner at all the love you have for them is clear in your post and that's what our piggies need love and care. I know it must feel like everything is happening all at once and it can be overwhelming but as you say you adopt all of these guys who are fragile and it opens you up to health issues and losses perhaps more than most people. Try to keep busy whilst you wait for the vet to call and I hope all goes well with the surgery. If you want to keep posting on here it might help and we will all support you 💐
 
Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry all that happened, that’s so sad :( that must have been truly awful. I’m glad the hip is healing and hope it will continue to do so, and that you are doing okay. Thank you for taking the time to reply to me, I do appreciate it.
 
CTWC said:
Hi there you are not the worst owner at all the love you have for them is clear in your post and that's what our piggies need love and care. I know it must feel like everything is happening all at once and it can be overwhelming but as you say you adopt all of these guys who are fragile and it opens you up to health issues and losses perhaps more than most people. Try to keep busy whilst you wait for the vet to call and I hope all goes well with the surgery. If you want to keep posting on here it might help and we will all support you 💐
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Thank you for the support, I do appreciate it. My vet has just called, Caleb is awake thank goodness. We will have to come up with a plan of action, either way. When we pick him up we should get Teds results, hopefully it is something fixable or manageable at least.
 
Wow, you've really been through it! I'm glad Caleb is awake, fingers crossed for a good recovery for him and he can come home soon 🤞

We've been through a rough patch lately too, don't worry it gets better ❤️
 
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