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Luna's Medical Thread

Mishka

Mishka

Junior Guinea Pig
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Location
Innellan, Argyll, UK
Well, Luna is peeing blood again. Today would have been day 8 on the sulfatrim. I wonder if the dose had been a bit low again. The blood originally stopped within 12 hours of treatment, but this morning there were little spots back in her cage, about the size of pinheads.

I can't get her to Coastway frustratingly, so I am having to take her to my local vet, who are not cavy savvy imo. So we're off to St Anne's tonight.

She's showing no signs of pain or straining whatsoever. so I don't think we're looking at a stone. She passes calcium sometimes, but I rub this between my fingers and I don't feel any grit in it. I think we're going to have to try Baytril. Joy... Last time she was on it she tolerated it amazingly well, but it makes me super nervous. I hate the stuff.

Urch. Does anyone actually just have pigs that have always been healthy? I feel like my girls are permanently sick.

Also puts a question mark over whether I should try introducing her to Ceri this weekend. I don't know if the stress of an intro would do her more harm than it's worth.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
No wonder it isn't working. That is a ridiculously low dose. One of our piggies of a similar weight was prescribed 0.45 ml twice a day.
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Right okay, that makes perfect sense. This is what I get for going to the local vets. I will ask them to write me a prescription for a new bottle and fill it msyelf from Vet UK and get her on a decent dose. Thank you.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
No wonder it isn't working. That is a ridiculously low dose. One of our piggies of a similar weight was prescribed 0.45 ml twice a day.
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Honestly, I -thought- it seemed low, but because it's the double strength sulfatrim as opposed to the septrim I had in previous years I wasn't sure. I feel so thick.
 
Sulfatrim is the same strength as adult septrin. The dose you are giving would be 0.24 ml of the paediatric septrin. You might as well be syringing in water, for the good it is going to do at that dose.

Oh right, you will need to get another bottle then.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Sulfatrim is the same strength as adult septrin. The dose you are giving would be 0.24 ml of the paediatric septrin. You might as well be syringing in water, for the good it is going to do at that dose.

Oh right, you will need to get another bottle then.
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I ruddy knew it. I don't know why I didn't trust my instincts...

Honestly I had a bottle I would decant from in my fridge for if we needed it, it would be -very- handy to have that refilled as that ran out in August. my local local vets do not normally carry it at all, and I hate Baytril with a passion, I always try to view it as a last resort. I had to have a full blown row with the local vet about prescribing it to me for Luna last week. They got really put out about going to the effort of sending the prescription to a human pharmacy and gave me the -measliest- little tub. If I can get them to part with that prescription tab to me I can take care of it.
 
Agreed, just hoping that the vet is receptive. The one I'm seeing tonight I have a better relationship with so fingers crossed he will listen and be open to handing me the script
 
Mishka said:
Agreed, just hoping that the vet is receptive. The one I'm seeing tonight I have a better relationship with so fingers crossed he will listen and be open to handing me the script
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I really hope so. It's so frustrating when you know they aren't giving the right treatment, or the right dosage etc. I had a situation recently where a clients rabbit became ill whilst in my care (I am a petsitter). I took him to the vet he was registered at. I knew the rabbit had bloat but the vet disagreed and said the rabbit had dental problems. He wanted to admit the rabbit immediately for surgery and quoted £350 for the surgery but said they would also need to hospitalise him so we would be looking in the region of £450 to £500. I tried to convince him it was bloat and was told I was completely wrong. I said I couldn't go ahead with surgery as he wasn't mine and needed to speak to the owner. Got out of there and text owner to ask if I could take him to Simon (my vet). She said yes. Simon immediately diagnosed severe bloat and his teeth were perfect. He made a quick recovery once he was given the correct medication but Simon. So scary! Owner has now put in a complaint to her vet and moved all her pets to Cat and Rabbit Clinic now, as she knows that Simon saved his life and says she only trusts him now.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
I really hope so. It's so frustrating when you know they aren't giving the right treatment, or the right dosage etc. I had a situation recently where a clients rabbit became ill whilst in my care (I am a petsitter). I took him to the vet he was registered at. I knew the rabbit had bloat but the vet disagreed and said the rabbit had dental problems. He wanted to admit the rabbit immediately for surgery and quoted £350 for the surgery but said they would also need to hospitalise him so we would be looking in the region of £450 to £500. I tried to convince him it was bloat and was told I was completely wrong. I said I couldn't go ahead with surgery as he wasn't mine and needed to speak to the owner. Got out of there and text owner to ask if I could take him to Simon (my vet). She said yes. Simon immediately diagnosed severe bloat and his teeth were perfect. He made a quick recovery once he was given the correct medication but Simon. So scary! Owner has now put in a complaint to her vet and moved all her pets to Cat and Rabbit Clinic now, as she knows that Simon saved his life and says she only trusts him now.
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God, that's terrifying!

I had an incident with a vet at this practice in October where they tried to inject Ceridwen at 8 weeks old with penicillin... -_- and yet trying to get Sulfatrim out of them is like blood from a stone.

I do have a back up plan if they refuse, I will take her to the consultation this evening so there are patient notes, ask them to be emailed to Celine at Coastway and see if she will do me the script. She's very good with me and I'm almost certain she would do it providing Luna has been seen by somebody. We have an excellent relationship. I mean, I do understand if they are not an exotic vet and the medication is off license, so if anything happens there may be a liability issue, but I am not an idiot. I know my antibiotic toxicity stuff, apparently better than some of the colleagues there do...
 
Mishka said:
God, that's terrifying!

I had an incident with a vet at this practice in October where they tried to inject Ceridwen at 8 weeks old with penicillin... -_- and yet trying to get Sulfatrim out of them is like blood from a stone.

I do have a back up plan if they refuse, I will take her to the consultation this evening so there are patient notes, ask them to be emailed to Celine at Coastway and see if she will do me the script. She's very good with me and I'm almost certain she would do it providing Luna has been seen by somebody. We have an excellent relationship. I mean, I do understand if they are not an exotic vet and the medication is off license, so if anything happens there may be a liability issue, but I am not an idiot. I know my antibiotic toxicity stuff, apparently better than some of the colleagues there do...
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I'll keep everything crossed that you can get this sorted. Thank goodness you knew that penicillin wasn't appropriate. It is so difficult to take on a vet and tell them they're wrong, but so very few are guinea pig savvy, but rather than admit it, they make it up as they go along. Scary when an animals life is being put at risk x
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
I'll keep everything crossed that you can get this sorted. Thank goodness you knew that penicillin wasn't appropriate. It is so difficult to take on a vet and tell them they're wrong, but so very few are guinea pig savvy, but rather than admit it, they make it up as they go along. Scary when an animals life is being put at risk x
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Very frightening. I politely pointed out it was poisonous then walked out of the consult, and if I am offered an appt with him now I refuse.
 
So awkward, challenging a vet over medication. They insisted on baytril again, I pushed back and in the end I told them that if I was at my exotic vets they would just give her the sulfatrim and that I promised not to sue them for using an off licence drug...

I pick up my sulfatrim tomorrow afternoon.
 
Mishka said:
So awkward, challenging a vet over medication. They insisted on baytril again, I pushed back and in the end I told them that if I was at my exotic vets they would just give her the sulfatrim and that I promised not to sue them for using an off licence drug...

I pick up my sulfatrim tomorrow afternoon.
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Good for you!
 
Janice C said:
Good for you!
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I'm pleased but it was really uncomfortable. He was like "Why do you want sulfatrim over baytril? Baytril is licensed for guinea pigs, it's about getting the highest concentration of antibiotic into them, it's what we always give them, " and I was trying so hard not to get cross, thinking 'What's the point of pumping as much of a potentially dangerous drug into them you can when it may not even be effective against this organism?!'

Urch. So frustrating. I can't wait until I can get to Coastway whenever I need to once the OH passes his driving test
 
Mishka said:
I'm pleased but it was really uncomfortable. He was like "Why do you want sulfatrim over baytril? Baytril is licensed for guinea pigs, it's about getting the highest concentration of antibiotic into them, it's what we always give them, " and I was trying so hard not to get cross, thinking 'What's the point of pumping as much of a potentially dangerous drug into them you can when it may not even be effective against this organism?!'

Urch. So frustrating. I can't wait until I can get to Coastway whenever I need to once the OH passes his driving test
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When my rabbit was ill with Pasteurella furry friends@TEAS advised me on what antibiotic was best and first Vet wouldn't use it as not licensed for furries! Went back after getting appointment with the Vet I prefer and she gave it straightaway - no hassle! I only make appointments now with the one Vet.
 
Janice C said:
When my rabbit was ill with Pasteurella furry friends@TEAS advised me on what antibiotic was best and first Vet wouldn't use it as not licensed for furries! Went back after getting appointment with the Vet I prefer and she gave it straightaway - no hassle! I only make appointments now with the one Vet.
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This practice I saw today are very tight about meds I think, I've seen a few different people there and it's always been the same. It's a shame, really. They're missing valuable tools to help save lives. I wonder if maybe there was an incident and they've all been told to just stick to the handbook as it were. I've never been to another practice just so unwilling to consider alternatives.
 
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