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Patrick - Crystal formation.

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flintstones

flintstones

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I'm posted on behalf of a very sore little pig, he'd like to know if any other Guinea Pig's have experienced his pain and how there slaves helped them?

Patrick has had recurring Bladder problems for sometimes now - he's now rarely squeak free and if he's really lucky he may urinate blood to. His latest episode was 6 weeks ago, he was in a lot of pain. I found it quite distressing. Off to the vet's he'd also lost short of 100 grams so his teeth where filed. He stopped urinating blood, then two weeks ago he began urinating blood again we went to a vet locally - as I'm set to go on holiday and can't expect my mum to travel to Denny. He was scanned for stones nothing appeared, a urine analysis showed a large amount of 'tiny' crystals in his urine.

There's no infection present but little Patrick is still in a great deal of pain when urinating or passing pellet's, I am syringing Cranberry juice and giving him Cytease daily is there anything else I can do to help? When his episodes are really bad I am giving metacam to help I figure it's a less of two evils, and topping his food up as I find his appetite sometimes subsides due to the pain.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLBGJlBzMA0[/ame]
 
Aww.. Poor guy. That has never happened to my gang. Hope Patrick feels better soon...
 
Putt, has an inflamed Bladder Wall which has been ongoing since January this causes her pain when pooing and sometimes weeing. Our vet is giving her regular injections of something called 'Cartrophen' it's a supplement thats used for arthritis to lower inflamation in cats and dogs. It does seem to be having some affect. It has cut down her squeaking when pooing. We have been working hard on the calcium phosphorus ratio also.

It may be worth chatting to your vet about it, see if he knows anything about it. Our vet mentioned it to us after cystease didn't offer much relief. Hope Patrick feels better soon, poor thing.
 
Oh no, poor Patrick :...
Why do they suffer so much :0
Only thing I would suggest is to discuss pain relief more in depth with your vet or more knowledgable members on here.
Metacam can diminish their appetite so keeping his interest in food alive is important as you well know.
Could he have Metacam in very small doses a little more often ? Hate seeing any pet in pain 8...My boy was prescribed 1 drop per day whilst being treated for Cystitis (turned out to be a stone after x-rays and three weeks of ABX) I rang the vet again and she increased it to 0.2ml daily which helped.
Maybe someone could let you know the maximum amount safe to administer...?
Poor poor boy, hope he picks up soon and send hugs x>>
 
sport_billy said:
Putt, has an inflamed Bladder Wall which has been ongoing since January this causes her pain when pooing and sometimes weeing. Our vet is giving her regular injections of something called 'Cartrophen' it's a supplement thats used for arthritis to lower inflamation in cats and dogs. It does seem to be having some affect. It has cut down her squeaking when pooing. We have been working hard on the calcium phosphorus ratio also.

It may be worth chatting to your vet about it, see if he knows anything about it. Our vet mentioned it to us after cystease didn't offer much relief. Hope Patrick feels better soon, poor thing.
Click to expand...

That's really useful info thanks sportbilly......first time this drug has been mentioned on the forum for urinary probs in piggies.....( I have an arthiritis pig so may also be tempted to try this instead of metacam..

(..and yes Jo..I'm all over google about it -c)


SB......Are you willing to PM me your vet's details please in case my vet wishes to consult with them? Would really appreciate this

x
 
Guinea pig slave said:
Oh no, poor Patrick :...
Why do they suffer so much :0
Only thing I would suggest is to discuss pain relief more in depth with your vet or more knowledgable members on here.
Metacam can diminish their appetite so keeping his interest in food alive is important as you well know.
Could he have Metacam in very small doses a little more often ? Hate seeing any pet in pain 8...My boy was prescribed 1 drop per day whilst being treated for Cystitis (turned out to be a stone after x-rays and three weeks of ABX) I rang the vet again and she increased it to 0.2ml daily which helped.
Maybe someone could let you know the maximum amount safe to administer...?
Poor poor boy, hope he picks up soon and send hugs x>>
Click to expand...

He's had two X-rays and an Ultra sound so fairly certain stones are not present I suppose Patrick's lucky in the sense he gets to urinate the crystals out rather than collect them and create a stone. As for the metacam I am wary, as I don't want to damage his kidney's and I know it's longterm usage that causes the problem's. I only give a very small amount of metacam as it helps the inflammation and the pain although I wish I could get rid of the pain altogether for him permanently!
 
It's around every 2 weeks but the frequency should reduce as the inflamation dies down. She's had them for the past 3-4 months and is noticeably better (but it hasn't stopped it all together) Putt is 5 years old.

The vet who is extremely cavy savy says it is a supplement not a drug and should have no long term side affects. It's simillar to Cystease but I think works in a slightly different way.

Pebble - Will pm you the details
 
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oh my gosh, i have a matching video of my late pepper, he even looks the same (rex agouti), we went through these squeaks for about 3 months before he lost his life poor little thing, its just devastating to hear/watch/witness.

I really feel for you.

We had the cystease, metacam, baytril, and potassium citrate but bless him in the end his bladder was just filling up and he couldnt empty it, and i had to let him go.

It broke my heart.

I really hope you have a positive outcome :)
 
Jo..halve the dose and give twice daily....remember about piggies high metabolic rate? Twice daily metacam at half doses makes a really big difference ..(it certainly helped Fleure with pain relief who had inoperable kidney stones)

Hugs to you and slobby kisses to Patrick (no tongues thank you!)

x
 
sport_billy said:
It's around every 2 weeks but the frequency should reduce as the inflamation dies down. She's had them for the past 3-4 months and is noticeably better (but it hasn't stopped it all together) Putt is 5 years old.

The vet who is extremely cavy savy says it is a supplement not a drug and should have no long term side affects. It's simillar to Cystease but I think works in a slightly different way.
Click to expand...

Has Putt had an Ultrasound and did bladder inflammation show up the reason I ask is when Patrick had his ultrasound I was with him and it was amazing what I could see never mind the Vet - he said Patrick has no inflammation of the Bladder wall.
 
doglovinpiggylover said:
oh my gosh, i have a matching video of my late pepper, he even looks the same (rex agouti), we went through these squeaks for about 3 months before he lost his life poor little thing, its just devastating to hear/watch/witness.

I really feel for you.

We had the cystease, metacam, baytril, and potassium citrate but bless him in the end his bladder was just filling up and he couldnt empty it, and i had to let him go.

It broke my heart.

I really hope you have a positive outcome :)
Click to expand...

Did he have a stone, is that why he couldn't urinate?

Pebble said:
Jo..halve the dose and give twice daily....remember about piggies high metabolic rate? Twice daily metacam at half doses makes a really big difference ..(it certainly helped Fleure with pain relief who had inoperable kidney stones)

Hugs to you and slobby kisses to Patrick (no tongues thank you!)

x
Click to expand...

Yes we know :) - the long term damage was the constant reminder you give me, muhahaha.. It is the lesser of two evil and the poor little guy deserves to be squeak free for at least a night!

Ps.. Patrick says what's wrong with his tongue :p xx
 
flintstones said:
Has Putt had an Ultrasound and did bladder inflammation show up the reason I ask is when Patrick had his ultrasound I was with him and it was amazing what I could see never mind the Vet - he said Patrick has no inflammation of the Bladder wall.
Click to expand...

Yes, Putt had a ultrasound and it showed thickening of the bladder wall, so thats why we are trying the anti inflamtory nature of Catrophen.
 
sport_billy said:
Yes, Putt had a ultrasound and it showed thickening of the bladder wall, so thats why we are trying the anti inflamtory nature of Catrophen.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this input, I do wonder if it could help Patrick as he doesn't appear to have thickening of the Bladder wall. I will have to discuss this option further - Thanks so much! xx
 
Yeah, we were just saying that. Maybe worth looking at and exploring more, I hope you can find your little man some relief.
 
flintstones said:
Did he have a stone, is that why he couldn't urinate?
Click to expand...

he had a stone, but he had it removed with surgery, but he just never stopped squeaking, honestly it was the worst 3 months of my life, i just dont know how we got through it, my heart was shattered, when he passed all i could hear was him squeaking it haunted me for weeks.

I dont really know why he ended up not being able to wee, but it happened gradually over a week following his surgery, and the vet warned me if it got to the stage where he couldnt wee he would need help to empty his bladder or it could get infected, then one night we sat up all night and it got to about 430am and he was trying to go every 30 seconds or so and nothing was coming out, i couldnt let him suffer any longer and as i work full time and am out every day during the week i just couldnt stand for him to be in agony all day until i got home to take him to the vet to relieve him, so we went to the emergency vet and she helped him to the bridge :0
 
doglovinpiggylover said:
he had a stone, but he had it removed with surgery, but he just never stopped squeaking, honestly it was the worst 3 months of my life, i just dont know how we got through it, my heart was shattered, when he passed all i could hear was him squeaking it haunted me for weeks.

I dont really know why he ended up not being able to wee, but it happened gradually over a week following his surgery, and the vet warned me if it got to the stage where he couldnt wee he would need help to empty his bladder or it could get infected, then one night we sat up all night and it got to about 430am and he was trying to go every 30 seconds or so and nothing was coming out, i couldnt let him suffer any longer and as i work full time and am out every day during the week i just couldnt stand for him to be in agony all day until i got home to take him to the vet to relieve him, so we went to the emergency vet and she helped him to the bridge :0
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Very Sad - I'm sorry to hear of your loss, I can only think a blockage well I hope it was as I'd hate a similar experience for Patrick. It's hard to watch them in pain - if my Patrick couldn't urinate I wouldn't think twice about helping him to the bridge, you did the right thing. As difficult as it is sometimes it's best to be cruel to be kind if you like. Although I don't consider ending an animals suffering as cruel in my eyes it's the right thing to do if all other avenues have been explored first.

Big hugs xx
 
oh yes, i totally agree, neither of us could take it any longer. I have my special video of my baby that i watch every now and then, and he is squeaking in it doing a big wee, but its kind of just how i remember him now, i couldnt remember him any other way.

God I'm sobbing now lol
 
doglovinpiggylover said:
oh yes, i totally agree, neither of us could take it any longer. I have my special video of my baby that i watch every now and then, and he is squeaking in it doing a big wee, but its kind of just how i remember him now, i couldnt remember him any other way.

God I'm sobbing now lol
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Sweetheart...I know it's distressing...I still cry about my Beechie.....it's clear you really loved him and you did the very best for him....no piggie could have asked for more.

I'm so sorry... because I do know that this feeling will never go away..... they always leave a forever place in our hearts...but gradually over time it will feel less traumatic and more "comfortable".

He really DID have the very best life you could give him...so please believe that.

x
 
thank you, and i do, and i love all my babies past and present equally, just Pepper he went through it you know, we had a special time, so intense.

so sad that these little bundles of gorgeousness have to endure such pain and discomfort.
 
poor wee Patrick whee all send you some wheeeeeeeeky loves and healing wheeeeeeeeeeeeeks

GET WELL PATRICK XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


p.s. Bella our border collie has cartrophen injections for her leg (cartilage problems) it's doing her wonders.
 
Just caught up on this thread, some really useful advice as always, and once again i've learnt lots more about piggies! :)

I just wanted to say please give Patrick a chin rub from me, and i'm sending him all my healing vibes to get better soon. Hope the metacam is keeping him pain free Jo, love to Patrick x
 
Has anybody had a Urine Culture done - where a needle is inserted into the Bladder and a sample is taken?

I believe this procedure is done without sedation, someone mentioned as Patrick has had relief with Antibiotics before perhaps it's worthwhile to do a culture to find if an infection is present or not. My issue is with the procedure and the damage that can be done if the pig moves.

My thoughts are he has had 3 separate urine analysis done by different vets and dipstick test, along with Xray's and an Ultrasound less than 2 weeks ago not even sludge showed up his bladder is clear and the bladder wall did not appear inflamed. An infection has never shown up so surely this information is enough to rule out infection does anyone have any thoughts on this?

I would really like Patrick to have some relief at some point preferable soon - this is him with Pain Killer's.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdC_ldHlQTs[/ame]

It is not intermittent, it goes on all day, every time he urinates and passes a pellet.
 
Oh good grief.. poor poor Patrick, and I feel for you as I'm going through exactly the same (apart from only had a conscious xray so far a couple wks ago..no stone), just scouring every post I can on UTIs to triple check all I need to ask on our third trip in a month to the vets tomorrow first thing, I know shell want to do an xray under anesthetic as that was her next step....now 4 days on antibiotics and pain relief twice a day and still squeaking exactly like your Patrick but only when urinating, I really am worried, I really do feel for you and was heart broken to hear doglovinpiggylovers post :( I really hope you get him better and as always thank goodness for the forum and everyones expert knowledge xx
 
Carolinemm said:
Oh good grief.. poor poor Patrick, and I feel for you as I'm going through exactly the same (apart from only had a conscious xray so far a couple wks ago..no stone), just scouring every post I can on UTIs to triple check all I need to ask on our third trip in a month to the vets tomorrow first thing, I know shell want to do an xray under anesthetic as that was her next step....now 4 days on antibiotics and pain relief twice a day and still squeaking exactly like your Patrick but only when urinating, I really am worried, I really do feel for you and was heart broken to hear doglovinpiggylovers post :( I really hope you get him better and as always thank goodness for the forum and everyones expert knowledge xx
Click to expand...

I feel awful for him and as this has been going on for 3 months I think something needs to give sometime soon!

What Antibiotic was your pig given for a UTI - might be worthwhile trying Septrin if you haven't done already.

Tonight I have removed everything Patrick is only being fed hay and grass when the other pigs get veggies in the hope I can find what's triggering his ongoing episodes but I'm seriously considering getting a Urine Cultures done although I fear it will tell me what I already know - no infection present :(.

Have you had a urine analysis to check if crystals are present?
 
Oh love i'm sorry whee were so hoping that dear Patrick would get better quickly.........
Thinking of you both

LOADS OF LOVES AND WHEEEEEEKY LOVES XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
I know nothing about this, but after reading the descriptions, I have a couple of questions.
1. Are these crystals uric acid crystals?
2. Gout in people is caused by precipitation of uric acid crystals into the joints. They take allopurinol to dissolve the crystals. If this urinary problem in guinea pigs is equivalent to gout, can they not take allopurinol to alleviate the problem?

I hate hearing that they suffer with urination.
 
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