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Please Help Me And Mabel

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Hi everyone

The vet was pleasantly surprised to see me and Mabel this morning. He says that when he saw how much gas was in her stomach and heard her sky high heart rate he thought she would pass away last night.

She was given another injection of gut stimulant and we were given the oral suspension version of the drug, 'Emeprid' to be given 3x daily (0.8 ml each).

He echoed the advise that some members here have given me by telling me to refrain from any fresh veg/fruit/grass for around a week.

He also advised us to continue feeding critical care but that it wouldn't be necessary to feed quite so intensively tonight. I am still aiming to give 10-20 every 4 hours, but she is also eating hay and drinking by herself which is encouraging.

Her stomach has halved in size since last night. She has started to pass some stools and eat them, and she has been grooming herself (and Daphne).

The vet wants to see her on Monday morning just to check that the Emeprid has got things moving and to check on pain levels.

I hope that we are through the worst of this and that Daphne-pig gets to keep her sister.

Thank you all for your messages last night. They made me feel supported and kept me calm when things started to get too much.

Xo
Hemmy
 
Well done on keeping her going :) I find that letting them eat a bit by themselves first, like offering them fresh hay & pellets, then topping them up with a syringe feed works well :) Aim for 4 hourly & if you give one feed about 11pm you can probably do just one night time feed, then resume in the morning. I also hand feed small pieces of hay after the syringe food to encourage them to eat hay on their own & syringe a little water after feeding :)
 
Fantastic news, and am glad you have oral Emeprid to give now too. Wonderful that she is eating hay as it is the best thing for her. You may find she does eat a large number of her poos, my Millie does this when she has bloat issues.
 
I don't have anything too add, other than to say that you are a wonderful piggy mum! My own boy has had two bad cases of bloat when I thought I might lose him. I slept on the settee with him in his cage next to me and fed and massaged him through the night. I know how exhausting it can be, but the dedication really will pay off.

Keep going and please give Mabel a gentle nose rub from me x
 
You have done an amazing job. She is so lucky to have such an attentive and devoted mum x
 
That's really good news, really pleased for you.

Mabel is so lucky to have you as her owner

Bloat can just be a one off thing but I have heard of some piggies that are susceptible to it. It could be worth discussing with your vet about having a stock of some gut stimulants an an appropriate dose, so you have them in stock should it happen again.

Did you introduce any new veg or give a larger helping in the 24hrs before the bloat as it may be worth investigating as this could have been the cause and then you know what to avoid in the future.

Wishing you and Mabel all the best and I hope she continues to recover.

X
 
I am glad that Mabel has made it through and that you could shift the gas. You are a very dedicated piggy mummy!

Please be aware that her tummy can stay very iffy for quite a while, so you have to very careful when re-introducing veg in a few days.
 
Guineaguy: I'm pretty sure that it was a rather large helping of dandelion leaves and grass that caused the bloat. I usually put them out on the grass in their run on warm days, but considering what has happened I don't think I will do that this year. I will definitely ask about buying extra stimulants for emergencies, thanks for that idea. And thanks for your compliments - I'm sure you would get Mabel-licks if you said that near her!
 
I'm just blown away by the support people have given since I posted.

I am so grateful to everyone who posted - you have been so knowledgable and kind.

I'm going to catch up on some much needed sleep now and I will update if there are any changes.

With our love and thanks once again,
Xo Hemmy and Mabel
 
Her stomach sounds hollow again. She does not seem in pain and I am currently sat with her on the vibrating pad. So worried again.

What should I do? Just carry on..?
 
Oh no, just carry on as you are, did the vet say you can give more Emeprid today or to wait until tomorrow? The best thing for her will be the massage so you are doing the right thing. Maybe try the Gripe water I suggested yesterday too and keep up with the Dioralyte too as gas can be related to an electrolyte imbalance. Can you hear any gut sounds?
 
Just carry on, keep up with the pad and massage. The emeprid will keep her from going into gut status and keep everything pushing through.

You should be so proud of yourself, you have done so well, Mabel is gorgeous. Is she eating hay?
 
Hi,

She seems to be brighter this morning. I was so worried last night, she became very quiet and didn't pass any stools all night.

At 10am she wolfed down 10ml of critical care, along with 3 ml diarolyte, 3ml water and 0.8ml emeprid. Her stomach still looks swollen but is not - for the time being - hollow sounding.

While typing this she's wandering around the bedroom floor and just did the first popcorn I've seen for days!

I am considering buying a vitamin c supplement to give to her since I don't want to feed her any veg. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

This has been such an emotionally and physically tiring few days - I really hope today is the day she turns around.
 
A vitamin c supplement is a good idea or you could give her Metatone tonic which you can get from the vitamin aisle in thr supermarket. It will give her a boost. Dose is 0.5ml a day for 1 week and 0.3ml a day for the second week.
 
I will pop down to Tesco/Wilko soon and see what they have.

Would something like a solid vitamin c tablet (for humans) be okay if I grinded it up and fed it with the critical care?
 
Yes I think so. Am not sure on the mg though. Tesco sell Metatone definitely.
 
Well done on getting her through the acute phase....it is extremely tiring and stressful, requires incredible dedication and determination and you've done brilliantly!

Ideally you want to select a Vit C tablet that has not got calcium in it or is efferverscent.

Tescos chewable Vit C tablets (without added zinc) 200mg are fine and can be ground into a powder between two teaspoons and either a pinch sprinkled on softened nuggets/mixed with critical care or for more accurate dosing, dissolve in water (one 200mg tablet in 2ml water) and syringe feed 0.3ml for a 30mg dose.

I second having spare emeprid (and also metacam for pain relief) in the house - I also keep zantac tablets (can source off supermarket shelf) as my vet often prescribes this together with emeprid for gut problems as mentioned in my previous post.

I would also keep her strictly on hay and pellets only for a week or so then gradually introduce a small amount of veggies, one at a time to see if she has developed any sensitivity to certain veggies.

Wishing her a speedy recovery and now further episodes!
x
 
Hello again everyone,

Today has been much of the same. Mabel has taken her critical care so well today, she hasn't fought me like she did the last few days. She has had her 3 doses of gut stimulant, regular diarolyte and ~30 mg of vitamin c.

She is eating hay and had a little wander around the bedroom again.

However, her stomach is still puffy and has sounded hollow at a few points today. This seems to happen periodically.

She is not hunched up or tense like she was on Friday - she lets me massage the area with the vibrating pad.

I am still sick with worry. I have done nothing but nurse her all day and I am so anxious about her recovery.

We are back at the vets tomorrow.

My question is this:
How long should I expect her symptoms to go on for? Is it feasible to imagine that she will recover and be well again soon?

Xo Hemmy
 
It really sounds like you have got through the acute stage and she is well on the way to recovery albeit with "episodes" which is not unusal

There will be "blips" ref the puffy stomach...you are aware and recognise it and you know what action to take if it gets any worse. For now the meds etc are all OK.

You can't "step down" from the current alertness and intensive care because at any moment it all may be needed again.

Just keep up what you;re doing.......

x
 
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