Poor Athena now has cystitis

[Gems]

Had Athena to the vets tonight as she was bleeding more than normal and she has cystitis

The vet was prodding and poking her and the blood was just flowing out of her, it was very distressing to watch. He said she is more prone to infection as the blood is a breeding ground for bacteria and the infection would have been causing the bleeding to be worse. I originally thought that she had a tumor but he said because she was diagnosed over 4 months ago if it is a tumor it's unlikely to me malignant and is more likely to be pollops. He weighed her and our scales at home are waaaay off, when I weighed her last night I thought she was 860g but she's actually 1006g which I was really thrilled about as he said her weight hasn't really changed much since December, she's only lost a little weight.

He's prescribed her 0.2ml of marbocyl once a day for 2 weeks for the infection. He said there is a human medicine called septrin ( I think it was called that ) that is also sometimes used to treat this but said it can cause crystals in the bladder so he prefers not to use it, especially because of the condition she's in. He said its definitely not pyometra(?) as she's in too good condition. He took a urine sample which he checked whilst there and said there was no crystals there which I think means she hasn't got bladder stones but he said he thought it was unlikely in any case as it's more common in a boar because the tubes are narrower so sows tend to be able to pass them.

He's told us to give her vitamin c to get her PH levels down to make her bladder a more inhospitable place for the bacteria to breed and to give her brocolli and spinach to help with her iron levels. Also to keep giving her the probiotic which we had planned on doing in any case.

Think we were given good advice, just feel so sorry for her, her eyes are starting to get cloudy as well so think she might be getting cataracts

 

[Wiebke]

I haven't heard of marbocyl being used before, so I cannot comment on the dosis; septrin is the preferred/recommended antibiotic for cystitis. I am using it, so far without problems. Have you got probitiotics in order to counter the effects of the antibiotic?

You may wish to syringe as much unsweetened cranberry juice (if necessar mixed with water) in oder to flush as much of the bacteria out as possible; cranberry juice is said to keep the bacteria from settling on the bladder walls.
You can give up tp 50ml in one day, although a piggy rarely drinks more than 10ml in one go (which is about a bladder full).
http://www.guinealynx.info/uti.html

Pyometra is infection of the lining of the uterus.

 

[Claire W]

I am sorry to hear about poor Athena Please give her a kiss from me xx

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Sorry to hear Athena's been bleeding, I hope the Marbocyl works. I had a cystitis pig on Marbocyl a few years back, it did the job but I'm unsure of its efficacy against Baytril (which is in the same "family" as Marbocyl - marbofloxacin and enrofloxacin) and against Septrin.

I have not heard that claim about Septrin before, it is usually very effective in treating cystitis, the most highly recommended antibiotic in fact, so I'll certainly look out for more info on that suggestion.

I understand the reason for giving broccoli and spinach to help iron levels, you shouldn't need to give much though and both are high calcium veg, so will need to be balanced out with lower calcium ones.

Whereabouts is Athena's tumour/polyps meant to be? My first pig Charlie had a tumour attached to one of his kidneys, he lived with it for nine months and it did grow a lot and it was unlikely to be malignant (cancerous) as he was in fantastic condition most of the time. They can have tumours for a long time, but if the 'lump' doesn't grow at all I too would wonder about polyps.

On the whole it sounds like he's a better vet than many. Fingers crossed Athena picks up soon. xx

 

[Gems]

Yeah I have loads of probiotic in so no worry about that. Hmm he said that he didn't recommend septrin as I'm sure he said it can cause crystals which I'm assuming lead to bladder stones which in Athenas case would be pretty serious. I've got to take her back in 2 weeks for a checkup so if need be she could be put on the septrin then if this antibiotic hasn't worked.

I was thinking about cranberry juice but wasn't sure whether it would be ok to give to her but I shall buy some tomorrow.

Thanks for the advice Wiebke and I shall give her a kiss from you Claire x

 

[Gems]

Well I've seen 3 different vets at the same practice and keep getting told the tumor ( or now polyps ) is in different places so I'm a little confused to be honest. The vet we saw tonight said that as the blood that was coming out was bright red and not brown it would indicate that it hasn't gone through her system much so he thinks the problem might be right at the bottom of her rectum. He said they don't have any endoscopes small enough to safely have a look and see exactly where they were and didn't want to do an op as she probably wouldn't make it through the op. But as he was prodding around her back end which seemed to trigger the bleeding he thought it was coming from her lower bowels/rectum.

 

[flips]

Hope Athena starts to feel better soon. :rose

 

[missy]

Poor Athena. What an ordeal for a little piggy. Really hope she responds to the meds and improves soon.

As well as the cranberry juice, homemade barley water "gloop" is also a tried and tested supplementary remedy for soothing cystitis. Boil up pearl barley in a pan (1 part barley to 10-15 parts water) then let it simmer for about 50 mins, making sure it doesn't boil dry. Then pass the whole lot through a sieve, squishing the barley grains so that, as well as the watery liquid, you get as much of the viscous gloopy stuff as possible. When cool, you can give it plain, just as it is, or add a bit of cranberry to it. I administer it orally, by syringe, as my piggy wouldn't drink it otherwise, but some piggies might lap it up from a saucer/bowl.

 

[flintstones]

I could be way off, I'm not an expert and don't claim to be one! I was just wondering if an Xray would show the tumour up, if you've did this already I must have missed it.

I just remember when we had our dogs, we got them Xrayed to check for a tumour years back.

I hope Athena, gets better soon xx

 

[Gems]

Joanne - when we initially got told they said that they could do an xray to confirm but there would be little point as even it confirms their suspicions they can't operate in any case.

Missy - thanks, I'll bear that in mind, will probably be able to find cranberry juice easily enough ( I think my corner shop will probably sell it ) but haven't got the chance to get the barley tomorrow as I'm in work early and have an appointment at 6.15pm tomorrow night

She's still happy enough in herself thankfully, poor little things been through so much and she's still a lovely, cuddly piggie x)

 

[missy]

Missy - thanks, I'll bear that in mind, will probably be able to find cranberry juice easily enough ( I think my corner shop will probably sell it ) but haven't got the chance to get the barley tomorrow as I'm in work early and have an appointment at 6.15pm tomorrow night

I'd say the cranberry juice is definitely the most important thing anyway - the barley preparation is just something to perhaps try as well, if you get a chance. Try to get Ocean Spray Classic Light, if you can. It contains a higher amount of cranberry juice than most other brands I've seen and doesn't have added sugar in the Light version.