• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Specialist Recurring Gi Stasis

WhinnyPig

WhinnyPig

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jul 8, 2012
Messages
311
Reaction score
189
Points
340
Location
Mass, USA
One of my piggies keeps having gi stasis. She was treated for pneumonia then improved then had gi stasis and the only thing could be found wrong was slight dental issues. She had dental and they were a lot worse than the vet thought. She was doing great after and we took her off the opioid meds on Thursday night she is still on meloxicam and cisapride and had another episode of gi stasis today :( I’m getting so discouraged I don’t know what to do. I will be calling vet in the morning. Anyone have experience with similar issues? What did you do?
 
It's really common for piggy guts to stop working even with fairly minor stress so your piggy has had a lot to deal with. Opioid painkillers slow the gut so it's good they have been stopped. Continue with syringe feeding and gut stimulants such as cisapride and with time things should improve
 
I’m so upset I don’t know what to do. My vet is at a loss. She is having me continue all the meds and syringe feeding she said the only option is to take her to tufts for a ct and maybe more dental surgery after that. It would cost about $3000 :( I am running out of money and have spent in excess of $5000 in the last few months on vet bills. I am at home crying on my lunch break. I love her so much and I want to fix her but I don’t know if I can swing $3000 right :(
 
HUGS

I am ever so sorry. It is a nasty situation you are in. Don't feel bad if you have to make any decisions with your ability or inability to pay - the ball park you are currently playing is by far exceeding any normal expectations. There comes a point with difficult problems like the one you are facing where you reach your limits. Guinea pigs are small animals and sadly very under-researched. Veterinary care has made huge strides in recent years, but that has only meant that you can end up with more questions than answers once you get into the border zones - and a very quickly escalating vet bill. :( :( :(

It has nothing to do with you being a bad owner; it is just literally ending up between a rock and a hard place and the heart-breaking question of how much are you able and willing to put your beloved pet through? You have already done so much and paid so much; there is no blame to be attached to you.

I have linked in two members with experience with dental piggies and problem issues (if they have the time to come on here; they are both very busy people). They can hopefully give you more advice on what avenues you could pursue with your vet.
 
Thanks for your advice :( it really is hard since you are so limited with piggies and she is such a special piggy to me. Any dental advice appreciated as well. Vet thinks the gi stasis is pain related as she does fine on pain meds but episodes of gi stasis when she goes off them :(
 
Wise words from Wiebke

GI stasis is almost certainly always a secondary problem to something else. Weather this is to the dental issues or the pneumonia no one will ever know.

The main thing to deal with in these situations is treating them aggressively with pro kinetics (gut stimulants) and lots of syringe feeding and patience. she will be getting gut stasis because she's not eating enough she so your going to have to help her out for a little while. It is hard, and caring for a sick piggie is a often very tiring. Many a sleepless night I have been up during the night time syringe feeding and giving injectable pain relief. So getting your piggie out of her out of this little crisis might take a bit of time and extra special care. They're not easy creatures when they are ill.

As for what to do I would consider the following:
- ensuring that you are giving cisapride three times a day if your not already
- adding in other gut stimulants. In bad cases of GI stasis we throw all three at our patients - cisapride, ranitidine (Zantac) and metoclopramide
- syringe feeding every 4 hours (they can have a short break overnight so you can at least get some sleep), the feed needs to be thick, high in fibre and at the very least 10ml per kg per feed (I often give 15ml to almost any pig of any size to be honest). Mashed pellets are ok for a short term but if your fighting gut stasis recovery diets such as oxbow critical care is much higher in fibre and will help stimulate gut movement by release of hormones.
- ask your vet to contact an exotic specialist for advice. They may have more ideas on what to do

I hope some of this info helps. Please keep us updated.
 
Thanks for the info. I have been doing 6-9ml of critical care 4x a day. She does eat some hay on her own and some veggies though she is very very picky. She is on cisapride 3x a day, meloxicam 1x per day and now back on the opioid pain killers 3x per day. I also add a vitamin c supplement to the critical care both bc she needs it and also bc she finds it really tasty and seems to encourage the syringe feeding. She perked up a lot, like whole new pig a lot after we treated her for pneumonia. She also was doing well after the dental work so we were really optimistic. Sounds like I may need to increase critical care.
 
Thank you I will check with the vet as she is on once a day, .4cc
 
Well I found a vet about an hour and 45 away from me that does more extensive dentistry and has more state of the art dental X-ray technology who is willing to see my girl. I am calling tomorrow to talk $$ and possibly set up an appointment! Please send prayers, good vibes or piggy luck our way!
 
Well bad news....the vets all Spoke and don’t think they can help :( I am devastated. My vet says even if she had a ct scan and surgery and survived it she would probably still be compromised. We are going to keep her as comfortable as we can for what time she has :(
 
I got to read about your little girl late. I am so sorry to hear of all you are dealing with. Your little one has the best parent. I know these little ones understand how much they are loved- you're giving her so much. We're thinking of you and your girl-wishing all the best.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top