elucie00
Junior Guinea Pig
Hello, I am a long time lurker and first time poster. I believe I've correctly read through all the rules for posting and located the correct location to post this but please let me know if that is not the case and I will correct any issues.
I was prompted to start posting on forums after months of what truly seems to be gross negligence from what is supposed to be a region renowned exotic vet practice(Stahl Exotics in Fairfax, VA, USA).
To give some basic info about my pig, Chad, I've had him for over 7 years and got him when he seemed to be fairly young, making him just a bit older than 7 years old. He lives in a 2'x4' midwest style cage, has access to unlimited oxbow timothy/orchard grass at all times, recieves 2 oxbow vitamin c cookies per day, 1/8 cup oxbow adult guinea pig pellets, and around 1 cup or fresh veggies per day. Despite many attempts to introduce cage mates to him, he has never gotten along with other guinea pigs so he is my only pig. Aroud a year ago I started weighing him weekly since he was getting older so I would be more likely to catch any issues.
He's been the picture of health as long as I've had him, with his only health history being a chipped front incisorwhich was filed down without incident and healed fine w meloxicam for pain management and a small enlarged pore/trichofolliculoma in 2022, and very early in 2023 he developed 2 lumps on his testicles(one on left, one on right, neither are the same size or in mirroring locations) which the vet examnied and said appeared to be fatty deposits/lipomas or other benign growths. They have not changed size or location since and have never appeared to cause him any discomfort. Every once in a while during the winter he would develop some dandruff, but this hasnt been an issue for several years and seemed to revolve with increasing his vitamin c cookies and moving to a new apartment that was less dry.
I will be attempting to keep the desc. as brief as possible but it is unfortunately a very long story.
!All of the exact CBC values I have included in the dates were given to me FAR AFTER the dates they are listed under. I requested copies of all of his bloodwork following my appointment at the end of november. I have only included the out of range values/values of note but have the full panel if more info is needed. !
9/4: slight issues, weight loss, appetite loss. Vet says no issues besides very minor molar overgrowth that can wait a couple weeks to be trimmed since I'm about to leave
9/8: EXTREME deterioration of condition over the weekend, not eating or drinking, lethargic, agressive and pain indicators. Goes back to a different vet at same office who will be his vet for the rest of timeline. Vet says he has begun GI stasis, and that lack of appetite is due to molars which still dont look very long but must be bothering him. He is given simethicone for gas, cisapride for gut motility, and meloxicam for pain/inflammation.
9/9: I drop him off for 1 week observation while I am out of town
9/12: gets molar trim, blood taken for CBC, blood chemistry and fecal float/stain are normal.
9/15: I am informed his weight has dropped from 1046g to 961g. Vet wants to run CBC to check for lymphoma and stop meloxicam to prep for possible prednisolone, I agree.
CBC Results taken 9/12: PCV(%) 48(HIGH),
WBC(Absolute)= WBC(/ul): 17329(HIGH),
heterophils(/ul): 3090(normal) differential(%): 17.9%(LOW),
lymphocytes(/ul): 11426(HIGH) differential(%): 65.9%(NORMAL, IN RANGE),
monocytes(/ul) 1592(HIGH) differential(%): 9.2%(HIGH),
eosinophils(/ul): 1217(HIGH) differential(%): 7%(HIGH),
basophils: 0,
band cells: 0,
TOXIC CELLS(/ul): 4. Heterophil morphology: mild to moderate toxic change present, toxic granules.(this result seems to have been completely ignored by the vet, and is clearly an indicator of infection)
Lymphocyte morphology: small to intermediate(normal)
9/16: Vet calls and says he has lymphoma, wants me to try experimental chemotherapy drug Lomustine in addition to the perdnisolone, that she can give first dose of today. Claims no negative side whatsoever for chemotherapy, and that it will greatly improve condition. Upon pickup he is in HORRIBLE shape, skin and bones, horrible smell, barely the energy to even move. Vet tech's unable to give me any answers on when or if his condition will improve and double down on the "no side effects" lomustine when I raise concerns. I continue the cisapride and simethicone for 7 more days, he recieves .3ml of prednisolone per day. and .37ml lomustine every 30 days(first dose 9/16).
9/25: Another vet visit due to no improvement, slight weight gain w 3 emer-aid assist feeds per day. Ever since picking him up from the week observation at vet he has been itching himself constantly, especially around ears and legs. No obvious visible cause, and not iching hard enough to leave mark or missing fur. The bad smell has gotten worse but I'm not positive where its coming from. He has begun drooling out of both sides of his mouth, and I hear an occasional wet popping/sucking noise from mouth when eating/drinking. Teeth are are worn down unevenly, right incisor overgrown, left molars overgrown. I inform vet of all symptoms and she says he needs another molar trim becuase they didnt file enough down the first time. Says sides are uneven because I'm favoring a certain side when assist feeding him, not because chewing on left side is painful for him. Says no abnormalities in mouth. NO improvement following this molar trim. His itching still continues, and I start to notice pale flaky skin on his ears. Vet reccommends vetercyn gel for moisturizing, no improvement gets worse. Vet gives tramadol(opioid) prescription to give every 12 hours for pain, unclear if it actually improves his pain.
10/6: ANOTHER vet visit. Smell has gotten worse and is very clearly coming from his mouth. A few days before this visit all of a sudden his left eye swells up accompanied by thin clear discharge. Within 24 hours it is completely back to normal. I have increased his assist feeds to 4x per day since he is not eating or drinking a significant amount on his own, get a little weight back on him but still clearly suffering. Vet wants to do ANOTHER molar trim despite even her saying they look fine. I refuse and ask for antibiotics which they eventually agree to in conjunction with another CBC to see how lomustine/prednisolone is being tolerated and to look for infection. He begins marbofloxacin .05ml(100mg/ml concentration) for 21 days which vet says has good bone penetration. Following CBC results vet increases prednisolone dosage from .3ml per day to .4ml per day. Following 10/16 lomustine dose, vet wants me to increase lomustine frequency to every 21 days. Vet still has no explanation for itching and flaky skin. When I bring up his eye swelling/discharge(identical to what he had when he chipped his incisor) she dismisses it and then eventually comes back to the room and says that after consulting "the literature", the eye swelling may likely be a very rare for of OCCIPITAL LYMPHOMA. After this appointment I try applying a very thin layer of miconozole to his ears once or twice a day, flaky skin dissappears, stops ear itching, still itching body.
CBC Results taken 10/6:
PCV(%) 49(increased 1%, HIGH),
WBC(Absolute)= WBC(/ul): 16061(slight decrease, still HIGH),
heterophils(/ul): 6405(sharp increase, HIGH) differential(%): 39.9%(IN RANGE),
lymphocytes(/ul): 8222(significant decrease, still HIGH) differential(%): 51.2%(IN RANGE),
monocytes(/ul) 956(decrease, still HIGH) differential(%): 6%(IN RANGE),
eosinophils(/ul): 478(decrease, still HIGH) differential(%): 3%(IN RANGE),
basophils: 0,
band cells: 0,
TOXIC CELLS(/ul): 0. Heterophil morphology: mature, non-toxic(normal)
Lymphocyte morphology: mature, small, kurloff cells present(normal)
These results were a bit puzzling to me since he was in such horrible shape and appeared close to death when they were taken, They were from before he began the antibiotics and started greatly improving, although many of the values may be artificially decreased due to the lomustine and prednisolone.
10/13: 1 week marbofloxacin, condition VASTLY improved. Drooling stops, slightly increased appetite, smell subsiding.
10/16: recieves 2nd .37ml lomustine dose.
10/27: Completes 21 days marbofloxacin. Complete reversal of almost ALL symptoms as if he had never even been sick. Itching on ears still seems to be subsided, but occasionally itching other spots. Still sleeps slightly more than usual during day but not to a concerning level. Feeling extremely shocked that all of his discomfort issues appear to have been due to this infection and uncertain how the vet missed all of the key signs, even when they were directly pointed out to her.
11/6: recieves 3rd .37ml lomustine dose. Following this dose his weight gain(which had been greatly increasing) seems to level off.
11/22: Chad has been eating and drinking completely on his own for about a month now with no resurgance of ANY of his previous symptoms whatsoever. He is still itching, possibly even his ears again, and has greatly decreased muscle mass(previously he has always had very good muscle mass) and his fur has become noticibly thinner and is shedding in large quantities. No balding or extreme thinning, fur is still relatively normal. Following previous lomustine dose he seemed to stop gaining weight, at this point he started losing very time amounts of weight, his follow up vet appointment is 11/25 so I wait.
11/25: The very very early signs of Chad's mouth/dental problems have started to return, in identical order and symptoms. Slightly decreased interest in dry food/hay, very mild increase in fatigue, discomfort around jaw, etc. When I tell vet about Chad's complete recovery for over a month with the antibiotics, she says it is likely just the ups and downs of cancer, despite she herself confirming infection. Seems interested in ear itching improving with miconozole cream(antifungal), but moves on after a quick visual inspection of his fur/skin and says she doesnt see any signs of ringworm. When I push her more on the subject and ask about the many other fungal infections that are not ringworm, she says she doesnt see anything of concern. When I ask her about his huge decrease in muscle mass and fur loss, she says it is to be expected from prednisolone, which would have been nice to know when I asked about the side effects of the steroid and lomustine the first time. When I tell her his infection symptoms are returning she seems extremely skeptical? I try to bring up beginning another round of a different antibiotic since the marbofloxacin clearly showed vast improvement, indicating symptoms were infection related, but also they returned which means he was not on the antibiotics long enough, or that a different antibiotic is needed. Vet says no and cites worries about antibiotic resistance to marbofloxacin. I point out that we are far past the frame of that being a concern since he COMPLETED his previous round in october. She seems confused about his medication timeline, checks, corrects herself and agrees with me. She said she wants to do marbofloxacin AGAIN for NO LESS than 4 weeks, I want 6 weeks. She says no due to his previous bad stomach reaction to it, which he did NOT have. I correct her that this did not happen, and suggest chloramphenicol as an antibiotic, which she seems open to. She refuses to let me leave the appointment with any antibiotics, takes another CBC sample, and says I can come back and pick up antibiotics depending on results.
11/29: still no results from cbc, condition much worse and very clearly same as before, resume 2 assist feed per day. Call vets office and must repeatedly ask for the antibitoics I discussed with the vet,chloramphenicol, vet tech says vet says they are not necessary. I for some reason just have to keep asking which seems ridiculous, and vet tech eventually comes back and says vet agreed to another 3 weeks of marbofloxacin. When I tell her that the vet herself said he should go on it for no less than 4 weeks, the vet tech says no this is what she said. He begins another round of marbofloxacin, which I intend to give him for possibly 6 weeks since I have leftover from previous bottle.
CBC Results taken 11/26:
PCV(%) 56(increased 7%, HIGH),
WBC(Absolute)= WBC(/ul): 13293(slight decrease, still HIGH),
heterophils(/ul): 4215(slight decrease, STILL HIGH) differential(%): 31.7%(IN RANGE, on low end),
lymphocytes(/ul): 7296(slight decrease, still HIGH) differential(%): 54.9%(IN RANGE),
monocytes(/ul) 810(decrease, still HIGH) differential(%): 6.1%(HIGH),
eosinophils(/ul): 972(INCREASE! HIGH) differential(%): 7.3%(HIGH),
basophils: 0,
band cells: 0,
TOXIC CELLS(/ul): 0.
Heterophil morphology: mature, non-toxic(normal)
Lymphocyte morphology: small to intermediate, small kurloff cells present(normal)
These results are also surprising to me, while lowered lymphocyte/WBC is to be expected due to lomustine and prednisolone, eosinophile has had sharp increase. Vet said nothing about this.
12/1: vet calls with CBC results, says that there are no signs of infection, high heterophil count due to prednisolone, not infection. Says while there is a lymphocyte decrease, it is not as drastic as they usually see with the lomustine/prednisolone treatment. Implies that lymphoma is progressing despite no lymph node swelling EVER, normal lymphocyte morphology, etc. I slightly decrease his prednisolone to .3ml(VERY slowly tapered down from .4ml over a week and a half), and have not followed up with another dosage of lomustine due to concerns about the symptoms from these two medications negatively impacting his quality of life, as well as very badly impedeing his immune system.
12/14(today): After about a week and a half of improvement on antibiotics, they slowly started to seem less effective. Condition is now worsening. Once again, these are only oral/jaw related symptoms. Today his drooling returned, he suddenly dropped a bit of weight from 1074g on 12/12 to 1030g today. I am once again assist feeding him 3x per day, giving cisapride and simethicone 2x per day, tramadol every 12 hours for pain, and giving him bene-bac every 12 hours(2 hours after antibiotic in eveing, and in morning) to attempt to help some slightly smelly poop/gas from antibiotic. Starting about 3 days ago I noticed him suddenly having extremely dramatic jaw adjustment/chewing movements every once in a while after eating something, as if something was out of place, or he was trying to move or adjust the placement of the food in his mouth SPECIFICALLY on his LEFT side. I have not been able to capture a video of him doing this to the full extent, but I have gotten a video of him quickly doing it in a much less exagerrated way with his full mouth on both sides. I've attached 3 stills from the video showing what he is doing . I also noticed him lifting his lip specifically on the left side while eating at one point. Tomorrow (12/15) he has a vet appointment at a different exotic clinic in the area, Pender Vetrinary Centre in Fairfax, VA, USA. for a second opinion.
Thank you for sticking through if youve made it this far, I know that was alot of info. I am primarily seeking others opinions on this entire debacle, and possible advice if other have had similar health experiences with their pig, or lymphoma in general. While I dont want to go full "guinea pig conspiracy nut", I have my occasional doubt about the validity of this vets lymphoma diagnosis, and even more doubts regarding her decision to take such an aggressive course of harmful treatments, but I also recognize that his WBC counts and especially lymphocytes are far too high to be much else. Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing the return and sudden spike of eosinphils? Does anyone have any experience with using chloramphenicol as an antibiotic, specifically for something like an oral/dental infection? And most importantly, what are your thoughts on his condition as a whole? is this malocclusion? an abcess? What should I even be pushing for at my appointment for the new vet tomorrow?
As I'm sure you can guess from this wall of text, I'm willing and able to provide answers to any more questions and provide more context in areas where its needed upon request.
I was prompted to start posting on forums after months of what truly seems to be gross negligence from what is supposed to be a region renowned exotic vet practice(Stahl Exotics in Fairfax, VA, USA).
To give some basic info about my pig, Chad, I've had him for over 7 years and got him when he seemed to be fairly young, making him just a bit older than 7 years old. He lives in a 2'x4' midwest style cage, has access to unlimited oxbow timothy/orchard grass at all times, recieves 2 oxbow vitamin c cookies per day, 1/8 cup oxbow adult guinea pig pellets, and around 1 cup or fresh veggies per day. Despite many attempts to introduce cage mates to him, he has never gotten along with other guinea pigs so he is my only pig. Aroud a year ago I started weighing him weekly since he was getting older so I would be more likely to catch any issues.
He's been the picture of health as long as I've had him, with his only health history being a chipped front incisorwhich was filed down without incident and healed fine w meloxicam for pain management and a small enlarged pore/trichofolliculoma in 2022, and very early in 2023 he developed 2 lumps on his testicles(one on left, one on right, neither are the same size or in mirroring locations) which the vet examnied and said appeared to be fatty deposits/lipomas or other benign growths. They have not changed size or location since and have never appeared to cause him any discomfort. Every once in a while during the winter he would develop some dandruff, but this hasnt been an issue for several years and seemed to revolve with increasing his vitamin c cookies and moving to a new apartment that was less dry.
I will be attempting to keep the desc. as brief as possible but it is unfortunately a very long story.
!All of the exact CBC values I have included in the dates were given to me FAR AFTER the dates they are listed under. I requested copies of all of his bloodwork following my appointment at the end of november. I have only included the out of range values/values of note but have the full panel if more info is needed. !
9/4: slight issues, weight loss, appetite loss. Vet says no issues besides very minor molar overgrowth that can wait a couple weeks to be trimmed since I'm about to leave
9/8: EXTREME deterioration of condition over the weekend, not eating or drinking, lethargic, agressive and pain indicators. Goes back to a different vet at same office who will be his vet for the rest of timeline. Vet says he has begun GI stasis, and that lack of appetite is due to molars which still dont look very long but must be bothering him. He is given simethicone for gas, cisapride for gut motility, and meloxicam for pain/inflammation.
9/9: I drop him off for 1 week observation while I am out of town
9/12: gets molar trim, blood taken for CBC, blood chemistry and fecal float/stain are normal.
9/15: I am informed his weight has dropped from 1046g to 961g. Vet wants to run CBC to check for lymphoma and stop meloxicam to prep for possible prednisolone, I agree.
CBC Results taken 9/12: PCV(%) 48(HIGH),
WBC(Absolute)= WBC(/ul): 17329(HIGH),
heterophils(/ul): 3090(normal) differential(%): 17.9%(LOW),
lymphocytes(/ul): 11426(HIGH) differential(%): 65.9%(NORMAL, IN RANGE),
monocytes(/ul) 1592(HIGH) differential(%): 9.2%(HIGH),
eosinophils(/ul): 1217(HIGH) differential(%): 7%(HIGH),
basophils: 0,
band cells: 0,
TOXIC CELLS(/ul): 4. Heterophil morphology: mild to moderate toxic change present, toxic granules.(this result seems to have been completely ignored by the vet, and is clearly an indicator of infection)
Lymphocyte morphology: small to intermediate(normal)
9/16: Vet calls and says he has lymphoma, wants me to try experimental chemotherapy drug Lomustine in addition to the perdnisolone, that she can give first dose of today. Claims no negative side whatsoever for chemotherapy, and that it will greatly improve condition. Upon pickup he is in HORRIBLE shape, skin and bones, horrible smell, barely the energy to even move. Vet tech's unable to give me any answers on when or if his condition will improve and double down on the "no side effects" lomustine when I raise concerns. I continue the cisapride and simethicone for 7 more days, he recieves .3ml of prednisolone per day. and .37ml lomustine every 30 days(first dose 9/16).
9/25: Another vet visit due to no improvement, slight weight gain w 3 emer-aid assist feeds per day. Ever since picking him up from the week observation at vet he has been itching himself constantly, especially around ears and legs. No obvious visible cause, and not iching hard enough to leave mark or missing fur. The bad smell has gotten worse but I'm not positive where its coming from. He has begun drooling out of both sides of his mouth, and I hear an occasional wet popping/sucking noise from mouth when eating/drinking. Teeth are are worn down unevenly, right incisor overgrown, left molars overgrown. I inform vet of all symptoms and she says he needs another molar trim becuase they didnt file enough down the first time. Says sides are uneven because I'm favoring a certain side when assist feeding him, not because chewing on left side is painful for him. Says no abnormalities in mouth. NO improvement following this molar trim. His itching still continues, and I start to notice pale flaky skin on his ears. Vet reccommends vetercyn gel for moisturizing, no improvement gets worse. Vet gives tramadol(opioid) prescription to give every 12 hours for pain, unclear if it actually improves his pain.
10/6: ANOTHER vet visit. Smell has gotten worse and is very clearly coming from his mouth. A few days before this visit all of a sudden his left eye swells up accompanied by thin clear discharge. Within 24 hours it is completely back to normal. I have increased his assist feeds to 4x per day since he is not eating or drinking a significant amount on his own, get a little weight back on him but still clearly suffering. Vet wants to do ANOTHER molar trim despite even her saying they look fine. I refuse and ask for antibiotics which they eventually agree to in conjunction with another CBC to see how lomustine/prednisolone is being tolerated and to look for infection. He begins marbofloxacin .05ml(100mg/ml concentration) for 21 days which vet says has good bone penetration. Following CBC results vet increases prednisolone dosage from .3ml per day to .4ml per day. Following 10/16 lomustine dose, vet wants me to increase lomustine frequency to every 21 days. Vet still has no explanation for itching and flaky skin. When I bring up his eye swelling/discharge(identical to what he had when he chipped his incisor) she dismisses it and then eventually comes back to the room and says that after consulting "the literature", the eye swelling may likely be a very rare for of OCCIPITAL LYMPHOMA. After this appointment I try applying a very thin layer of miconozole to his ears once or twice a day, flaky skin dissappears, stops ear itching, still itching body.
CBC Results taken 10/6:
PCV(%) 49(increased 1%, HIGH),
WBC(Absolute)= WBC(/ul): 16061(slight decrease, still HIGH),
heterophils(/ul): 6405(sharp increase, HIGH) differential(%): 39.9%(IN RANGE),
lymphocytes(/ul): 8222(significant decrease, still HIGH) differential(%): 51.2%(IN RANGE),
monocytes(/ul) 956(decrease, still HIGH) differential(%): 6%(IN RANGE),
eosinophils(/ul): 478(decrease, still HIGH) differential(%): 3%(IN RANGE),
basophils: 0,
band cells: 0,
TOXIC CELLS(/ul): 0. Heterophil morphology: mature, non-toxic(normal)
Lymphocyte morphology: mature, small, kurloff cells present(normal)
These results were a bit puzzling to me since he was in such horrible shape and appeared close to death when they were taken, They were from before he began the antibiotics and started greatly improving, although many of the values may be artificially decreased due to the lomustine and prednisolone.
10/13: 1 week marbofloxacin, condition VASTLY improved. Drooling stops, slightly increased appetite, smell subsiding.
10/16: recieves 2nd .37ml lomustine dose.
10/27: Completes 21 days marbofloxacin. Complete reversal of almost ALL symptoms as if he had never even been sick. Itching on ears still seems to be subsided, but occasionally itching other spots. Still sleeps slightly more than usual during day but not to a concerning level. Feeling extremely shocked that all of his discomfort issues appear to have been due to this infection and uncertain how the vet missed all of the key signs, even when they were directly pointed out to her.
11/6: recieves 3rd .37ml lomustine dose. Following this dose his weight gain(which had been greatly increasing) seems to level off.
11/22: Chad has been eating and drinking completely on his own for about a month now with no resurgance of ANY of his previous symptoms whatsoever. He is still itching, possibly even his ears again, and has greatly decreased muscle mass(previously he has always had very good muscle mass) and his fur has become noticibly thinner and is shedding in large quantities. No balding or extreme thinning, fur is still relatively normal. Following previous lomustine dose he seemed to stop gaining weight, at this point he started losing very time amounts of weight, his follow up vet appointment is 11/25 so I wait.
11/25: The very very early signs of Chad's mouth/dental problems have started to return, in identical order and symptoms. Slightly decreased interest in dry food/hay, very mild increase in fatigue, discomfort around jaw, etc. When I tell vet about Chad's complete recovery for over a month with the antibiotics, she says it is likely just the ups and downs of cancer, despite she herself confirming infection. Seems interested in ear itching improving with miconozole cream(antifungal), but moves on after a quick visual inspection of his fur/skin and says she doesnt see any signs of ringworm. When I push her more on the subject and ask about the many other fungal infections that are not ringworm, she says she doesnt see anything of concern. When I ask her about his huge decrease in muscle mass and fur loss, she says it is to be expected from prednisolone, which would have been nice to know when I asked about the side effects of the steroid and lomustine the first time. When I tell her his infection symptoms are returning she seems extremely skeptical? I try to bring up beginning another round of a different antibiotic since the marbofloxacin clearly showed vast improvement, indicating symptoms were infection related, but also they returned which means he was not on the antibiotics long enough, or that a different antibiotic is needed. Vet says no and cites worries about antibiotic resistance to marbofloxacin. I point out that we are far past the frame of that being a concern since he COMPLETED his previous round in october. She seems confused about his medication timeline, checks, corrects herself and agrees with me. She said she wants to do marbofloxacin AGAIN for NO LESS than 4 weeks, I want 6 weeks. She says no due to his previous bad stomach reaction to it, which he did NOT have. I correct her that this did not happen, and suggest chloramphenicol as an antibiotic, which she seems open to. She refuses to let me leave the appointment with any antibiotics, takes another CBC sample, and says I can come back and pick up antibiotics depending on results.
11/29: still no results from cbc, condition much worse and very clearly same as before, resume 2 assist feed per day. Call vets office and must repeatedly ask for the antibitoics I discussed with the vet,chloramphenicol, vet tech says vet says they are not necessary. I for some reason just have to keep asking which seems ridiculous, and vet tech eventually comes back and says vet agreed to another 3 weeks of marbofloxacin. When I tell her that the vet herself said he should go on it for no less than 4 weeks, the vet tech says no this is what she said. He begins another round of marbofloxacin, which I intend to give him for possibly 6 weeks since I have leftover from previous bottle.
CBC Results taken 11/26:
PCV(%) 56(increased 7%, HIGH),
WBC(Absolute)= WBC(/ul): 13293(slight decrease, still HIGH),
heterophils(/ul): 4215(slight decrease, STILL HIGH) differential(%): 31.7%(IN RANGE, on low end),
lymphocytes(/ul): 7296(slight decrease, still HIGH) differential(%): 54.9%(IN RANGE),
monocytes(/ul) 810(decrease, still HIGH) differential(%): 6.1%(HIGH),
eosinophils(/ul): 972(INCREASE! HIGH) differential(%): 7.3%(HIGH),
basophils: 0,
band cells: 0,
TOXIC CELLS(/ul): 0.
Heterophil morphology: mature, non-toxic(normal)
Lymphocyte morphology: small to intermediate, small kurloff cells present(normal)
These results are also surprising to me, while lowered lymphocyte/WBC is to be expected due to lomustine and prednisolone, eosinophile has had sharp increase. Vet said nothing about this.
12/1: vet calls with CBC results, says that there are no signs of infection, high heterophil count due to prednisolone, not infection. Says while there is a lymphocyte decrease, it is not as drastic as they usually see with the lomustine/prednisolone treatment. Implies that lymphoma is progressing despite no lymph node swelling EVER, normal lymphocyte morphology, etc. I slightly decrease his prednisolone to .3ml(VERY slowly tapered down from .4ml over a week and a half), and have not followed up with another dosage of lomustine due to concerns about the symptoms from these two medications negatively impacting his quality of life, as well as very badly impedeing his immune system.
12/14(today): After about a week and a half of improvement on antibiotics, they slowly started to seem less effective. Condition is now worsening. Once again, these are only oral/jaw related symptoms. Today his drooling returned, he suddenly dropped a bit of weight from 1074g on 12/12 to 1030g today. I am once again assist feeding him 3x per day, giving cisapride and simethicone 2x per day, tramadol every 12 hours for pain, and giving him bene-bac every 12 hours(2 hours after antibiotic in eveing, and in morning) to attempt to help some slightly smelly poop/gas from antibiotic. Starting about 3 days ago I noticed him suddenly having extremely dramatic jaw adjustment/chewing movements every once in a while after eating something, as if something was out of place, or he was trying to move or adjust the placement of the food in his mouth SPECIFICALLY on his LEFT side. I have not been able to capture a video of him doing this to the full extent, but I have gotten a video of him quickly doing it in a much less exagerrated way with his full mouth on both sides. I've attached 3 stills from the video showing what he is doing . I also noticed him lifting his lip specifically on the left side while eating at one point. Tomorrow (12/15) he has a vet appointment at a different exotic clinic in the area, Pender Vetrinary Centre in Fairfax, VA, USA. for a second opinion.
Thank you for sticking through if youve made it this far, I know that was alot of info. I am primarily seeking others opinions on this entire debacle, and possible advice if other have had similar health experiences with their pig, or lymphoma in general. While I dont want to go full "guinea pig conspiracy nut", I have my occasional doubt about the validity of this vets lymphoma diagnosis, and even more doubts regarding her decision to take such an aggressive course of harmful treatments, but I also recognize that his WBC counts and especially lymphocytes are far too high to be much else. Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing the return and sudden spike of eosinphils? Does anyone have any experience with using chloramphenicol as an antibiotic, specifically for something like an oral/dental infection? And most importantly, what are your thoughts on his condition as a whole? is this malocclusion? an abcess? What should I even be pushing for at my appointment for the new vet tomorrow?
As I'm sure you can guess from this wall of text, I'm willing and able to provide answers to any more questions and provide more context in areas where its needed upon request.
