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Severe Fluid Retention

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piggyme234

piggyme234

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Nico has been poorly on and off since Christmas, I have been trying to keep his weight up and thought I was doing well. Today he was soaking wet all over his tummy and had a very snotty nose so I took him to the vets. I noticed also that he had what I suspected was fluid build up in his chin which I guessed might be a tooth abscess given his past dental issues. Turns out that the weight I thought he was gaining is actually just fluid. The vet said he thinks he can hear a heart murmur and the most likely thing is that Nico has gone into heart failure. He said the other options could be kidney or liver damage or a lack of protein. He said at the moment Nico is too poorly to cope well with further tests and has given him a diuretic to help reduce the symptoms and hopefully make him stronger and we can come back tomorrow or Monday to see what to do next.
Does anyone have experience with a piggy with similar symptoms. He suddenly gained so much fluid that his loose skin is dragging on the floor, he has soft poops, a runny nose and a prolapsed penis that has got a bit better in the last 2 hours since the diuretic. This all occurred in the last 24 hours. We had a cat that went into sudden heart failure and died within 2 days of her first symptoms, I don't want this to happen to Nico.
 
Poor thing, I would ask for a conscious xray so they can see exactly where the fluid is and also diuretics to give at home. Do you know if they are considering heart medication too such as Benazapril (Fortekor or Nelio). I have 6 heart pigs so please let me know if you need any information. How much does he weigh? It is common for heart pigs to have trouble gaining weight.
 
He was 840 and now he is 870 but I think that extra 30g is fluid
 
Yeah he was 1100 before Christmas but that is when he got poorly
 
That is quite a drop then.

When you say he got ill, what exactly was wrong?
 
It started with a mild chest infection then I found him being sick we think from something stuck in his throat. After that he took a while to recover, at the lowest point he went down to 650, I was concerned then that I would loose him. I suspect that is when his teeth started to overgrow when he wasn't eating. Even when he seemed ok he just wasn't gaining weight.
I have just been to tuck them in, he is looking a little brighter now and his poops are more normal, The diuretic must be doing some good.
 
Diuretic can really work wonders. It does sound possibly heart related to me. Dental issues are a common problem as they choose to breathe rather than eat. URIs are common too, especially recurring ones.

Have you ever noticed him hooting? Often followed by a cough? Is he difficult to rouse from sleep?
 
I haven't heard hooting and I haven't heard him cough for a couple of months. I have never had a problem rousing him, he is always off like a shot. The only thing is that he does sometimes have a slightly runny nose but nothing that has ever needed medical treatment except when he had the chest infection in December, he had a very runny nose then.
 
How is doing today on the new medicine from the vets? Healing wheeks from all of my girls and all fingers and paws crossed over here, Nico is a lovely good natured shadow under the ramp.
 
The diuretics are clearly having an effect, he is much less bloated than he was. He is clearly a very ill little pig but he is still enjoying his food although very slowly, he gets tired quite quickly. I was holding him while I topped up the dishes and he wanted to get in the hutch to have some. He is quite weak and wobbly but he had a little wander on the shed floor and then, with a little encouragement, hopped over the step into the hutch and had some pellets.
 
What dose/type of diuretics is he being given atm please? I'm assuming you have been given either furosemaide...(tablet) ....or frussol (liquid)
Also what is his current weight

x
 
Unfortunatly when I went to see them this morning I found that Nico had died. I can at least know that I did all I could for him and he was with his girls.

RIP sweet boy
 
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