Sludge And Wheeking After Bladder Stone Surgery

[Ali P]

After suspected cystitis our Fruitie had an xray that showed a stone. After much debating we went for surgery last Wed. She has recovered amazingly well but is still wheeking when she pees and there is sludge in her urine again.The vet did say after the operation he flushed the bladder through so I was surprised to see sludge so soon. It is a such a shame after all that surgery she is still so uncomfortable. Any ideas? I going to ring the vet again tomorrow.

 

[Adelle]

Hi there!

Is your little one still on pain relief? If not, my first port of call would be to put her back on that, at the dose recommended by your vet.

Keep an eye that she is still passing urine i.e there isnt a blockage. If u place her on a pad/towel for cuddles, just wait until she wees so you know she is able to. If not, she will need to see the emergency vet. If she is weeing fine, Give her extra cucumber/watery veg as this will help flush things out temporarily.

It is a good idea to weigh her daily at this point, to make sure she is eating enough. If she goes off her food at all/loses weight, start syringe feeding to top her up.

Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

All i can advise other than the above is to see your vet tomorrow as planned. I will tag @TAN for you as I'm sure she has experience of piggies with stones.

All the best xx

 

[TAN]

Bladder stones are the Bain of my life! I would advise your vet to contact my vet Rachel Mowbray at vale vet referrals in Dursley - she will be able to tell you what meds Bumble is on to help prevent stones forming ( Bumble is presently on 0.15 ml potassium citrate 0.4ml moduretic to help flush out excess calcium and 1 tablet of Nelsons cal corea carbonica which is a homeopathic medicine which you can get from Holland and Barratt which seemed to work on a baby tortoise that Rachel had to operate on 3 times as it kept making bladder stones - nothing made after that was added to daily diet - all of the above plus metacam are given to Bumble twice a day - he also has cystophan added to his water with a little cranberry juice and I give him 1ml fizzy water 3 times a day to help push any tiny stones through that might be there ( this has worked 3 times in the past pushing the stones out of the tube that runs from the kidney into the bladder so that they could be surgically removed and once pushing the stone out of the kidney so he could pass it himself - no more than 1 ml of fizzy water at this stage though without confirmation from your vet - vale vets no is 01453542092 - I can send you Rachels email address first thing in the morning as I am house sitting at the moment and don't have access to my yahoo mail account - this iPad is just about to run out of charge but I will be back on again once it is charged up .

 

[Ali P]

Thank you so much everyone. I thought having the stone removed would at least solve this temporarily while we got our act together over low calcium diet etc. Do you think the wheeking might be others stones caught in the various tubes or uretha? It's so awful as she is doing it about every 30 mins but she is passing urine even if it is a little at a time.

 

[TAN]

Has she been re X rayed? since the stone was removed? If not it could be pain from adhesions post op (Bumble has suffered from this and vet could feel them ) although it is very early to be making a stone Bumble managed to make one within 10 days - filter all the drinking water and you can start on the 1 ml of fizzy water 3 times a day now - Bumble has been put up to 2mls 3 times a day when he definately had a stone but only with my vets approval - you don't want to cause bloat - but 1 ml on an average weight piggy of about 1000gms is ok) - a re xRay ( if you haven't already had one done would be the next step) - the fizzy water should help push through any little stones that are in the tube that runs from the kidney to the bladder and might help push out anything that is in the bladder - all depends on the pig.

 

[Ali P]

The vet xrayed after the op to check for stones. I am going to buy a filter tomorrow and will raise the subject of fizzy water. Although he is an exotic vet and does breed guinea pigs I am nor sure he in into 'cutting adge' ideas ! I was worried he did not perscribe anti biotics after the op as that seems to be standard for most pigs. He said the op was sterile and this should not be an issue and he would prefer to avoid antibiotics where ever possible for guinea pigs due to the gastic issues.

 

[Ali P]

Hi there!

Is your little one still on pain relief? If not, my first port of call would be to put her back on that, at the dose recommended by your vet.

Keep an eye that she is still passing urine i.e there isnt a blockage. If you place her on a pad/towel for cuddles, just wait until she wees so you know she is able to. If not, she will need to see the emergency vet. If she is weeing fine, Give her extra cucumber/watery veg as this will help flush things out temporarily.

It is a good idea to weigh her daily at this point, to make sure she is eating enough. If she goes off her food at all/loses weight, start syringe feeding to top her up.

Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

All i can advise other than the above is to see your vet tomorrow as planned. I will tag @TAN for you as I'm sure she has experience of piggies with stones.

All the best xx

Thanks and yes she is on loxicom for until next wed. She is peeing just a little at a time but is very happily eating everything is site as usual. Very confusing!

 

[Adelle]

Thanks and yes she is on loxicom for until next wed. She is peeing just a little at a time but is very happily eating everything is site as usual. Very confusing!

Best to have her seen again tomorrow by the vet. Good luck xx

 

[TAN]

My vet has her own herd of piggies as well ( she has even put a contraceptive prove implant into one of her sows instead of spaying - as apparently they have been used in ferrets successfully so she doesn't see why it shouldn't work for a piggy - and if it failed she would keep any babies anyway - all her other sows she has spayed herself - they could have a very interesting discussion ! )

 

[DM030819]

The wheeking might be pain related. My boy peed a little bit of blood and squeaked for a week or so after his op. Flushing the sludge and stones through is likely to have scratched the pipework a bit and it'll be sore for a while.

Sludge could possibly continue, my boy still pees sludge over 2 years after his op.

As long as it's not gritty then it's not so much of a worry. It can be a case of experimenting with various diets and supplements so find what works best for your pig

Good luck.

 

[Ali P]

The vet has prescribed tramadol for a week to help with the pain and is hoping this gives the bladder time to settle if is going to. He is a bit of an odd cavy vet and is a non-believer in the low calcium diet. I am going to try it anyways. Anyone recommend low calcium pellets? I have looked up the veg and that seems easy enough . Can't decide about fizzy water Tan.My vet was quite dismissive ...a bit old school I think.

 

[TAN]

These are the pellets I use as recommended by my vet who uses them for her piggies - low calcium with extra extracts for urinary tract support from Vet UK online.