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Specialist Steroid use in terminally ill piggy as palliative care

AngelaJTaylor

AngelaJTaylor

New Born Pup
Joined
Feb 9, 2018
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Location
Fulford, York
Hi,
My boy teddy has had full investigations including bloods and X Ray's more than once, urine, faeces tested and has been ill and losing weight since July. The only thing we haven't had is CT scan, every possible illness has been ruled out so is now assumed to have some sort of hidden cancer. Our vet is a very well respected exotics vet and I trust him completely.

We are really at the stage of managing things to make teddy as comfortable as possible during the time he has left. He has been syringe fed since August (can and does eat for himself but not enough) .
So our last option has been steroids to try and make him more comfortable. I am very aware of infection risks and he is being closely monitored by the vet. I know that as a general rule steroids wouldn't be advised in piggies, but this is not intended as a long term action with intention to get him better as he is assumed terminal.

Has anyone else had use of steroids in these circumstances and how quickly would you expect to see any positive change in appetite and wellness. He is now five days into steroid use and I am not seeing any change. We are next in at the vets on Monday, so will be seeing vets very soon, but hoping to have some info re personal experience.

Thanks!
 

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I am so sorry that I can’t offer you any advice, I just wanted to give my support, this must be very hard for you
 
I'm afraid i can't help either but wanted to say how sorry i am to hear that your piggy is so poorly. Sending big hugs. :hug:
 
Hi! I am very sorry. It is such a heart-breaking situation to be in! HUGS!

These decisions can only ever be made as a last ditch attempt on an individual basis once you get to the 'throwing the kitchen sink at it' stage and you have to decide whether to throw anything, the sink or a whole bathtub...
You are obviously now in the grey zone where you go by 'what works, works' when any long term damage/side effects are no longer a consideration. There is no right or wrong as long as you make any decision with your piggy's wellbeing and not your own desire to keep him alive at any price upmost in mind. If your experienced vet is recommending to try steroids as a last ditch attempt to buy your boy a bit more time and quality of life, then I would trust them.
 
Thanks, yes we are just wanting to keep him comfortable, and we wouldn't put him through anything more at this stage as don't think that would be fair on him. He is still enjoying cuddles, making happy noises, and gobbling pea flakes, so we feel he still has a quality of life to fight for, but we wI'll PTS if we feel his suffering outweighs his life quality X
 
Sorry to hear your boy is so poorly. It sounds like you're doing all the right things to make him as comfortable as possible and to ensure his life is still good. Pea flakes are good for helping keep weight up. You could also try porridge oats. Here at TEAS we have dealt with a few terminally ill piggies and have never used steroids. My vet has always advised against it and I trust his judgement completely. However, at this stage I am not sure it really matters, but as you say there has been no improvement since starting them, then I would be inclined to not continue.
 
Ah poor Teddy :( You are doing everything you can for him, enjoy every minute with him now.
He’s a gorgeous boy!
 
I am far from being an expert, but when Oreo was diagnosed with lymphoma (different to your situation, but we also knew there was no cure and her time was limited) she was put on steroids.
I believe this is actually the standard treatment for this particular disease.
Of course I have no idea if it would work for Teddy, as you are not sure what he is battling, but for Oreo it certainly did perk her up in the short term and she definitely felt better for a while.
If you have tried everything else and are look at trying it as a palliative option then I think it could be worth trying.
If your vet is a specialist and you trust him, then at this stage it sounds like you don't have a lot left to try 9or loose).

Sorrry though - it's always tough, but I do beleive that if you make an informed decision out of love then it is never the wrong one.
 
Update:
I decided to take him to the vets today as today has just seemed more ill than he had been before starting them . We discussed and the steroids were a high dose and should have had a positive effect by now. Decided to stop steroids and return to pain relief for the little time he has left. We discussed with the vet that we won't be seeing him again until he needs to be PTS. Always so hard to decide when is the right time, keeping my fingers crossed that he picks up a little once off the steroids and onto painkillers so that he can enjoy life for a week or two X
 
Aw I’m so sorry for your situation :( I’ve now had 3 piggies with cancer. Two had lymphoma and one had a cancerous tumour and it is the most heartbreaking thing ever. But just cherish every day that you have together and keep up with the pain relief. You will know when the time comes to say goodbye xx
 
So sorry that you and your piggy are going through this. Enjoy the time you have left with him. He will let you know when the time is right for him to cross the rainbow bridge. Sending big hugs. xx
 
Just keep him comfortable and treasure the time together. Tough decision ahead but for today just focus on making the best of your time together. Hugs x
 
So sorry that you are faced with this tough decision. I lost my George to a tumour about 6 weeks ago. It's so hard. Enjoy lots of hugs and cuddles in the time you have left. Sending you massive hugs.x
 
Unfortunately I understand the tough situation you're in, we're going through it with our Flash right now also; nothing showing up on extensive investigations and scans, eating but needing syringe fed to keep his weight steady (down 200g from his highest a few months ago).

As long as your (beautiful!) Teddy keeps enjoying his peaflakes, you're still doing right by him. Great job on being such a kind and considerate owner, he's a very lucky boy. It sounds like taking him off the steroids is the right thing to do.
 
Thank you all, I was particularly keen that we keep him well enough until Christmas and he is still comfortable if weak. I think it will only be a few days now, but he has his heat pad to snuggle on and getting lots of cuddles to keep him warm and cosy X X
 
So sorry to hear about your little one. It's the most heart breaking situation to be in when you have tried so much and you still can't get any answers. My elderly girl crunchie has recently had so periods of I'll health. She's 7.5 years old with arthritis, chronic bladder inflammation and some suspected lung disease. All of the above are managed and she does very well day to day and is comfortable. Still runs, popcorns and maintains her weight.

She had 3 separate episodes of losing weight, looking miserable and very quiet. She too had scans, xrays, teeth check, urine tests and a whole range of other tests but nothing could be found. In the end we decided to trial a course of antibiotics, although she had no temperature of sign of infection but it was unlikely to cause her any problems even if she didn't have an infection. And it worked! It took around a week before she improved but she did and she had a 3 week long course. This happened another 2 times over the space of a few months and to this day we still don't know where that infection was. This may be something to consider but ofcourse I fully understand it's not the same situation to my girl and you know you're little better than everyone. Thinking of you x
 
We ended up losing teddy in January. His time had come, he was so skinny and breathing started to become laboured, so we took him for his final journey. We all miss him so much. Mark and Gemma at battleflatts vets did the best they could for him, and professional and caring throughout.
Teddy gave us all an enthusiastic final kiss before he left us which was heartbreaking and so special 💔 He has joined our other piggies in our rodent graveyard X
 
Thanks for coming back to tell us @AngelaJTaylor, especially when the loss is so painful. He sounds like he knew how well he was loved and was thanking you at the end for all your care. Take time to grieve. Hugs x
 
AngelaJTaylor said:
We ended up losing teddy in January. His time had come, he was so skinny and breathing started to become laboured, so we took him for his final journey. We all miss him so much. Mark and Gemma at battleflatts vets did the best they could for him, and professional and caring throughout.
Teddy gave us all an enthusiastic final kiss before he left us which was heartbreaking and so special 💔 He has joined our other piggies in our rodent graveyard X
Click to expand...

I am so sorry; you have been giving him every chance you could but have also spared him any unnecessary suffering when it became clear that he could not win his battle.

I am sure that you have a new little furry guardian angel looking out for you...

Thank you for the update, even if it is a sad one.
 
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