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Stressful Vets Trip :( Glucose In Urine For Edward, Large Ovary For Emma, Trace Of Blood For Ellen

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Claire W

Claire W

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Apart from diabetes, what other reasons could there be for glucose in urine?

Both Emma and Ellen had mild uti's so they both had their urine rechecked today. Emma is back in the clear but Ellen still has a small trace so they are to stay on AB's for another week, have a week off and then have their urine rechecked.

Under examination, Emma's right ovary felt slightly bigger than normal. This has happened with Emma before and after a re examination two weeks later, it was back to normal so my vets theory is that her ovary could expland whilst in season.

I'm hoping that this is the same again but she is to be re examined again in two weeks just in case it's a ovarian cyst. I am so worried :(

I also had Edwards urine checked for peace of mind and it was a shock that he had glucose in it :(

Ellen was diagnosed with diabetes in 2015 after a blood sample confirmed high blood sugar levels but it is thankfully controlled by diet and she hasn't had any problems since apart from when she was on metacam once.

Now I'm worried about Edward although my vet isn't keen to test his blood just yet as 'it could be one of them thinhs' He is due to have his urine re tested in two weeks along with the girls.

I have tested his urine at home tonight and that sample showed no glucose.

But what could have caused the last positive glucose sample at the vets? My piggies are already on a low sugar / carbohydrate diet because of Ellen.

I'm so worried about all 3 again :(
 
Poppy has recently had glucose in her urine. And also in her blood. Vet found a UTI which has been treated with ABs and since treatment with ABs there is no longer any trace of glucose in her urine or her blood, thank goodness. The vet explained that sometimes in piggies an infection can give them deranged glucose levels. Could Edward also have a UTI?
 
VickiA said:
Poppy has recently had glucose in her urine. And also in her blood. Vet found a UTI which has been treated with ABs and since treatment with ABs there is no longer any trace of glucose in her urine or her blood, thank goodness. The vet explained that sometimes in piggies an infection can give them deranged glucose levels. Could Edward also have a UTI?
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She said his urine test was clear apart from the glucose?
 
So sorry to hear it was a stressful vet visit today Clair.
Your three certainly like to keep you on your toes!

As for glucose in Edwards urine, it could be from a few things.
But please bear in mind a lot of this comes from my own (human) experience of dealing with diabetes, so it might not be fully relevant.

Is there any chance at all that he ate something out of the ordinary in the past 12 hours? Even a small piece of something sweet or high carb could cause that.

Or alternatively he may just be reacting in a normal (for him) way to one of his regular foods. Glucose in urine isn't that unusual, it's just that most people don't test regularly enough to spot the odd spike here and there.
Plus everyone processes different foods in different ways, so he might just be quite sensitive to something that the other two aren't.
Or he could be coming down with something or fighting off a very mild infection - the early signs of illness in diabetics often cause elevated sugar levels.

But remember 1 positive urine sample could be caused by a host of simple things, and I would try not to worry too much (easier said than done I know) until he has repeated positive tests.
 
Thank you @gizzy and @Swissgreys
I shall bring it up with my vet in two weeks times. But no, he hasn't eaten anything different at all.

Any ideas on Emma's bigger ovary? The 3 of them are certainly increasing my anxiety levels :( but I love them so much and do worry and it just seems never ending x
 
Please Claire, don't worry about Edwards urine test, the slightest thing can give a false positive on a glucose urine test. The vet obviously wasn't concerned and your follow up test was clear. How was the sample collected, l have found that cleaning agents can contain sugars that react with test sticks!
This is an important lesson, not to do tests unless there is a good reason! My friend tested her own urine with a test stick and found blood. She ended up having loads of horrible tests and they found nothing wrong! So do the follow up test in 2 weeks but he has not got diabetes.
As for the ovarian cyst, unfortunately most sows get them as they get older, sometimes they come and go, but they will keep recurring. It might be worth considering having her ovaries removed by keyhole surgery and them she will be cured, it might help her bladder issues as well. But that's a big step, so wait and see what the vet says x
 
pig in the city said:
Please Claire, don't worry about Edwards urine test, the slightest thing can give a false positive on a glucose urine test. The vet obviously wasn't concerned and your follow up test was clear. How was the sample collected, l have found that cleaning agents can contain sugars that react with test sticks!
This is an important lesson, not to do tests unless there is a good reason! My friend tested her own urine with a test stick and found blood. She ended up having loads of horrible tests and they found nothing wrong! So do the follow up test in 2 weeks but he has not got diabetes.
As for the ovarian cyst, unfortunately most sows get them as they get older, sometimes they come and go, but they will keep recurring. It might be worth considering having her ovaries removed by keyhole surgery and them she will be cured, it might help her bladder issues as well. But that's a big step, so wait and see what the vet says x
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Thank you Barbara. That's very useful to know and reassuring over Edward.

I have two clean washing up bowls that I use for urine collecting always making sure to wipe them out with pet disinfectant first. I did however have to use our own washing up bowl today as I was collecting 3 samples at the same time. I did clean it out well though and I have had to use that bowl before which showed no problems.

My vet certainly wasn't concerned over Edward especially as unlike Ellen, he's not showing any symptoms for diabetes which is why she isn't keen to test his blood sugars at this stage. Embarrassingly she knows how anxious I get over my animals :(

I'm really worried about Emma having cysts and having surgery :( do you think the hormone injections would be an option for her if she did have them? x
 
Both Connie and Violet had their ovaries removed by keyhole surgery. Both made amazing recoveries despite being older ladies.
 
Claire W said:
Thank you Barbara. That's very useful to know and reassuring over Edward.

I have two clean washing up bowls that I use for urine collecting always making sure to wipe them out with pet disinfectant first. I did however have to use our own washing up bowl today as I was collecting 3 samples at the same time. I did clean it out well though and I have had to use that bowl before which showed no problems.

My vet certainly wasn't concerned over Edward especially as unlike Ellen, he's not showing any symptoms for diabetes which is why she isn't keen to test his blood sugars at this stage. Embarrassingly she knows how anxious I get over my animals :(

I'm really worried about Emma having cysts and having surgery :( do you think the hormone injections would be an option for her if she did have them? x
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The hormones only work in about 50% of piggies and often stop working after a while. Now keyhole surgery is available l would go for that every time (with an experienced surgeon) x
 
Thank you for the replies @VickiA and @pig in the city. Ovarian cysts and bladder stones are the two main things I worry about the most :(

I will of course discuss all this with my vet and if Emma does have cysts, of course I only want the best for her.

My vet is experienced with spays although I think it's unlikely that she is experienced with keyhole. Cheshire pets is the vets my vet uses for advice and referels if she isn't sure about something so I'm guessing I'll be taking Emma there if she does need it doing. I'm so worried as Emma is at least 5 years old in May :( x
 
Claire W said:
Thank you for the replies @VickiA and @pig in the city. Ovarian cysts and bladder stones are the two main things I worry about the most :(

I will of course discuss all this with my vet and if Emma does have cysts, of course I only want the best for her.

My vet is experienced with spays although I think it's unlikely that she is experienced with keyhole. Cheshire pets is the vets my vet uses for advice and referels if she isn't sure about something so I'm guessing I'll be taking Emma there if she does need it doing. I'm so worried :( x
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Sara at Cheshire Pet did the keyhole surgery on both Violet and Connie. She is excellent. You would be in very safe hands x
 
VickiA said:
Sara at Cheshire Pet did the keyhole surgery on both Violet and Connie. She is excellent. You would be in very safe hands x
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Sarah at Cheshire ! I desperately need a good pig savvy vet , as my old vets changed ownership , any chance you could post the address , per chance it is with in travelling distance

Sorry for hijacking the thread.
 
Claire W said:
Thank you for the replies @VickiA and @pig in the city. Ovarian cysts and bladder stones are the two main things I worry about the most :(

I will of course discuss all this with my vet and if Emma does have cysts, of course I only want the best for her.

My vet is experienced with spays although I think it's unlikely that she is experienced with keyhole. Cheshire pets is the vets my vet uses for advice and referels if she isn't sure about something so I'm guessing I'll be taking Emma there if she does need it doing. I'm so worried as Emma is at least 5 years old in May :( x
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I had a 5 year old go through surgery no problem at all, @PiggyOwner had her older sow operated on too, with a good result
 
gizzy said:
Sarah at Cheshire ! I desperately need a good pig savvy vet , as my old vets changed ownership , any chance you could post the address , per chance it is with in travelling distance

Sorry for hijacking the thread.
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You're not hijacking, merely asking an important question :)
 
Just to update that the piggies have just got back from the vets for their check ups.

I am pleased to report that Emma's ovary has gone down again so it doesn't look like a ovarian cyst after all. My vet still feels that this enlarged ovary happens when she's in season. I have no idea why but there you go. She will continue to have it monitored but my vet doesn't feel like anything needs to be done at this stage.

The glucose has thankfully gone from Edward's urine so it looks like it was just one of them things.

However, both Emma and Ellen still have blood in their urine :( Nothing else, just blood.

I am very much wondering if Ellen has mild IC like Emma and my vet agrees she could have. Although having said that, both girls bladders feel soft and relaxed so I really do not understand.
She is reluctant to put them back on Septrin for fear of them becoming immune plus she would like them to have a break. She is however going to look in to alternatives antibiotics (not baytril) just in case but just wants to double check before prescribing them with anything.

But apart from the occasional squeaky wee episodes from Emma (who is taking daily cystease tablets and metacam), she isn't particulary concerned.

Sadly, Ellen can't have metacam but my vet has given me the go ahead to try Ellen on cystease for a couple of weeks and see if that helps.

Urine samples due in two weeks time xx
 
I'm pleased to hear that the vets trip was a little less stressful this time. Your vet sounds very good and is prepared to research when she doesn't have the answers. I have everything crossed that the girls next urine samples are okay and the cystease helps calm things down for them.
 
My previous pig Petal had IC, she had an inflamed bladder & we controlled it by monthly Cartrophen injections as an alternative to Cystease, this worked really well. She also had a small daily dose of Metacam for it's anti-inflammatory properties. When she had a flare up we used Potassium Citrate daily & also Cerenia, which your vet could also try. Blood in the urine does not necessarily mean an infection, you need to look at the protein levels for an indication of that. I used to find grass was a major trigger for bleeding, so you can try eliminating certain things from their diet as well & see if that improves & syringe them some extra water (filtered) which may help flush out any bacteria starting to build up x
 
Thank you both.

My vet has rang and said that she is reluctant to try them on a different antibiotic at this stage as there was no indication of infection.

I will definitely ask about the potassium citrate and cerenia if there is no improvement in two weeks time

They are already on a low calcium diet and filtered water so at least I do not need to change that xx
 
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