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Sulfatrim

J

Juniper83

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Anyone got any experience with sulfatrim?

My guinea pig Chester is on sulfatrim as he's recovering from an operation to remove quite a large bladder stone, but it's giving him diarrhoea. I took him to see the vet yesterday and asked if we could stop it or switch back to baytril (which he was having before the operation when we thought it could be just a UTI rather than a stone, and which he coped with much better). However she said no, it's important for him to have antibiotics and sulfatrim is more specific than the baytril, and I should stop the painkillers (metacam) instead as they can have a gastric effect too, and apart from the diarrhoea he's recovering well. So I did that and bought some of this stuff http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/proc-probiotic-100gm and added it to the water, but I don't think it's made any difference.

I'm not sure what sort of answer I'm expecting as I've already got a vet's opinion and nothing has changed since then, but I just really hate giving him medicine that seems to be making him worse not better. He's had two days of diarrhoea now and it seems horrible to give him more of that when he's already been through major surgery.

Chester is also very resistant to taking the sulfatrim. I don't know if he knows it's making him ill or it tastes even worse than the baytril or he's just thoroughly sick of me giving him medicine, but a fair bit of antibiotic and fruit smoothie concoction is all over my sleeve.

So yes, any similar experiences? And how did it turn out?
 
Peanut was on sulfatrim for about a week for his urine infection. It didn't really seem to affect him negatively. I just sprinkled the pro c on their veg.

Hope your little one is feeling better soon.
 
Hmmmm, to be honest I would be concerned about the diarrhoea. I've never given sulfatrim to a guinea pig before but i do appreciate it's supposed to be for more specific area of dealing with infection. Does your vet know that he is suffering from diarrhoea?
 
I'm not sure if Septrin is part of the same family of medicine but I think it is, it might be a better option. That's if your vet will prescribe that instead, not all vets will supply it, mine won't and in a case where it's needed I end up at the Cat & Rabbit Clinic instead.
 
Yes, I pointed it out and it was pretty obvious anyway. She did say to bring him back on Monday if it hadn't cleared up by then, but that still seems a long time for a guinea pig.
 
Keep up with the pro-biotic, it won't hurt his gut in any case and probably keep him off the veggies, just pellets and hay. I would weigh him daily as well, ensure he is eating well too.
 
As far as I can tell septrin and sulfatrim are brand names of the same thing. He got it from the referrals centre where he had the operation rather than the usual vet.

I will persevere with the probiotic, it's true I don't really know how long it's supposed to take to have an effect. Putting it on the food is probably a good idea (thanks Julie!), he might get more of it then. Why no veg? I've been trying to make sure he has plenty of tasty things (without breaking the low calcium rules) so he doesn't lose interest in eating.
 
First rule of diarrhoea is straight off veg, keep the menu simple, dry feed and hay, probably because of it's viscosity. If you are concerned about getting enough vitamin c then try some oxbow vit c tablets. I can understand you're wanting to keep him interested in eating and that's definitely right, perhaps try some really green hay...super sweet smelling the better, encourages the senses to eat.
 
Yes, he can have some fancy hay. Thanks, I'll give that a go.
 
Septrin is normally tolerated very well. What dose is he on? Is it Banana smelling?

Where abouts are you located UK?

Is he eating hay okay?

Is is full on diarrhea? or wet poo with some form?
 
He's on 0.6ml twice daily (he's quite a big lad). It doesn't smell of bananas to me, but my sense of smell isn't great. I have seen him eating some hay, I suppose I've more been watching for him eating from his bowl or from the table when he comes in, but he's had at least a bit of hay. Yes, I'm in the UK. It's mostly mushy poo with no real form.
 
Maybe try some oxbow timothy hay or orchard grass to tempt him to eat more. Ask the vet about some fibreplex, that may help firm the poo up. Full on Diarrhea is a emergency as it is water... mushy poo can certainly be from the AB's. Why is he on them? Does the vet suspect a UTI or are they to prevent infection from the operation? If it is the later I would suspect another antibiotic could be given @furryfriends (TEAS) @Adelle @helen105281 @Freela @Elwickcavies @pig in the city thoughts?

Where abouts are you in UK, can you update you location? I personally would want him on pain relief after the operation... I have never heard of metacam upsetting the tummy. How long ago was the op? and how long a course is the Antibiotic?
 
I think it's to prevent infection from the operation, the referrals centre took a culture and found nothing, so I'm fairly sure he doesn't have a UTI at present. He had the operation late on Tuesday, I brought him home on Wednesday afternoon, and he's had the diarrhoea since Friday morning. His scar seems to be healing very well, and he's not showing obvious signs of pain, so I think it is plausible that he doesn't need the metacam anymore, though of course it's hard to tell. The metacam didn't upset his tummy when the stone was causing him pain, but perhaps these things all add up.

I will get him some fancy hay tomorrow morning.
 
I'm supposed to give him the antibiotics for 10 days, so still another week to go, but I really hope they can be stopped before then. Something is going to have to change before then at any rate.
 
Hadley was on sulfatrim in the past, though she didn't have any ill effects on it. If it's preventative, it may be possible just to switch the antibiotic... it's not as though they have cultures that make this particular drug necessary. Whether a med bothers them seems to vary with the individual... I've had two get stomach upset on Baytril and two not, etc.
 
So sorry your little one is poorly.

When Holly had her colitis and was passing liquid stool and mucus she was given Septrin. And it worked just fine.

With diarrhoea, you have to cut out all green stuffs and go back to a dry diet. Hay and pellets only. To prevent dehydration and to help firm up the poos try mixing a small pinch of probiotic in water and springing it to your piggy. Mine love the taste and guzzle it down.

And as for the AB please don't mix it with anything else like fruit smoothie. Please administer it directly. That way you can tell how much the piggy has consumed.

If the appetite is poor, then to keep the guts moving you can feed a warm pellet mash or mix pellets with water and syringe feed if you don't have any recovery food such as critical care. If you aren't using pro c then mix a small amount of pineapple juice into the syringe feed to provide the necessary vitamin c support while your piggy is poorly.
 
I put the antibiotic in the syringe first and then the smoothie, so he is getting 0.6ml of antibiotic and 0.4ml of smoothie each time (apart from what he spits out on my sleeve, but that's going to happen whether I add the smoothie or not, and actually I don't think it's really a large amount, just spread out well). With the baytril he did seem a bit more amenable to taking it when the taste was masked a bit with the smoothie, but with this one he really hates it even with the smoothie.

I was hoping to avoid getting to the point of having to use critical care or similar, that's always been awful when I've used it in the past and it seems a step backwards when he is eating OK at the moment and still showing enthusiasm for vegetables. I'm going to try a dry diet today though, which I suppose means keeping him off the lawn too, on a sunny day. This treatment seems to involve taking a lot of his favourite things off him.

His poo did seem a little firmer this morning (though still definitely not normal guinea pig poo) so maybe the probiotic is doing something after all. I've made sure he's had some extra. The shop will be open soon so I can get him some special hay.
 
Is his weight holding up ok? I personally always supplement their diet with critical care when they have diarrhoea, just a few mls two or three times a day, mix in pooh from a healthy piggy to recolonise the gut flora. Overall it sounds as if he is doing well.
Preventative antibiotics are a bit of a controversial area, 10 days sounds a bit excessive. Maybe have another chat with your vet?
 
Juniper83 said:
Anyone got any experience with sulfatrim?

My guinea pig Chester is on sulfatrim as he's recovering from an operation to remove quite a large bladder stone, but it's giving him diarrhoea. I took him to see the vet yesterday and asked if we could stop it or switch back to baytril (which he was having before the operation when we thought it could be just a UTI rather than a stone, and which he coped with much better). However she said no, it's important for him to have antibiotics and sulfatrim is more specific than the baytril, and I should stop the painkillers (metacam) instead as they can have a gastric effect too, and apart from the diarrhoea he's recovering well. So I did that and bought some of this stuff ProC Probiotic 100g | Pets At Home and added it to the water, but I don't think it's made any difference.

I'm not sure what sort of answer I'm expecting as I've already got a vet's opinion and nothing has changed since then, but I just really hate giving him medicine that seems to be making him worse not better. He's had two days of diarrhoea now and it seems horrible to give him more of that when he's already been through major surgery.

Chester is also very resistant to taking the sulfatrim. I don't know if he knows it's making him ill or it tastes even worse than the baytril or he's just thoroughly sick of me giving him medicine, but a fair bit of antibiotic and fruit smoothie concoction is all over my sleeve.

So yes, any similar experiences? And how did it turn out?
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