I took my guineas to see Ellie (Matlock) on 1st April. Tabitha had been losing weight and I thought her breathing was odd. A thyroid goitre was diagnosed- she’s on 1ml frusemide, heart meds and 0.3 of thyronorm twice daily. Supplement feeding with 5/10 ml of critical care 3x daily. Weigh daily which is stable at 960 g or thereabouts. She is due to see her again on 22nd. Any advice on anything else I can do ? I can feel the lump in her neck.
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Supporting a Guinea through a thyroid problem
- Thread starter Clarrie
- Start date
Hi
Just follow the advice, which is very competent.
Weigh daily at the same time (I prefer first thing in the morning when the weight is at its lowest so I can eliminate the the ca. 30-40g swing over the course of 24 hours as much as possible) and adjust the feeding support accordingly if needed.
It can take a little to adjust the level of medication and to see how well she is responding to them, which is why Ellie needs to see her again in a week. Please don't try any extras.
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All the best!
Thyroidal issues cannot be influenced by any dietary measures but they influence food absorption amongst other things, which is where weight loss/gain and support feeding to keep the weight on when dealing with thyroidal problems come into it.
The hormones secreted by the thyroid gland play an important role in the metabolism and the regulation of many body functions. This complexity in its role is the reason why any thyroid medication needs to be monitored and adjusted as both an overproduction of hormones (hyperthyroid) or an underproduction (hypothyroid) is not good.
I hope that this makes sense to you?
PS: Please don't use fruit too much as a treat; while piggies like it, it is like feeding a pack of sugary treats to a child every time. Rather follow it up by the breakfast. Not connected with the thyroid just with plain old general health.
Thanks for your support. I felt like I was flailing around a bit.
Thyroid issues can happen but they are not the most common of problems and medical treatment is only now slowly moving from ad-hoc experimental to a more standardised form for guinea pigs.
Ellie knows what she is doing as she must have seen more thyroid issues than us on here and be up on the latest recommendations and experiences with it in terms of guinea pigs, so please just trust her and follow her advice.
. Not sure if u have human babies but mine have almost left the nest so I have three potatoes instead. 
Hi there, I wanted to update you. I followed your (and Ellie’s advice) don’t do the extra sweet stuff and weigh in the am. Tabitha saw Ellie this morning and whilst she has probably fl got some heart failure due to the thyroid problem she appears to be ‘in really good condition and to have a good quality of life’ so whilst she will be on meds for life she doesn’t need to se Ellie for three months. Just thanks for being there for Tabs and meThyroid issues can happen but they are not the most common of problems and medical treatment is only now slowly moving from ad-hoc experimental to a more standardised form for guinea pigs.
Ellie knows what she is doing as she must have seen more thyroid issues than us on here and be up on the latest recommendations and experiences with it in terms of guinea pigs, so please just trust her and follow her advice.
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Hi
Thank you for the update! That is great news! Her medication and diet will hopefully stabilise her for a goodly while.
Make sure that you concentrate on creating lots of happy memories and fun things to do - it doesn't matter how long a piggy lives but how much they leave their nest in your heart padded out with precious memories and fuzzy feelings in the long run. Time is relative when it comes to love.
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
Thank you for the update! That is great news! Her medication and diet will hopefully stabilise her for a goodly while.
Make sure that you concentrate on creating lots of happy memories and fun things to do - it doesn't matter how long a piggy lives but how much they leave their nest in your heart padded out with precious memories and fuzzy feelings in the long run. Time is relative when it comes to love.
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs