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Thea was at the vets this morning.

Betsy

Betsy

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When I took Thea out of the hutch this morning for her morning weigh and cuddle, I noticed a reddy brown discharge from her bum. I took her straight to the vet and the vet after a thorough examination wasn't sure what was going on. Thea was prescribed Metacam for any inflammation, Synulox for any infection and Panacur incase she has picked up any parasites from somewhere. All twice a day for 7 days. Worse case scenario is its the start of Pyometra which the vet didn't think it is as Thea isn't displaying the classic symptoms but it may be. My bank balance is now £156 lighter.

It's just as well I checked the Synulox before giving it to Thea. It's Penicillin. Guinea Pigs are allergic to Penicillin. I immediately phoned the Practice and was told that the vet who Thea saw was in the middle of other Consultations and would phone me back. I got a call from the vet. Apparently she meant to give Thea Sulfatrim (really?!? funny how this wasn't mentioned when she saw Thea) She said of Synulox DO NOT GIVE IT TO THEA . I replied that it's just as well I know that guinea pigs are allergic to Penicillin and that I'd checked the medication before giving it to Thea or else we could have a dead Thea! She agreed and said she could only apologise.

I'm taking the Synulox back tomorrow for a refund and picking up the Sulfatrim and the Panacur. @Merab thinks that I should have a credit put on my account by way of an apology as this is way beyond the accidental nicking of a quick when cutting nails. When I pick up the Panacur and take back the Synulox tomorrow, I'll mention the fact that I think the Sulfatrim should be free as if I hadn't noticed the mistake, my elderly and vulnerable guinea pig could well be dead.
 
What an awful mistake for them to make! I’m so pleased you noticed. My vet did the same thing for Pepper.

I hope Thea is ok and soon feeling better ❤️
 
I'm so glad I kept reading, my stomach dropped when I read synulox.. honestly I would go so far as to make a formal complaint, I'm the last person who advocates for making vets lives difficult but that was more than a small error. 9/10 owners would have given that to their pet and killed them. That medication would have gone through the vet, through the pharmacy assistant/a nurse and been signed off a couple of times and not one person clocked that it was being given to a guinea pig. Someone should have caught that before it was even given to you to pay for!

Well done for catching it! Hopefully Thea is feeling much better soon ❤️
 
That's a scary mistake for them to have made! This has inspired me to always double check if it's not something I've given to my pigs before! Sending healing vibes to Thea!
 
This sorry tale is even worse because the vet took Thea to see the Head Vet for a second opinion so presumably the medication was discussed and approved by the Head Vet too.
 
To think that I would have just accepted the medicine. I would've never known something like this might be dangerous for a piggy!
 
RosieLily said:
To think that I would have just accepted the medicine. I would've never known something like this might be dangerous for a piggy!
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I did just accept the medicine. It was only because it was a powder and had to be made up with water that I was reading the leaflet to confirm what I'd been told at the vet that I noticed it was Penicillin. I couldn't sleep last night with worrying about what if I had given it to Thea. She would have been extremely ill and then died and it wouldn't have been my fault.
 
Bill & Ted said:
Thinking of you both, hope Thea is feeling better very soon x

Make sure you get a big discount, that’s dreadful
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I've decided that if they want paying for the Sulfatrim, I'll pay for it. Otherwise they may construe that if I've made a bit of a fuss and they've given me the Sulfatrim for free then that is the end of the matter.

I have a friend who is Practice Manager at a vets in a village near here. I'll ask her advice on how to make a formal complaint.
 
Betsy said:
I did just accept the medicine. It was only because it was a powder and had to be made up with water that I was reading the leaflet to confirm what I'd been told at the vet that I noticed it was Penicillin. I couldn't sleep last night with worrying about what if I had given it to Thea. She would have been extremely ill and then died and it wouldn't have been my fault.
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I'm so angry to hear this! And at the same time - so relieved it happened to someone like you that have some knowledge about what pigs can have. Just think if they did this to someone that doesn't know? I think people trust the vet and gives what the vet has prescribed. Terrible!

Take care of my favorite girl Thea and her crew of fans sends her alot of kisses and rumble strutted for her 💜
 
Get well soon Thea, you are very lucky your slave is so on the ball. What a terrible mistake for the vet to make.
 
My friend who is Practice Manager has said that she will help me to compile an email for a formal complaint at my vets. I already know it's going to be a cracking email. She has already said it's against defra advice and sent me this out of the NOAH compendium which is the vets bible.

IMG-20250417-WA0000.webp
 
So lucky you realised what the medication was and knew not to administer it.
 
This is the email I'll be sending to my vets in the morning.

On 16 April, when I took Thea out of the hutch for her morning weigh and cuddle, I noticed a reddy brown discharge from her bottom . I took her straight to the vet (Thea saw **) and after a thorough examination ** wasn't sure what was going on. (I was told by the Receptionist that ** was new). She took Thea to see the head vet for a 2nd opinion which I was quite happy about as it meant she was being thorough and didn't want to make any mistakes. When ** came back with Thea, Thea was prescribed Metacam for any inflammation, Synulox for any infection and Panacur incase she has picked up any parasites from somewhere. All for 7 days. Presumably, the head vet had sanctioned the medication after examining my guinea pig. So Thea saw 2 vets, the medication was then prescribed, dispensed and checked by 2 other people but nobody picked up that it was Penicillin being given to a guinea pig. The label on the box clearly states "Thea (guinea pig)". Please see attachment.

It's just as well I checked the Synulox before giving it to Thea and I only did that because it was a powder that I had to make up with water and I wanted to confirm I'd been told on how to make it up. It's Penicillin. Guinea Pigs are allergic to Penicillin. I immediately phoned the Practice and said that Thea had been prescribed Synulox. Its Penicillian and that guinea pigs can't have Penicillin and was told that the vet who Thea saw was in the middle of other Consultations and would phone me back. I got a call from the vet. Apparently she meant to give Thea Sulfatrim (really?!? funny how this wasn't mentioned when she saw Thea) She said of Synulox DO NOT GIVE IT TO THEA . I replied that it's just as well I know that guinea pigs are allergic to Penicillin and that I'd checked the medication before giving it to Thea or else we could have a dead Thea! She said she could only apologise. ** said that I would get a refund on the Synulox and she would prescribe Sulfatrim and I could pick it up the next day, which I did.

Thea is nearly 8 and a half years old and is getting frail and vulnerable in her old age. I took her to the vet to help get her better not to kill her.

It seems clear to me that the mistake was only realised after I had contacted you and rectified it then. If I had been and inexperienced owner the outcome could have been tragic.

I'm very disappointed in your service and am wondering what you intend to do about the situation. Do you intend for a senior vet to have a discussion with ** to ensure that they are familiar with guinea pig medication? The NOAH Compendium says under Contra - indications, warnings etc "In common with all other penicillins, Synulox should not be administered to rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters or gerbils". Are you going to review your dispensing protocols (counter signature etc) to ensure that this doesn't happen to anyone else?

I would like to be informed of what action you intend to take. Also I would like a full refund of the consultation charges and meds as a gesture of goodwill on your part.
 
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