Those Of You With Arthritis Pigs

[biscandmatt]

maisie has arthritis in her right ankle joint which we do physio on for her. we have to watch out now for times when she will need metacam for it. she will only be having the metacam when her ankle is more stiff.

how do you all spot when they need extra help? i am weighing her more regularly anyway and wondered if she had a little drop in weight that maybe it might be because of her ankle and then she could need metacam for a few days?

she seems to move around fine, with a little waddle but otherwise ok. i suppose if she becomes less active that could be why?

any advice appreciated.

 

[piggyfan]

Amelia Jane has arthritis in her left leg. She is on loxicom daily and I give her potters tabritis which is for elderly joints. She hates her leg being touched so I never tried any physio on her.

 

[biscandmatt]

maisie is fine with the physio most of the time. i have to lie her on her side and make sure she is relaxed first. a couple of times she hasn't relaxed enough so i didn't risk moving her ankle joint. but generally she doesn't mind which makes things easier for me.

the vet is wanting us to just give metacam when her ankle is extra stiff, and then combined with physio, this should help extend the time she has before having to go onto daily metacam, if that makes sense.

because she has been on metacam for her cystitis, now that it has been stopped, i can already feel a difference in her back end when i pick her up.

i can tell to an extent i think when she might need more help, but i guess i'll just have to get into a routine of seeing it, knowing when to give metacam for a few days etc. i'll be interested to see if her weight corresponds with when i think she needs metacam aswell. it's all new to me this.

luckily she only has arthritis in the one joint. not luckily, but you know what i mean. i thought it might have been more but the xray showed just the right ankle.

 

[biscandmatt]

meant to ask - what daily dose do you give and how long have you been giving it?

 

[karonus]

After seeing Simon (Northampton), Star was diagnosed as having quite bad arthritis in both backlegs, to the point when Simon manipulated them you could hear them cracking. He recommended daily dose of 0.1ml of metacam and with her back history (full paralysis on two occasions, probably due to combination neck injury and arthritis) we went for it. She has been a new piggy since and we have the option of upping the dose if her legs get too bad, or dropping the dose if it gets nice and warm.

 

[piggyfan]

meant to ask - what daily dose do you give and how long have you been giving it?

She has 0. 1ml a day. She has been on it for a year now.

 

[biscandmatt]

After seeing Simon (Northampton), Star was diagnosed as having quite bad arthritis in both backlegs, to the point when Simon manipulated them you could hear them cracking. He recommended daily dose of 0.1ml of metacam and with her back history (full paralysis on two occasions, probably due to combination neck injury and arthritis) we went for it. She has been a new piggy since and we have the option of upping the dose if her legs get too bad, or dropping the dose if it gets nice and warm.

aw glad star is a happier piggy now. that sounds bad with the cracking aswell.

so the warmer times of year should help aswell? i know maisie liked her heatpad in winter. must have helped ease her joints a bit. i try and keep her extra comfy in the cage aswell.

 

[biscandmatt]

right, noticed maisie was a bit quieter than normal today. still happy, but just seemed to be less active. anyway, her ankle definitely feels more stiff so i think this is what we will notice when she needs extra help for it. so she's had her physio, some metacam and i warmed my hands and placed them on her ankle aswell for a little bit just to hopefully ease it.

because this is new to us, i think it will be a bit of trial and error. so i'll give her some metacam for a day or two initially and see how she is then. i'll keep a record aswell of how long it helps for and then we can report to the vet. depending on how much she needs extra help will probably determine if she has the occasional metacam, or whether she goes onto it daily.

 

[piggyfan]

I hope it helps. It is so sad when they have to feel pain.

 

[biscandmatt]

noticed maisie was walking a bit more stiffly yesterday so she's back on metacam for a couple of days again. it really helped last time and got her back on track again. i think 3rd april was the last time i noticed it, and then today, so she's going a few weeks inbetween needing some extra help. so that's not too bad for now. and i think i can spot it quite easily aswell so that's good. and i can record when she needs metacam for the vet and if the times start getting closer and closer together then i can tell the vet and he will know when to put her on daily metacam then.