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Treacle has Lymphoma

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Oh poor Megan. I hope she is not in any pain. Thank goodness Treacle has come through the bloat and seems to be doing well. I hope she is back to her old self soon.
 
Treacle is doing well! It was Bloat the other day which made her so poorly, not the lymphoma. She lost 100g but has put around 70g back on so that is great news, hopefully showing the cancer hasn't got a massive grip on her yet.

She has been active, eating lots of hay and is still bright and alert for her veggies. They've been in the run today and she has been enjoying lying in the sqube until Cookie decided to get in there with her :))

Meggy Moo is okay, still a little noisy, but with Meg it is hard to assess as she has a permanent hoot normally, so when we take Treacy to the vets Wednesday we'll get Rosie to check Moo's chest to make sure the AB's are doing the job.

Thanks for asking, hope Jerry is doing well x
 
That's good news, hopefully you will get a rested night with them xx
 
That's great news to hear Treacle is doing so well, and 70 gram gain is certainly a step in the right direction, I hope Meggy Moo's chest clears soon! :) x
 
Hope your piggies are both doing ok today x
 
Treacle had her 2nd Steroid injection last night, Rosie our vet is pleased with how she is doing. The lumps have shrunk a little so it is good news and Miss Treacy-Bum is happily running around and eating. So very pleased! :)
 
Sounds great :) well done Treacle on having a good appetite again
 
Treacle is not too well today and I don't know what to do.

Yesterday morning she was crying when weeing, so I suspected another UTI or cystitis flare up. We started her on baytril as the Septrin last time caused her to bloat.
Last night and this morning she wasn't eating as much hay as usual and seems to be struggling chewing with harder veg such as carrot and pepper. I can't imagine she has developed dental problems and am suspecting the biggest tumour under her jaw is pushing on tooth roots perhaps causing her pain..

Today her poo's are quite mucusy and not plentiful, when Treacy bloats the first thing she does is stop eating hay, so that fits the pattern at moment of what we have seen this morning combined with the poo.
She is on Metachlopromide 0.3ml x 3 a day to keep pushing things through. Our vet said she would give us the dose ranges for Zantac too when we see her tomorrow.

For pain relief I can't give her metacam due to the steroid, our vet has gave us some Buprenorphine (the other week when she had a UTI) which is an opiate similar to vetergesic but due to her guts slowing I am worried of giving her some today incase it makes her tummy slow even more and we get full blown gut stasis. But am going to have to risk it if she is in pain.

She was calling for breakfast this morning and has had some lettuce, cucumber this morning. But ignoring all hay, which is so out of the norm for her, she is the only pig we've ever met that will choose hay over veg at times..

She has also had 5ml of Critical Care, which is a nightmare to get out of these useless syringes I currently have. Will try some on a saucer later for her.

In herself she is slower, but still showing interest in things, as i am typing this she just came out of her sqube chuntering and picked up a strand of hay and has now gone back :)

Our vet is off poorly today, but we have an appointment booked for tomorrow with her. I feel I have to give Treacle a few days to rally incase this is the UTI or another bloaty episode troubling her - But I don't want to let her suffer either. I could never live with myself if I make the wrong call and have her PTS too soon.. But likewise I am mindful of 'better an hour early than an hour too late'

This is the hardest one yet, it really is breaking my heart :(
 
It is hard to sit there and know that you can do only so much! You seem to be doing all whatever you can to ease her symptoms (which sound like another bloating episode) with the medication you already have for that case until you can be seen tomorrow. Good that you have given her some metacam and metoclopramide; hopefully enough will get into the system to ease her discomfort. Have you thought of gently massaging her?

I hope that Treacle will rally round soon!
 
I'm so so sorry to read this. It must be absolutely heartbreaking, but it sounds like you're doing everything you can for her. It's positive that she's still showing an interest in things, and that in herself she seems okay.

When Jerry was ill a few weeks ago I ordered these syringes:
http://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/feeding-syringe.html

I haven't tried it, but in theory it should work work and may help with her feeding.

Like you say, only time will tell with this and she certainly doesn't sound ready to give up yet. The way that I look at it, is as long as my pigs keep fighting, then I'll be right there with them doing what I can. When it seems that they don't want to fight any more, then I think it becomes kinder to help them to the bridge.

It may be that she is just having another bloaty episode, coupled with a cystitis flare up. If this is the case then it's unfortunate that she's having them both at the same time, but you're more than experienced to deal with both of these issues. She may just be feeling a little under the weather if she is dealing with both, which may explain the lack of appetite. I know that this is all uncertain, but hopefully the visit to the vet tomorrow will help.

Healing vibes for Treacle x
 
Gosh what a worry. I can totally understand how you are feeling. Please know I am here if you need to talk. x
 
Thank you x

@wiebke She is not on Metacam because of the steroid, I don't know what other pain relief route we can take that isn't opiate based, which I'd like to avoid because of it slowing the GI even more than it already is. Hoping Rosie may have some ideas tomorrow.

@ jerrybelly I saw Jo post about those a while back, so now have ordered some thanks for the link, I was trying to find her post! Hopefully they'll be here tomorrow.

@ piggyfan Thank you x

We have just had some of the most disgustingly smelly, wet, light coloured poo ever, but I'm pleased to see it and she's just taken some Avipro plus off me
 
Oh treacle :(
I'm on my phone ATM but will post a proper reply when I get back on the computer. I didn't want to read and run.
Poor baby :( I hope she perks up a little soon :( cuddles from me x)
 
Sorry to hear it's not a good day for Treacle :(.

I hope things improve for her xx
 
Ohhh hunny big hugs to you and treacle, hope this improve soon I'm sorry to hear you're both going through a tough time at the moment . Lots of love, well wishes and kisseys from me and the furry brood xxxxx
 
The syringes Jerrybelly recommended are a massive hit here even Fred when he was at his lowest was a dream to syringe feed, Wilma too. I hope Treacle's feeling a bit better now. You are right to be wary of opiate pain killer's they can indeed slow down the gut. Although my P managed very well, when he went into gut stasis I was really hesitant to give them but thankfully we didn't any adverse effects so hopefully Treacle will be the same.

I'm hoping her guts will have picked up now, poor girly. It's so difficult but for what it's worth I think you will know the right time, If there's any doubt the time isn't right. Eating anything is a very good sign.

I'm thinking about you guys, this is such a horrible situation. Gentle strokes to Treacle.
 
Give Treacle a extra cuddle from me. I had one of the supreme syringes for Rum it worked well.

Thinking of you and Treacle
 
Oh dear Toffee

I'm so sorry to hear this. It;s always difficult to know what to do when there are contra-indicated medications and very few "real case studies" written up for guinea pigs.

As you are obviously aware, once a guinea goes on steroids then metacam as pain relief is ruled out becuase it is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory that causes very harmful effects on the gut when given in conjunction with steroids....this reaction is well-documented in all animals including humans.

So opiates are the best choice as painkillers where steroids are being used. ...and obviously there is a "theoretical risk" that they can slow down the gut because they act on smooth muscle to reduce pain. This is a documented effect for many animals including humans...but obviously a much greater risk for herbivores such as guineas, rabbits and horses who need to have an ever-moving gut.

However my vet and I chose to take the risk and in my personal experience, provided a piggie is also given gut stimulants, I have not encountered any additional negative effect from opiates.

The next question is - which opiate is best?

Some of the alternative opiate painkillers you mention need to be given by injection on daily basis.

For longer term (possibly palliative) care that is not a good option for either the piggie or the slave...so I suggest you discuss with your vet giving tramadol liquid.

I Have had several guineas now given tramadol liquid and have found it to be extremely effective pain relief......better than metacam....and the best otion for palliative care. (One of those was on steroids for leukaemia treatment, two had inoperable kidney/stone/urinary probs and one was just in severe gut pain of undiagnosable cause).

Because of the pain causing eating/motility issues, all my pigs were already on two gut stimulants - metoclopromide (or preferably cisapride - but difficut to get hold of in this country - PM me for details) AND zantac (dose varied depending upon severity of symptoms) . However we found there were no additional adverse effects on gut motility from then giving them tramadol.

If pain is the immediate clinical issue then you have to decide whether you want to make the choice to try and relieve Treacle's pain and give a quality of life for however long she has left.....or make a decision to let her go in the face of the longer term lymphoma prognosis. It;s a hard decision and one I have always find diffcult to make. However I would say that choosing tramadol as a palliative pain relief has extended quality of life by up to 6 months for each of my pigs and I don;t regret making that decision for any of them.


I think it;s worth discussing with your vet giving tramadol a try for a week as I think it;s your best bet to relieve pain without any more adverse effects on her gut.....but would suggest she also needs zantac if you opt for tramadol. (PM me for dosages - both tramadol and zantac are well tolerated even up to max rat dose and so very effective!)

So sorry you are having to face this atm and keeping fingers crossed that an effective pain relief for Treacle is forthcoming.

Happy to have a chat if you want....PM me for phone number.

Hugs

x
 
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