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Very worried, Olivia peed blood!

MartiDavi

MartiDavi

Junior Guinea Pig
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Location
Birmingham, UK
Hi everyone,

I’m really worried about my guinea pig Olivia and would really appreciate some advice.

She is a 4-year-old female with a history of chronic cystitis (on gabapentin long-term). Over the past 8 months she has had weight fluctuations, dropping from around 1200g to about 940g currently. She recently lost about 100g while staying at a pet boarder (this has happened before with both her and her sister, so likely stress-related, but this time feels more significant).

Tuesday I took her to the vet. They found bladder sediment but no stones, and diagnosed a likely urinary infection. She was prescribed antibiotics and Metacam, and I was told to continue Critical Care and give cranberry juice, with a follow-up in a week.

At the vet, there was a small amount of blood in the urine sample, which the vet thought was consistent with infection.

However, as I got home from work today, Olivia has just passed what looked like proper blood rather than just blood-tinged urine. It really looked like red blood, not just slightly pink urine, and that has really scared me.

Otherwise:
- She is still active
- Still eating (veggies, Critical Care, forage)
- Poops look normal
- No obvious lethargy

My questions are:

1. Is this something that warrants an emergency vet visit tonight, or can it wait until I speak to my regular vet tomorrow?
2. Could this kind of bleeding be caused by sediment/sludge passing, or is it more likely infection/inflammation?
3. Has anyone experienced visible blood like this with cystitis or sludge?

I’m really unsure whether this is expected given the diagnosis, or if it’s a sign something more serious is going on. She is alert and eating hay right now.

Thank you so much in advance 💛
 
Trying to get vet on the phone, she seems to have passed this?
 

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Wiebke said:
Hi

I am ever so sorry.

Has your vet checked the reproductive tract/ovarian cysts?
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Hello! Just in the phone with an emergency vet but don’t think they are exoctic.

She had an xray and urine test as well palpation test. We know she has one cyst on the side but been told that was jot an issue. She is still alert and been eating cocumber. She also loat more weight aince this morning.
 
Update: we are going to the emergency vet now but they don’t have an exotic on call. Is rhere anything we could ask or keep in mind?
 
From what I read the ovarian cyst is diagnosed via x-ray, and she did had an X-ray 2 days ago. Could it be just a bad flare up of cystitis? Sorry we're a bit panicking here, she's seeing a vet shortly but as Martina said it's not an exotic.
 
At the vet now, it’s calld vet now I believe in Birmingham. Just in the waiting room waiting to be seen. Briefly talked with a member of staff, but not impressed tbh. Hoping I can trust the assessment and that we can have at least a plan for the night until we can see pur own vet tomorrow hopefully or any exotic.
 
Sorry you're going through this. Hopefully it will help a bit as a bridging measure. Some general vets can be helpful, hopefully this one will be, and you can always come back on here with what they say to sense check. Fingers crossed for your girl.
 
Thanks guys! He is going to give her an injection of opioids, but we decided not to go for it as sounds too risky. I am going to stay up with her tonight and give her critical care. She actually still eats and alert, but there is definitely blood coming out of her vagina and she is in discomfort so hopefully tomorrow we can get this sorted. If there is any advice tou can share please feel free to. I will be spending the night on here anyway.
 
MartiDavi said:
Thanks guys! He is going to give her an injection of opioids, but we decided not to go for it as sounds too risky. I am going to stay up with her tonight and give her critical care. She actually still eats and alert, but there is definitely blood coming out of her vagina and she is in discomfort so hopefully tomorrow we can get this sorted. If there is any advice tou can share please feel free to. I will be spending the night on here anyway.
Click to expand...

Please keep her comfy, warm but not hot (rather half-heat the snugglesafe pad and re-heat a little more again later in the night. Keep offering her feed and water but do not push it. Place a bit of hay within easy reach.

If needed change the bedding where she is lying to vetbed or fabric patches that you can change and wash easily.
 
Thanks for the advice Wiebke, I will do all I can tonight. Just hate seeing her in pain and this is bring back really bad memories. Hopefully the exptic vet tomorrow can do something more. Will keep evweyone posted!
Wiebke said:
Please keep her comfy, warm but not hot (rather half-heat the snugglesafe pad and re-heat a little more again later in the night. Keep offering her feed and water but do not push it. Place a bit of hay within easy reach.

If needed change the bedding where she is lying to vetbed or fabric patches that you can change and wash easily.
Click to expand...
 
MartiDavi said:
Thanks for the advice Wiebke, I will do all I can tonight. Just hate seeing her in pain and this is bring back really bad memories. Hopefully the exptic vet tomorrow can do something more. Will keep evweyone posted!
Click to expand...

HUGS

I am keeping my fingers very firmly crossed! I am so sorry about a very anxious night for you.
 
Update: I’ve managed to get an appointment booked for Olivia with her usual vet later today (no earlier slot unfortunately).

She made it through the night and seems quite bright this morning—she’s been active, eating veggies and hay, and even waddled around during floor time.

I’ve just realised that I’ve been underdosing her antibiotics for the past 2 days (giving 0.055 ml instead of 0.55 ml), so I’m now worried the infection may have worsened because of this.

In your experience, how concerning is this, and could it explain the bleeding we saw yesterday?
 
The underdosing may not have stopped the infection so the bleeding could be in that context.
I am wishing you all the best and that it is just that.
 
Update: Olivia saw our usual vet yesterday. On palpation, her bladder actually felt much better, which is really reassuring, although she still has a way to go.

The vet thinks that with the bleeding and the rough night she had, she likely reached a peak of the infection/inflammation, where she had to push through a lot of painful material as the bladder starts returning to normal. It’s not part of the healing process as such, more of a bad flare-up moment, and we’ve been advised that there may still be some episodes we’ll need to manage.

We also found some really helpful information here (as always!), and we’ve now started her on the supplement Wiebke recommended.

Thank you all so much for your support—it really means a lot. Please send healing vibes to Olivia 💛
 
MartiDavi said:
Update: Olivia saw our usual vet yesterday. On palpation, her bladder actually felt much better, which is really reassuring, although she still has a way to go.

The vet thinks that with the bleeding and the rough night she had, she likely reached a peak of the infection/inflammation, where she had to push through a lot of painful material as the bladder starts returning to normal. It’s not part of the healing process as such, more of a bad flare-up moment, and we’ve been advised that there may still be some episodes we’ll need to manage.

We also found some really helpful information here (as always!), and we’ve now started her on the supplement Wiebke recommended.

Thank you all so much for your support—it really means a lot. Please send healing vibes to Olivia 💛
Click to expand...

I am glad that there is nothing sinister underway. But I strongly hope that the proper dosage of antibiotic will help once it kicks in, which takes several days.

Otherwise she may be developing sterile interstitial cystitis but that can be managed.
 
Hi everyone, I wanted to give an update on Olivia’s situation and get some advice. Last time, she was improving after the bleeding episode. The vet said her bladder had inflamed and stiffened, causing sediment buildup that led to bleeding. With antibiotics, Metacam, and gabapentin, she improved a lot—no more blood, gaining weight, and back to her bright self.

Then, just before we were supposed to leave for a weekend away, she started crying while peeing again and had a bit of blood. We took her to the vet (it was a substitute vet), who said the situation hadn’t changed much. He said we could still leave, just give paracetamol. We left Olivia at the pet boarder, and unfortunately, she declined. She stopped eating enough, her gut slowed down, and her poop became mushy. Over the weekend, she deteriorated more, and my husband brought her back early. Today, we went back to the vet. They gave her an opioid for pain and a gut stimulant, and we’re home now. The vet said we should see improvement by midday; otherwise, we’ll have to go back.

Right now, Olivia is extremely drowsy from the opioid. She looks deeply sedated, barely responsive, though she does twitch or move slightly when spoken to. I’d love to hear if others have experienced this kind of deep sedation after an opioid, and how long it took for their piggies to perk up. In the meantime, what are the best tips to keep her stable while waiting for the opioid to wear off? I’m gently monitoring and supporting her, but any advice on helping her through this phase would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
I haven’t been through this, but just wanted to let you know I’m thinking of you and hope that Olivia will recover well.
 
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