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Worrying as usual

  • Thread starter Deleted member 122615
  • Start date
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Deleted member 122615

Hi all, so Gremlin is at the vet today having an x-ray and possible surgery. The past couple of days he was not his normal self, so took him to see what was up yesterday evening. His bladder is quite hard and he's been drinking a lot and squeaking whilst pooping or peeing. I'm currently waiting on a phone call to hear how it's going and have very little to occupy my mind, so it's worry time. Luckily I have complete confidence in Judith at first vets. I was fobbed off on a couple of occasions by previous vets at another practice and basically told to go away, which is annoying me somewhat as I would have acted on accurate info. Hopefully I'll be back soon with some good news, please keep your fingers crossed for Gremlin
 
daveclark79 said:
Hi all, so Gremlin is at the vet today having an x-ray and possible surgery. The past couple of days he was not his normal self, so took him to see what was up yesterday evening. His bladder is quite hard and he's been drinking a lot and squeaking whilst pooping or peeing. I'm currently waiting on a phone call to hear how it's going and have very little to occupy my mind, so it's worry time. Luckily I have complete confidence in Judith at first vets. I was fobbed off on a couple of occasions by previous vets at another practice and basically told to go away, which is annoying me somewhat as I would have acted on accurate info. Hopefully I'll be back soon with some good news, please keep your fingers crossed for Gremlin
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Fingers very firmly crossed! The wait is always the worst time.

Here are our post-op care tips in case you need them:
Tips For Post-operative Care
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
 
Hi everyone. Been to collect my boy and whilst there's no bad news, it hasn't really provided a problem. No stones or sludge and no UTI. No blood in urine and nothing else really untoward. But there is definitely thickened bladder walls which will have to be kept a close eye on. He's seemingly back to normal playing in hay and munching some pepper. Thanks for keeping your fingers crossed guys.
 
daveclark79 said:
Hi everyone. Been to collect my boy and whilst there's no bad news, it hasn't really provided a problem. No stones or sludge and no UTI. No blood in urine and nothing else really untoward. But there is definitely thickened bladder walls which will have to be kept a close eye on. He's seemingly back to normal playing in hay and munching some pepper. Thanks for keeping your fingers crossed guys.
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Has your vet considered Interstitial cystitis (IC)? It is a chronic inflammation of the bladder and thickened bladder walls can be a symptom. It can only be diagnosed when all other bladder problems such as stones, sludge and UTI have been ruled out.

I've had two girls now who have been diagnosed with this condition. Both were treated with metacam for the pain and inflammation and Cystease which is a cat suppliment which helps coat the bladder wall. @Wiebke explains it better.

It doesn't cause stones but can only be managed instead of treated until it goes away on its own. It lasted between two and a half and three years for both my girls before it went away but it could go away sooner.
 
Hi, well, I did have him on cystease beforehand and we did discuss it and agreed it was a possibility. So I will continue to give him both cystease and metacam. He has a follow up appointment in 2 weeks time so will see how he gets on. Just releived he's home.
 
daveclark79 said:
Hi everyone. Been to collect my boy and whilst there's no bad news, it hasn't really provided a problem. No stones or sludge and no UTI. No blood in urine and nothing else really untoward. But there is definitely thickened bladder walls which will have to be kept a close eye on. He's seemingly back to normal playing in hay and munching some pepper. Thanks for keeping your fingers crossed guys.
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If acute episodes recur, your vet may consider interstitial cystitis (IC). it is a non-bacterial inflammation of the bladder walls that doesn't react much or at all to antibiotics. It has become more common over the last decade. We do not know what is causing it. It can be therefore not healed. We can only try to manage the symptoms until it goes away on its own and it can only be diagnosed by default after all other urinary tract problems that present with the same symptoms have been safely excluded, which is what has happened today.
this here is the best link: Links - Interstitial Cystitis - Guinea Lynx Records

The good news is that IC doesn't cause stones, is not fatal or impacts on longevity. The bad news is that it is more a matter of years than months before it goes away, never to return again. It is not the most pleasant thing to suffer from as you know.

Management consists of metacam (which is not just a painkiller but also an anti-inflammatory, cystease or another glucosamine-based cat food supplement that supports the natural glucosamine coating of the bladder walls (prescription-free as it is not a medication) and dietary recommendations re. food groups that are suspected of triggering acute episodes like root veg, lettuce and grain (the latter is sweet corn and contained in most pellets) plus a balanced low calcium diet (water filtering, low calcium/grain-free pellets, and a careful selection of veg; see our recommendations in the thread below).
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

If it is any consolation to you, my Nerys had IC for nearly 3 years (it took about half a year on antibiotics to work out that she didn't have chronic UTI but that was in the early years when this issue only just started to emerge) but then spent another 3 years free of it and died at the ripe old age of 8 years.
Caron had IC for about 1 1/2 years, which is at the shorter end; her IC was milder. She lived for another 1 1/2 years as one of the longest lived piggies of her large rescue operation from rat infested horrendous surroundings.
 
Hi guys, thanks for all the advice and fingers crossed in support, Gremlin seems to be much happier on his pain meds and cystease and isn't really hunching anymore and generally seems much more relaxed. His checkup is next Thursday so I'm sure we'll find out more then.
 
Little update for anyone who's interested. Gremlin had his check up today and has improved, swelling on his bladder walls seems to be decreased, so we are going to continue with metacam and cystease for the time being and see how he goes.
 
daveclark79 said:
Little update for anyone who's interested. Gremlin had his check up today and has improved, swelling on his bladder walls seems to be decreased, so we are going to continue with metacam and cystease for the time being and see how he goes.
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That’s good news. Bladder problems can be such a pain.
 
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