Mushu: Bloat Recovery

Windpixie47

Post   » Thu Dec 29, 2016 1:04 am


Mixed news today. Mushu has bloody pee again, and he also had a bloody sperm rod. Good news is that he has gained 21g. It was almost normal color yesterday but back to bloody today. I'm worried there are stones hiding in there irritating things. I'm paranoid.

How long does it take to cure a UTI? He has a 21 day supply of Bactrim, so I guess a long time? How common are UTIs compared to stones? Thoughts?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Dec 29, 2016 7:11 am


The bloody pee must be discouraging for you. Could the sperm rod have picked up the blood from the pee? Stones can form fairly quickly (in a couple of weeks). I would think you'd see some improvement if he's been on antibiotics for a while and it is a UTI. Bactrim usually is the best choice and is well-tolerated. I don't know how common UTIs are compared to stones but as for posts here, more pigs seem to have stones.

How is he doing on the pain front? Does he seem to be in pretty good shape? Is he eating any hay at all?

I encourage you to call your vet to update him and see if he has any advice.

afdani1984

Post   » Thu Dec 29, 2016 7:30 pm


I've gone back and looked over the thread. He's been on two different antibiotics, Baytril and Bactrim. I'd think that if he had a UTI, one of the two of those would have knocked it out.

I know the vet said they weren't seeing any stones on the x-rays, but it's possible they are super, super tiny. It wouldn't be the first time. I'm wondering if the bloody urine is due to sludge that's causing irritation. Are you noticing a lot of calcium spots in the cage? When he pees, does it feel gritty?

I see you feed KMS Hayloft for pellets, which is good. It's the brand most people seem to go to if they have stone pigs because they don't use calcium carbonate as their calcium source. What are you feeding for veggies? What types of lettuce? The only thing I saw you mention was Parsley, which if it were me, I would cut from the diet. Most herbs are high in calcium. If you feed romaine, I'd remove that as well, it's not any higher in calcium than other lettuces but for whatever reason some pigs just don't metabolize it well and spit out a lot of excess calcium.

What type of water do you have? Hard, soft, do you fill the bottles with tap or do you use filtered? If you're not using filtered, I've heard some people say using a Brita filter pitcher for their pig water has helped.

Windpixie47

Post   » Fri Dec 30, 2016 1:26 am


Today the blood is really bad. His pain seems mostly controlled until about an hour before the pain meds, and then he isn't so perky. He's definitely not as comfy as a couple of days ago, and his pee is much redder. He wasn't as cooperative with CC today, either. I am not wildly confident in my local vet (he's competent but not expert), and the amazing exotics specialist 90 minutes away is only open three days a week. It's 36 hours till she opens for a partial day on Saturday. Maybe I need to look a tramadol dosing. He gets .1 ml every 12 hours.

Water = filtered (he has never been a water drinker, which I think is part of the problem)

Veggies = green, red, bibb lettuce & peppers mostly, I've cut herbs but used to feed parsley and cilantro till a couple of days ago. He is not sludgy, but he was for a week or two before all of this started.

Hay -- can't tell how much he is eating, but he has both Timothy and Bluegrass to choose from.

I'm beginning to despair. If I lose him, I essentially lose Leo too. Leo was a mere shell of a pig before we adopted Mooshie. Leo was relinquished, he had a buddy but they fought terribly. The day we got Mushu, Leo came alive. There's a whole forum thread called Boar Wars that chronicles my trials in getting them to bond.

Thank you so much for all your advice. It's good to be in the company of knowledgeable piggie lovers!

Windpixie47

Post   » Fri Dec 30, 2016 11:46 am


M is much perkier this morning. Didn't cooperate well with CC feeding, but then he crawled under his hay pile and began eating his way out. I think he will make it to the specialist tomorrow.

Tramadol compounded at 36mg/ml. It is 18 months past expiry, so not sure how that affects potency. Would like to know if I can give him more if he has breakthrough pain. Currently giving .1 ml every 12 hours.

Windpixie47

Post   » Fri Dec 30, 2016 1:22 pm


I'm home today with more opportunity to observe. Mushu had a small puddle of bright orange pee, some of which I sucked up in a syringe just in case. 20 minutes later, I put both boys together for floor time Mushu peed right away, and it came out clear. Then after 20 minutes exposed to air, it was orange. Something is oxidizing. I am mystified why those two very different samples could happen 20 minutes apart.

Meanwhile, he is behaving normally on floor time. They are having a good time, and Mushu is eating veg and hay, pooping, and socializing well. Totally normal. Wish I knew more about this stuff!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:27 pm


It sounds like what you are seeing is not blood. I worry about losing too much blood. Sending good wishes!

Windpixie47

Post   » Fri Dec 30, 2016 11:31 pm


Thanks, Lynx. We have to wait till Monday to see the better vet, but if all the days are like today, that will be no problem. He is the best he's been in weeks. I can think of a couple of explanations. First, he's been back on the tramadol for a couple of days, so maybe he's got better pain control. Second, he has been off any high calcium anything for about 36 hours.

The orange pee (about the color of concentrated carrot juice) is really baffling, but it's even more baffling when sometimes it comes out orange and other times it comes out clear but turns orange later. ???????

Windpixie47

Post   » Sat Dec 31, 2016 5:51 pm


Mushu is perky again today, better than before all of this. Maybe he has always been in pain, which is now controlled. He's eating like he's trying to win a prize.

A quick Google search of "orange pee" turns up quite a few hits related to being on antibiotics. I'm now wondering if that's the main pee issue. I did wonder why his bedding was mostly un stained after laundering. A few clots from before the ABX did stain like true blood, but all the orange stuff washes out.

I may not be able to take him to the vet on Monday after all. My mom fell, had a fracture repaired by emergency surgery earlier today. She's 89. Looks like I'm exchanging one worry for another.

Question: Shelf life on metacam? I have some from 2015, wondering if it will get me through next Saturday for a postponed vet visit.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Dec 31, 2016 7:33 pm


Perhaps you could call your vet and explain your circumstances and he/she would provide you with some pain medication.

Windpixie47

Post   » Mon Jan 02, 2017 7:22 pm


I was able to get to the vet today after all. Mushu has interstitial cystitis. Best theory is that Mushu had a flare based on too much parsley and calcium, which led to the gut stasis. So the underlying problem has been pain from the IC.

The orange pee is normal, likely from Baytril, which seems to affect Teddies a bit more than others (at least as the vet recalls). No blood. So that's great!

Mushu has dropped to 1050g, which alarms me more than the vet. She says he is likely still getting his appetite back after the course of Baytril, and to some degree, all antibiotics have the potential to cause inappetance. He has four more days of Bactrim. She gave me a pain management plan, which includes easing back on the metacam (he's been on a rather high dose) and supplementing with tramadol as needed.

It does seem that the poor boy has been in pain all of his life. If I ever have another dark and brooding piggie like Mushu was, I may do better next time in suspecting pain. He was kept in horrible overcrowded conditions, so I always thought he really didn't trust people so easily. He is now the life of the party.

After the vet, Mushu and Leo enjoyed some nice floor time. They are both currently sleeping side by side with their noses buried in hay. So glad Leo gets to keep his buddy!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Jan 02, 2017 9:02 pm


If you haven't read the page on pain, you may find it helpful.

www.guinealynx.info/.html

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