Ovarian or follicular cyst

[GP_P1atypus]

Hello!

My older (~5 yo) pig has patches of hair loss on her sides and is quite thin. She also has crusty enlarged nipples, and all this seems to strongly indicate cyst(s), from scouring other threads on this forum and elsewhere. There seems to be conflicting info on whether she likely has a follicular or ovarian cyst.

Surgery is not an option for her, since she is very thin and a senior pig, but she tends to be cold (and now her fur loss can’t help) and I worry about her being so thin.

My question: After hormone treatments for cysts, do pigs regain weight and regrow lost hair, if the treatment is successful? And is it correct that these symptoms are caused by increased levels of estrogen?

Is there another way to get a pig’s weight back up? She happily weeks for her veggies every day and eats plenty of hay, so loss of apetite is definitely not the problem here.

Thank you for any info/advice!
Loving gp mama

[Lynx]

If she is very thin, there is something else going on. Hair loss can also be Cushings disease. Have you had her evaluated by a vet?

[GP_P1atypus]

Hmm, that’s good to know. No, I haven’t taken her to the vet yet because I just started researching this yesterday. Pigs in my experience do seem to get thin as they get old, but with the hair loss I realized something else might be going on.

The difficult thing about pigs is that vets in my area just don’t know about guinea pigs. For example, one vet we took her to a while back told us that the previous vet gave her sneeze medicine for her leg issue and that’s why she wasn’t getting better! :( So I feel like I also need to do research on my own so I am as informed as possible.

I will look into Cushing’s disease though. I had narrowed in on cysts because her symptoms fit so perfectly, but as you said perhaps there’s something else going on.

Thank you!

[bpatters]

A follicular cyst IS an ovarian cyst, the most common kind. Here's an explanation: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/179031.php

I'd also supplement her with vitamin C. I had a senior sow with similar symptoms, but an ultrasound showed no cyst. So after several weeks of daily C supplement, her hair started coming back, and got shiny and luxurious again.

Where are you? City/state, not your actual address. We might able to recommend a vet.

[Clint The Cuy]

I agree with bpatters. I also had a sow with the hair loss you described and then treated with Vit C and she did a 180. She was also a teddy and had a lot of endocrine issues too I’m sure. Would want to rule out a cystic follicle though.

[GP_P1atypus]

Oh, that’s really great info and advice! I would love to try something less invasive and stressful for her first—I will definitely start her on a vitamin c supplement. She already gets multivitamin drops on her veggies, but perhaps she needs an extra bit of vitamin C.

I was very confused about follicular vs. ovarian cysts, so thanks for clarifying.

I live in Madison, Wisconsin. I’d certainly be interested in any vet recommendations you have.

[Lynx]

I imagine you have read https://www.guinealynx.info/ovarian_cysts.html ?

We don't have any vet recommendations for Madison in the guide but hopefully someone will respond.
https://www.guinealynx.info/records/view ... p=442#p442

[GP_P1atypus]

Okay, thanks anyway. And yes, I have read the link on cysts on this site multiple times. It was quite useful.
Thanks!