Fergie's Medical Thread

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TheFerg

Post   » Sun Oct 08, 2017 9:09 pm


Update:
Fergie continues to lose weight, even with critical care supplementation, so we are syringe feeding her a lot more. She got down to 796 (her adult weight was 1150, she slowly dropped over 12-18 months down to 950, then really fast 950-900 when the bleeding started, then stabilized when it stopped, and then from 900-800 really fast again with no visible issues/symptoms). Got her back up to 840 today when I weighed her before the next round of critical care. The bleeding has stopped, and Nakamura and I have no idea why she's losing weight. So he drew blood and we're waiting on results Monday or Tuesday.

The mass is most likely uterine but could be something else. Uterine he said is, in his experience, typically cancerous but because it's encapsulated within the uterine wall doesn't spread to other organs very easily so that is a good thing. But we haven't ruled out an intestinal mass, or something else, and that would be a much bigger deal. Doesn't feel like it's really gotten bigger in the past 2 weeks.

He doesn't think weight loss would come from a uterine mass, so either it's another type of mass or she has something else going on.

I also asked him about CBD oil (non-THC/non-psychoactive oil from hemp plants). It's been really helpful for my friend's cat, but I wasn't sure if it was guinea-pig safe. He said it was and didn't hurt to try, so she gets 1 drop 3-4 times a day. It's only been one day (took a while to find someone who sold the oil locally) so we'll see if it helps with any pain she might be in and her appetite. She is still excited for veggies, ate grass like crazy on the lawn today, and begs for food. I see her eating hay primarily, but she does also eat pellets. We ruled out a tooth issue.

So far we've seen Nakamura every 1-2 weeks and are hoping we get an answer soon!
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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Oct 08, 2017 10:36 pm


Fergie looks like such a sweet guinea pig. I hope you only see more weight gain and that you and Dr. Nakamura get some answers.

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TheFerg

Post   » Fri Oct 13, 2017 11:51 am


I don't know if it is causation or coincidence, but ~24 hours after we started the CBD oil Fergie finally started to gain weight! I was feeding her 2-3 syringes a day and now we are doing 4 (the large 12CC syringes) but she is putting on weight quickly and we are thrilled! She's more alert; previously she'd been awake only to eat, really, but then fell right back asleep. I've seen her puttering around the cage a bit the last 2-3 days. I'm not sure if CBD reduced some discomfort she had so she wants to move more, or if maybe she wasn't eating enough and didn't have energy so she slept to conserve it, or again if it's just coincidence. But we will definitely keep it up.

She was 796g when we started, and stayed in that 796-808 range for several days even with syringe feeding. But since Sunday she's packed on the grams, and last night before her feeding she was 883g! That's the heaviest she's been in a month. We are so happy! I want to get her to 950 where she was before this all started, then ease back on the syringe feeding and see if she can maintain her own weight. If so, we're good. If not, then we discuss surgery to remove the mass just in case that is causing the issue, or if we just continue supplemental feeding and hope for the best.

Anyway just keeping this thread updated in case anyone runs into a similar issue in the future.

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Delaine
Supporter in '14

Post   » Sat Oct 14, 2017 1:44 pm


Thanks for keeping your thread updated. I am very interested in the CBD oil. My sow is just over 6 1/2 years and has ovarian cysts. She has no physical symptoms such as hair loss but her vet felt them upon examination. Her vet and I have decided not to do a spay at her age so I am like you struggling to keep weight on her. She is also blind with cataracts in both eyes, she has some degeneration in her spine and she lost her sister from the same litter three months ago. Like your sow she spends most of her day lying in her house. I supplement her with a ground pellet/critical care mash which she licks off my finger. She is getting a daily dose of Metacam to help with any pain.

I think CBD oil may help her. I will ask her vet about it on Friday when Abbey goes for her checkup but in the meantime I am not sure where I go to find it. Do you know if it comes in a standardized concentration? How did you determine what dose to give? I would really appreciate any more information on how you went about finding the oil. Thank you.

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TheFerg

Post   » Sat Oct 21, 2017 1:33 am


Sorry for seeing this so late! I'm also pig-sitting this week and one of the piggies is special needs as well so I've had my hands full with feedings and medications, etc, on top of work.

I bought mine at For Other Living Things in Sunnyvale, CA. There are a lot of places here that sell it, but mostly pot shops and you need a medicinal marijuana card to go inside, even though you don't need a card to buy the oil. Whole Foods or other holistic/homeopathic stores may sell it, or maybe a local pharmacy could order it?

The one my friend used is from https://cannabisace.com/shop/whole-plant-cbd-pet-oil/. It is the some concentration as the one I got at my local pet shop, that is 1 drop per 1 lb. Which makes it pretty easy to dose for a guinea pig. The bottle suggests 1 drop every 4 hours, but I didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night, etc, and my vet also agreed that seemed like a lot. So we agreed 1 drop 3 times a day, sometimes 4 on the weekends when I'm home and can easily administer it. For now I put the drop in the syringe as I'm filling with critical care. But for afternoon drops I just put a drop on a small piece of something leafy that she'll eat fast, and she takes it without seeming to notice/taste it. My friend who did the initial research did note that there are all types of concentrations so be sure you get one that's close to that concentration - otherwise you pay the same $ but have to use twice as much medicine so it ends up being twice as expensive, etc.

And my update on Fergie is that she's started to seem a bit lethargic today, and her tummy seems to get bigger without the rest of her really filling out or bulking up at all. She's still gassy (has been for the past year since she developed the breathing issue). She still farts like crazy, my gassy little old lady. But I'm worried she's not passing enough gas and she's filling up. Her tummy feels like it's bigger on one side than on the other? I know when my dog had cancer in her abdomen, one side filled up with blood and fluid. I know guinea pigs aren't the same, but wonder if it could be anything like that also. Right now I have an appointment with Nakamura on Wednesday afternoon but my mommy instincts are kinda firing. I separated her for tonight to keep a closer eye on her and her specific poops, and will most likely take her in tomorrow to the first available vet even if things seem fairly stable. I don't want to overreact, but it just doesn't feel quite right and last time I felt that on a guinea pig and ignored it the piggy ended up suffering as a result :( But it was SO slight, I thought I was imagining it. That's where I am with Fergs right now, too, so I'd rather be overly cautious.

So my question is I've seen people mention those vibrating pads to help ease gas through the system. Is that just a basic back heating/vibrating pad a human would use, or something specific to animals? Do you turn on just vibration, or also low heat? And how long do you leave them on the vibrating pad - just a few minutes, an hour, all night? Thanks for any guidance!

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Oct 21, 2017 10:58 am


I believe most people get whatever they can find and it is often a human one. I would see how long she was comfortable with it and note if you can smell or feel/see gas passing which would make her feel better as a result of it.

Gas can be the result of the wrong type of bacteria in the system. Avoid anything that could be vaguely sugary (avoid fruits).

www.guinealynx.info/chart.html

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TheFerg

Post   » Sat Oct 21, 2017 7:56 pm


Thanks. She passed gas and pooed a lot all night and seems better today. I weighed her pellets, too, and she ate a decent amount of those during the night. I checked on her a few times and she seemed to get better and better, never to a point that she was really scaring me or anything. The pharmacies/stores near me that had it in stock were not 24 hours so we weren't able to get one until this morning, but now we have it in case we should need it in the future.

I was reading some of the bloat posts and noticed the sugar/fruits. We severely limit that anyway, other than my husband sometimes sneaks her a small piece of apple with breakfast. But we'll cut them out all together for her going forward.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Oct 21, 2017 10:31 pm


Apple (a small piece) would be one of the better choices. Not as sugary as some of the others! Maybe she would like blueberries?

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TheFerg

Post   » Mon Oct 23, 2017 10:57 am


She loves blueberries - we give the piggies some as treats when they are in season. I see some people give multiples, we usually give just one per pig per day when we do give them. I wasn't sure what amount was OK so we went on the cautious side. The other thing they love is when I make applesauce or something and have to peel my apples - I string the long strands of peel through the grids above them and make them stand up / work to get them. Keeps them occupied and it's a high-value treat so they get a good workout hunting and gathering them. It's also cute to watch little t-rex piggies in the cage :)

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TheFerg

Post   » Tue Oct 24, 2017 5:16 pm


So Fergie took a turn for the worse yesterday and became bloated, uncomfortable, and has lost quite a bit of weight.

We saw the vet, got some fluids and meds, and were sent home with 5 days of medication.
Injections administered: sub-q fluids, Meloxicam (5mg/ml Bymg), and Metoclopramide (5mg/ml per MG)
Take-home: Metacam 1.5mg/ml given .25ml twice a day for 5 days, Cisapride 10mg/ml given .04ml twice a day)

Fergie hasn't really improved since then....she has eaten no pellets yet today, and fights a lot on the critical care (I guess it's a good sign she still fights, right?) She ate her lettuce with breakfast but left behind bell pepper which is unlike her. She's eaten some hay, and some dried corn husks, but no real food. After I had her out of the cage for 15 minutes on the vibrating pad, she demanded a reward for her patience. I held the bowl of bell pepper out and she took 2 (cut small, like chopped that you'd put in a recipe), but has only nibbled the edges and left them there. She's puffed up and her abdomen seems about the same size as yesterday, not smaller.

I left a message for the vet asking how soon we should see results with the medication - In some cases I heard 2-3 days? I am verifying with Dr. Nakamura. Do you guys have any guidance or anecdotes?

Also I saw on some of the bloat articles & threads the over-the-counter gas medication for children. I forgot the name now so I'll go look that back up. But that's safe to add with the above medications, right?

I think I may have been part of the problem because I mixed in some pureed pumpkin with her critical care to make it more appealing. For a bowl of critical care I would add maybe a tablespoon or two of pumpkin, and then a lot of water. The change in her diet and added fiber/carbs could have upset her and created this issue so now i feel terrible. A lot of people seem to use that in their CC but I won't use it going forward. I'll revert to what I used to do, which was blend bell pepper, lettuce and cilantro into water and use that suspension to mix her critical care. It gets the flavor in there so she fights less, and is in line with her regular diet. I stopped by the store today for fresh veggies and blended the "juice' and then froze it in 1/4 cup amounts so I can pull them out and defrost as I make a new batch of CC every day or two.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Oct 24, 2017 11:11 pm


Bugs Mom had advice on how to massage to abdomen to help pass gas. You could carefully try, watching for any signs of pain:
https://www.guinealynx.info/records/view ... f=15&t=117

Hopefully you would clear this with Dr. Nakamura first. I don't know if any organs might be fragile. I am hoping she can get over this. Please do not blame yourself. It is always hard to know exactly what causes bloat - and once it has occured, it is more likely to recur.

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TheFerg

Post   » Wed Oct 25, 2017 11:46 am


She had a downturn yesterday with very labored breathing and starting to get lethargic so we rushed into Adobe. She got a new round of injections and we had more discussions about the massage, feeding, etc. She's REALLY fighting the critical care. So we agreed half of a 12 cc syringe 4 times a day minimum, and more if she will take it.

They did x-rays and on top of all this she also seems to have gunky lungs, so we got Baytril added to the mix. It also showed the gas had moved from stomach to the cecum which was good, at least it was moving along, but she was still pretty bloated. So we've been using the massaging pad and she's OK with that. I've been putting her on it ~15 minutes of every hour when possible (only did it once during the night, so both of us could get some rest), and working from home yesterday and today to keep an eye on her.

I am happy to report this morning she had a big pile of beans in her cage (separated for now to monitor food, poo, etc). I've never been so happy to see a poo pyramid, ha! And she wheeked quietly twice this morning as my husband was sweeping the cage, because she knew breakfast was coming. We are thrilled!!!

Also for the gentle massage we did discuss that with Nakamura and Dr. Blackwolf at Adobe, both said it's good. You don't dig in, just a gentle pressure if they can tolerate it. The pictures shared in the post are really helpful, thanks for sharing!

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