Regurgitating while force feeding?

Guineapun

Post   » Sat Jul 21, 2018 5:03 pm


And I don't want to "name and shame" that vet until I have gotten a second opinion...but I checked out his google reviews and a LOT of people have complained about him being rough or mishandling their pets.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Jul 21, 2018 9:01 pm


Svh, thanks for your detailed post! I think Guineapun lucked out getting such good advice.

Svh

Post   » Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:31 am


Best wishes for you guys. If the OVC can't figure out what's wrong, I don't think any body else would be able to. Keep us updated!

And thanks Lynx, I just like trying to help! I've been rather frustrated trying to find a local vet that I'm happy with. I used to live in Guelph (about an hour from Hamilton) while I did my undergrad and used Campus Estates for all my girls. I love that clinic and 100% trust them with my pigs. I've given up on finding a local vet and now just make the drive there whenever necessary.

Guineapun

Post   » Sun Jul 22, 2018 6:42 pm


Lynx- I agree!
Svh- thank you SO much for your help. I haven't been very impressed with the vets that I have tried here, so it's great to have a trustworthy recommendation.

Update: When I weighed her last night, her weight had dropped to 0.68 kg. Her normal weight is 1.1, and just the day before she had been .76.

I was panicking. I decided that instead of subjecting her to the stress and strain of +1hr drive and vet visit, I would keep her home and focus on agressively hand feeding her. To be honest, I wasn't convinced she would survive the drive without food.

At first I was only able to get .4 mls into her at a time. She couldn't handle any more. When I calculated how much she needed to be eating compared to how little she was taking in... I almost cried. Seemed impossible.

So every 15-20 minutes we did .4 mls. After a couple of sessions I increased to .5, then increased again to doing two feeds of .5 with a chewing break and started spacing out our feeds to every 30-ish minutes. We kept at it until I went to bed around 1:30.

We're up to 4 mls per session right now, roughly every hour. She's obviously still unhappy but she is a LOT stronger and actually took a few bites of strawberry! Real bites. I think maybe she was literally too weak to bite/chew before. She's pooping more.

I also read about jaw problems. I work in physical rehab and do a lot of palpation, so I felt around her jaw to see if anything seemed odd. She seems to have a tender point around one tmj so I'm massaging it gently during our feeds. She seems okay with that- doesn't squeak or cry when I do it. I wonder if jaw pain could be part of the problem as well.

I'll keep updating as she progresses. Thanks again for all your help so far.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Jul 22, 2018 8:56 pm


I'm so glad you are really working at getting food into her. It makes a huge difference and will give her the strength she needs to survive.

Guineapun

Post   » Mon Jul 23, 2018 12:05 pm


Thank you Lynx. She put on 10g over the course of the day yesterday, but lost it all overnight while I was sleeping. I don't think she touched her food at all or had any water; I could see the declining quality of her poops.I'll give her as much as I can before work but I feel a bit overwhelmed. She's about half her body weight- would she be likely to survive sedation if I bring her to the vet at such a low weight? I was hoping to get her up to 2lbs before making another vet trip. I want her to have a fighting chance- she wants to live and she wants to eat. I don't know how much more weight she might lose while I'm at work.

Svh

Post   » Mon Jul 23, 2018 12:51 pm


If they are just examining her mouth, they can usually do sedation very lightly. She doesn't necessarily need to be fully sedated. Of course there is a risk associated with it, but it honestly sounds necessary. Most vets will do what they can to stabilize them before a procedure to give them a fighting chance. Warming them up, fluids, potentially medications raise their heart rate or blood pressure if they are very poorly.

She can't continue on how she is going. It could also take weeks or months to get her weight back to 2 pounds. I would strongly suggest making a vet appointment asap. She needs to be properly examined.

Guineapun

Post   » Mon Jul 23, 2018 2:43 pm


I had no idea it might take that long for her to put the weight back on. I'll take her in asap.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Jul 23, 2018 8:56 pm


Svh is very right about how long it can take to put weight back on.

Guineapun

Post   » Tue Jul 24, 2018 11:49 am


She's in the hospital. They took her in & started feedings last night, they think she'll be strong enough for anathetic for teeth & bloodwork today.

Svh

Post   » Tue Jul 24, 2018 12:21 pm


Keep us updated. I'm hoping for the best for you guys.

Guineapun

Post   » Tue Jul 24, 2018 3:29 pm


Overgrown teeth and a throat abscess. Dr. says she is recovering nicely and I can bring her home tomorrow. She's going to give me subcues for pain and antibiotics.

Svh thank you so much for recommending them. I'm taking my pigs there exclusively from now on. If I had gone there from the start I'd have saved over $300 in vet/car rental/medication bills and lots of heartache and stress to us both. She probably wouldn't have lost as much weight either. Now I know who to trust.

The doc that gave my baby such poor treatment was at Fruitland animal hospital. Can you believe the same day they sent me a marketing email linking to their reviews page? I'm disgusted by their attitude.

Post Reply