Sudden thirst increase, urine scald, high calcium, diet

[daj]

OK. I will have to get them weighed, so I can calculate the dose for each of them.

Ugh! I just realized that if I give the first dose Wed., I will still be away the following Wed. I would hate to hold off until Friday, but I will be back the following Friday. I was thinking the doses were spaced 2 weeks apart. What might you do in this case? The med comes Wed., and I am away starting the following Mon., until Fri.

[Lynx]

You can hold off until Friday for the second dose. 9 days should be okay. Keep in mind, you can do four doses with the last three one week apart.

[daj]

Oh, good... Thank you!

[daj]

Is there any rule of thumb for when they might start to feel some relief? And, what about the coconut oil? Should I hold off on that during the ivermectin treatment, or can it be applied something like the following day?

[Sef]

Can take 3 or sometimes 4 treats, depending on how severe the mites are, but I've generally seen some improvement after the 2nd treatment.

[Lynx]

The coconut oil could interfere with the ivermectin by blocking its absorption into the skin.

[daj]

That was my concern, but the day after the first application, I did put oil on them. They are still scratching a lot, and their skin is dandruffy, so I figured it might be good to do up until a couple days before the next treatment. One of them put a deep red scratch on his back. I put some Butt Paste on that spot. I was dreading having this problem still unresolved while I have to go away. Now I will worry about them night & day.

[daj]

My pigs will be due for the third dose of ivermectin ri. night. So far there is no improvement. They're still scratching as much as ever. What do I do? I'm thinking I give a third dose, and if the itching doesn't seem to improve that following week, I should probably conclude it's not mites causing the itching... If this is the case, I don't know where I go from there. I don't believe it's simply dry skin. CP coconut oil once and twice a day for two weeks did not help. I suppose I take one of them back to the vet?

[Lynx]

Do you have any pictures of the skin?

I was looking at human causes of dry skin. Some of the metabolic ones (rare) are listed on this page:
https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and ... so-itchy#3

Unlikely, but Possible

Itchiness usually has a simple, common cause. But in some cases, if it doesn’t go away, could be a sign of a serious illness, such as:

Kidney disease
Liver disease
Thyroid problems
Certain cancers, particularly Hodgkin’s disease
Diabetes
Iron deficiency
HIV

[Sef]

I keep going back to the thought of something fungal that they're passing back and forth, since you mentioned ringworm awhile back. It doesn't make sense that you'd still see that level of itching after so many doses of an anti-parasitic if it were mites. On the other hand, it doesn't sound like you're seeing typical signs of a fungal infection, either.

I'm stumped.

[daj]

I think I'm starting to see less scratching. WIth two of them I haven't seen much at all today. With Henry I still see it occasionally. Tonight is time for the third dose. I will do all three, but I am wondering about how one knows when to stop?

[bpatters]

With as much itching as they've had for so long, I'd do four treatments.