Hi again,
First of all, thanks for the support, and all the great replies. It is truly appreciated!
I called the 3 major vet clinics near my house, and none of them have any suggestion for care. They all say that if she is truly paralyzed, the best option is euthanasia. I live in the country about 2hr away from Montreal, Qc. Out of the 3 clinics, only one even deals with cats and dogs. So unless I want to drive for two hours with my my piggy in the car, I don't have access to a good vet :-(
I'm baffled at how well she seems to be doing, though. I have been monitoring her carefully, and she is eating, sleeping and excreting normally. She was chirping with the others when I brought grass from outside, earlier, and even stole some "desirable" leaf from under the nose of her sister!
She is still dragging her legs, and there is no movement there, but surprisingly enough, she doesn't seem to be in any sort of pain at all! Is that even possible?
THere's no way I can get to the city before the weekend, so I have made an appointment for Saturday morning. I'll keep you posted! Thanks again for the input!!
For those of you whose baby had a back injury and recovered, was it in pain? And how did you go about administering meds? I'm guessing the last thing you want is for it to try to get away from you and put up a fight! I'm trying to keep her as still as possible...
Broken back :(
-
bpatters
- And got the T-shirt
One thing you may want to consider, if it looks like she's going to be permanently disabled, is the kind of bedding she's on. I don't know what you're using, but other pigs with mobility problems have done very well on fleece. It keeps their skin from being irritated as they're dragging themselves along.
-
Talishan
- You can quote me
Ditto bpatters.
"She is still dragging her legs, and there is no movement there, but surprisingly enough, she doesn't seem to be in any sort of pain at all! Is that even possible?"
Honestly, while we can't ask them and have them answer, and as counterintuitive as that is, I have to guess that the answer is yes. This has happened numerous times on GL.
We had one who twisted when being put back in his cage. He developed a partial paralysis (and of course, like you, I felt absolutely terrible). But he never seemed in any particular pain. Over time he learned to move around better, and while he never completely recovered he became extremely good, and extremely fast, at hopping and scooting.
The two biggest things are: one, obviously, pain (eating and behavior following from this), and two, being able to urinate and defecate properly.
A pig with a truly broken back will not only be in severe pain, they'll lose control over (and I think perception of) their elimination systems. In that case, euthanasia might indeed be the kindest choice. When output is normal, however, and the pig is eating, drinking and behaving normally, the prognosis is far, far better.
If you can't get anywhere before this weekend -- honestly, at this point, I don't know that I would even take her in. Steroids have to be administered within hours of the injury to be most effective. If she's doing this well, I'm not sure a vet visit will help her and it could conceivably do some damage. That said, an x-ray would be extremely helpful.
She may improve on her own. If not, care for her well and down the road (not immediately; see if she recovers herself and to what extent) consider a Roxy Roller:
viewtopic.php?t=15475
If you can make her one of these and she is able to use it, there have been cases where it strengthened the legs and nerves to the point where the pig completely recovered.
I'll mention one other thing that helped our pig, and it's somewhat controversial because there is only one (1) veterinary reference out there for it, and we like to see several references before recommending something on GL -- but that is Tylenol, administered 1-2 mg/kg of pig daily.
I got the infants' grape and diluted it down in baby fruit juice. Our pig loved it and it seemed to help him.
Please keep us posted on how she's doing. Very best of luck to her and to you.
"She is still dragging her legs, and there is no movement there, but surprisingly enough, she doesn't seem to be in any sort of pain at all! Is that even possible?"
Honestly, while we can't ask them and have them answer, and as counterintuitive as that is, I have to guess that the answer is yes. This has happened numerous times on GL.
We had one who twisted when being put back in his cage. He developed a partial paralysis (and of course, like you, I felt absolutely terrible). But he never seemed in any particular pain. Over time he learned to move around better, and while he never completely recovered he became extremely good, and extremely fast, at hopping and scooting.
The two biggest things are: one, obviously, pain (eating and behavior following from this), and two, being able to urinate and defecate properly.
A pig with a truly broken back will not only be in severe pain, they'll lose control over (and I think perception of) their elimination systems. In that case, euthanasia might indeed be the kindest choice. When output is normal, however, and the pig is eating, drinking and behaving normally, the prognosis is far, far better.
If you can't get anywhere before this weekend -- honestly, at this point, I don't know that I would even take her in. Steroids have to be administered within hours of the injury to be most effective. If she's doing this well, I'm not sure a vet visit will help her and it could conceivably do some damage. That said, an x-ray would be extremely helpful.
She may improve on her own. If not, care for her well and down the road (not immediately; see if she recovers herself and to what extent) consider a Roxy Roller:
viewtopic.php?t=15475
If you can make her one of these and she is able to use it, there have been cases where it strengthened the legs and nerves to the point where the pig completely recovered.
I'll mention one other thing that helped our pig, and it's somewhat controversial because there is only one (1) veterinary reference out there for it, and we like to see several references before recommending something on GL -- but that is Tylenol, administered 1-2 mg/kg of pig daily.
I got the infants' grape and diluted it down in baby fruit juice. Our pig loved it and it seemed to help him.
Please keep us posted on how she's doing. Very best of luck to her and to you.
Hi all again,
I wanted to thank you for reassuring and advising me: it was much appreciated!!
So there is a bit of news since my last post and I thought I would write a short update :)
After a few more calls to vet clinics, who all told me not much could be done besides xrays to determine the extend of the wound, and that I would be better to put her down either way, I decided to just give her pain relief and and extra TCL. I made sure she was always fed, and that she had access to all she needed all the time.
My piggie was really awesome through all of it! She continued eating and yelling out when I was brining food. She was always eager to see me, and didn't loose weight at all, which I thought was a great sign.
I gave her baby Advil in orange juice for 2 weeks, but there was absolutely no difference in her demeanor or behavior when I extended periods between doses, or if I skipped a dose. So I stopped after 2 weeks. I didn't see a difference when I did. I also washed & dried her carefully every few days, to make sure she wasn't developping sores on her belly or legs.
In the end, she seems to be healing!!! I was sure she would be paralyzed for the rest of her life, but her legs started moving a little about 10 days ago, and she has been gaining mobility and strength ever since! I am soooo happy!!! She is not back 100% yet, but she is almost walking without a limp, and she is able to lift her rear when moving. She still doesn't control her sphincters, and excretes (urine & feces) when we pick her up, or as she's walking, but other than this, I would say that there is a good chance she will be back to her old self in a couple of months.
I thank God every day I didn't put her down upon the advice of so-called specialists...
And thank you all again for the priceless advice and hope you gave me!
I wanted to thank you for reassuring and advising me: it was much appreciated!!
So there is a bit of news since my last post and I thought I would write a short update :)
After a few more calls to vet clinics, who all told me not much could be done besides xrays to determine the extend of the wound, and that I would be better to put her down either way, I decided to just give her pain relief and and extra TCL. I made sure she was always fed, and that she had access to all she needed all the time.
My piggie was really awesome through all of it! She continued eating and yelling out when I was brining food. She was always eager to see me, and didn't loose weight at all, which I thought was a great sign.
I gave her baby Advil in orange juice for 2 weeks, but there was absolutely no difference in her demeanor or behavior when I extended periods between doses, or if I skipped a dose. So I stopped after 2 weeks. I didn't see a difference when I did. I also washed & dried her carefully every few days, to make sure she wasn't developping sores on her belly or legs.
In the end, she seems to be healing!!! I was sure she would be paralyzed for the rest of her life, but her legs started moving a little about 10 days ago, and she has been gaining mobility and strength ever since! I am soooo happy!!! She is not back 100% yet, but she is almost walking without a limp, and she is able to lift her rear when moving. She still doesn't control her sphincters, and excretes (urine & feces) when we pick her up, or as she's walking, but other than this, I would say that there is a good chance she will be back to her old self in a couple of months.
I thank God every day I didn't put her down upon the advice of so-called specialists...
And thank you all again for the priceless advice and hope you gave me!
SHOP AMAZON