Midnight's Medical Topic
- AviN4
- Supporter in '21
Talishan, Thanks so much for all the helpful advice.
Incidentally my vet has already given me a 1 cc syringe, so I should be good on that front. I can see that a 0.03 mL dose should be easy to administer.
Just as an FYI, Tylenol is not an NSAID: "Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is known as a non-aspirin pain reliever. It is NOT an NSAID [...]"
A number of reliable sources indicate it's safe for humans to combine Tylenol with Ibuprofen (an NSAID). For instance, the NHS. And as I understand from your post, combining Tylenol and NSAIDs is safe for guinea pigs too, which is good to know! Depending on the circumstances, it seems like it could be good step to try before moving onto opioids, if it comes to that.
Incidentally my vet has already given me a 1 cc syringe, so I should be good on that front. I can see that a 0.03 mL dose should be easy to administer.
Just as an FYI, Tylenol is not an NSAID: "Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is known as a non-aspirin pain reliever. It is NOT an NSAID [...]"
A number of reliable sources indicate it's safe for humans to combine Tylenol with Ibuprofen (an NSAID). For instance, the NHS. And as I understand from your post, combining Tylenol and NSAIDs is safe for guinea pigs too, which is good to know! Depending on the circumstances, it seems like it could be good step to try before moving onto opioids, if it comes to that.
- ItsaZoo
- Supporter in 2023
I agree Tylenol doesn’t seem to do much. My understanding is it’s supposed to block the pain receptors to control pain, whereas NSAIDs are anti-inflammatory and actually relieve the pain. They can be taken together. In fact, my favorite and most effective pain reliever is Exedrin, which is a combination of Tylenol, aspirin, and caffeine. The caffeine is the secret weapon that makes everything else work better.
- AviN4
- Supporter in '21
I want to be cautious about celebrating too early, but Midnight's weight has been mostly stable for around 2 weeks:
Here's what I've been doing:
With regard to the other food recommendations:
As the chart shows, Moon had an uptick in weight today, so it's possible the dietary changes I'm making for Midnight could end up being a problem for him. But that's just one sample, and a few more ounces probably won't hurt him, so I'm not going to worry too much for now.
Here's what I've been doing:
- 0.25 mg dose of Metacam each morning.
- Adding some rolled oats on top of their veggies.
- Feeding them both KMS pellets (finally back in stock!) and Oxbow "Garden Select" pellets, in different bowls, 1/4 cup in each bowl. They seem to prefer one or the other depending on their mood.
With regard to the other food recommendations:
- I tried the pellet mash a few times, but it wasn't obvious to me whether Midnight liked it better than actual pellets.
- I have not tried Critical Care "meatballs" yet.
As the chart shows, Moon had an uptick in weight today, so it's possible the dietary changes I'm making for Midnight could end up being a problem for him. But that's just one sample, and a few more ounces probably won't hurt him, so I'm not going to worry too much for now.
- AviN4
- Supporter in '21
Midnight still seems to be doing well. His weight has been surprisingly stable for 6+ weeks. Both the treatment and the symptoms are unchanged from my last post. I expect it's still only a matter of time before he takes another downturn, but hopefully he'll remain happy for a while longer until that happens.
I also see no signs of Moon gaining too much weight, which I was slightly worried about because of the increased availability of pellets and rolled oats.
Past 7 months (since weight loss began):
Past 3 years (since adoption):
I also see no signs of Moon gaining too much weight, which I was slightly worried about because of the increased availability of pellets and rolled oats.
Past 7 months (since weight loss began):
Past 3 years (since adoption):
- Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
It's nice to get a feel for where they are with charts. And great to see the relative stabilization of weights.
p.s. for someone not familiar with graphing techniques, note that the vertical range does not start at zero. Graphs can be used to mislead by making a change look more dramatic than it is.
I know this is not your intention and your graph is pretty clear.
p.s. for someone not familiar with graphing techniques, note that the vertical range does not start at zero. Graphs can be used to mislead by making a change look more dramatic than it is.
I know this is not your intention and your graph is pretty clear.
- AviN4
- Supporter in '21
Lynx, thanks for the clarification to readers. I agree that line charts with a Y-axis that start at non-zero have a risk being misleading. Some are intentionally misleading, though not mine: I think intentionally misrepresenting data is very bad and I have no interest in being misleading about Midnight's weight changes. :) The background here is that I originally had these charts start at zero, but I found that it made it difficult to see changes of a few ounces. Since these charts were originally for me, I decided to design the charts in a way that was most readable for me. In the future, I'll consider adding some clarification to the charts themselves or the text introducing it.
- AviN4
- Supporter in '21
Midnight has been doing surprisingly well. His weight has been very stable for the past 4 months as you can see on these charts. (Note that to help me visualize changes, the Y axis starts at 35 ounces.)
Since the weight loss began (~10 months):
[original] Since adoption (~3 years):
[original] And behaviorally, he seems fine as well. No obvious evidence of pain or discomfort from the stones or the arthritis. He seems to enjoy eating, exploring, napping, playing with his cagemate, etc.
The only two changes I've maintained in terms of treatment are:
[original]
[original] However, Dr. B still thinks the stones are in Midnight's bladder, not his ureter, which is what he told me back in September. He said the string of stones may be lining the bottom of his bladder. His reasoning is:
I haven't decided what to do next.
Since the weight loss began (~10 months):
[original] Since adoption (~3 years):
[original] And behaviorally, he seems fine as well. No obvious evidence of pain or discomfort from the stones or the arthritis. He seems to enjoy eating, exploring, napping, playing with his cagemate, etc.
The only two changes I've maintained in terms of treatment are:
- 0.25 mg dose of Metacam each morning.
- Feeding them both KMS pellets and Oxbow "Garden Select" pellets, in different bowls, 1/4 cup in each bowl. Though they've mostly lost interest in the Garden Select, so most of it ends up in the trash.
[original]
[original] However, Dr. B still thinks the stones are in Midnight's bladder, not his ureter, which is what he told me back in September. He said the string of stones may be lining the bottom of his bladder. His reasoning is:
- The anatomical location of the stones look to Dr. B like they're in the bladder.
- Stones in the ureter would likely be causing kidney problems, leading to severe symptoms. But Midnight now has no symptoms at all.
I haven't decided what to do next.