"Healthy" Piggie Peeing Blood.

victoria15

Post   » Thu Jul 01, 2021 1:59 am


All images in the top row were taken this morning (I was filming).
The bottom images were taken in the afternoon or at night. The afternoon/night pictures are taken on the different days (about a week or two apart but both recent. The bottom right one is taken yesterday).
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The bulging is quite obvious in the afternoon and I would say that the left seems bulged more than the right. The vet did not check her teeth so there might be something going on there. Maybe she pushes (ie. eats during the day) her teeth and pushes her eye outward??

Image that was taken tonight from above. (10:00PM-ish)
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I will take pictures of her throughout the day and monitor her eyes.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Jul 01, 2021 10:26 pm


Taking pictures for documentation and comparison purposes can be so helpful. I do not see significant changes in the eyes.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Jul 02, 2021 8:17 am


You wrote the lump was:
Cytology result only says, "FNA - Amorphous waxy debris."
This reminds me of glands (?) in the skin that produce lots of cebaceous material. The skin can rupture leaving an unusual looking area that needs to be removed surgically. I don't know if this is at all related to what is going on with your guinea pig. A FNA will generally sample only a small section.

Image

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victoria15

Post   » Tue Jul 06, 2021 2:57 am


Hi Lynx,

I am not sure if that piggie's back has been shaved but it probably is something similar to that.

I end up not seeing the vet just for the eyes. I think it was the lighting. I can observe the white of her eyes easier at night for some reason. I received a call from the clinic and was told that the vet will check her teeth while she is under anaesthesia.

I just noticed that the ​estimate includes Meloxadin Oral Susp. 1.5mg/ml 10 mL and Baytril/Enrofloxacin Oral 20mg/mL.

1. I googled "Meloxadin 1.5MG 10ml " and I think I found the box of Meloxadin Oral Susp. According to the description on the box, each mL contains 1.5 mg meloxicam. Your site recommends 0.2 mg/kg, PO, q24h. My pig weighs 1 kg. Giving her 1 ml of 1.5mg/mL meloxicam is already 7.5 times more than it needs to be. He plans to give 10 mLs ... so that would be 75 times more than she needs, no? I do not think he plans to give her meloxicam for 75 days. The dosage for dogs are also 0.2 mg/kg as you wrote, too. I will check with the clinic. My guess is that the clinic simply wants me to buy the whole product (the product box says it contains "10ml").
2. Regarding Baytril, your site recommends 2.5-10.0 mg/kg q12h. Maybe the vet made an estimate for 24 hours but I am not sure (it's on the high end, but still within). I just want to make sure she will not be overdosed so I will ask. I am thinking about requesting for Bactrim instead of Baytril; however, I kind of do not get the purpose of antibiotics for this surgery. She does not have an abscess, UTI, or URI. In order to chose the safer antibiotics, I will contact my former clinic and ask which one she had in the past. I cannot remember which med it was but she was enjoying the flavor of the "treat (med)."

The surgery is in two days. I will do what I can do. I appreciate this platform so much.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Jul 06, 2021 8:31 am


You wrote earlier: " Also, I could go back to my former vet who did not know that sows could bleed when they are on heat. I was upset that she did not know, but unlike this vet, she spends time on the health check. "

I would not hold this against your vet. It is generally believed that they do not bleed during their cycle. It has been an observation of a very few of us that an occasional guinea pig can spot for a couple days and then stop, that may correlate to possible bleeding during their cycle. They may also not bleed at all for months. So this is not usual.

If you are seeing a much lower meloxicam dose than the vet is prescribing for a dog on the bottle, it does seem to confirm that the lower dose indicated here is more in line with what you should be giving your guinea pig.

I agree with your assessment of the antibiotic. If there is an abscess, Baytril could help more than Bactrim. Baytril also seems to disrupt the gut bacteria more than Bactrim. You do want a compelling reason to use antibiotics.

p.s. I think if this was my guinea pig and I felt I could safely do it (and if my guinea pig would tolerate it), I would try clipping away some of the hair so I could monitor the lump for changes. The lump my guinea pig had broke the skin and was easy to examine so I haven't been tempted to trim hair.

victoria15

Post   » Wed Jul 07, 2021 2:29 am


I am dropping off my guinea pig at the clinic tomorrow morning for a cyst removal (in about 8 hrs). Hopefully, everything will go smooth.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Jul 07, 2021 11:13 am


I hope all goes well! This is not likely to be major surgery but you might want to read over:
https://www.guinealynx.info/postop.html

Let us know precisely what he finds the lump consists of.

victoria15

Post   » Fri Jul 09, 2021 4:28 am


Than you for your prayers. My guinea pig's surgery was successful and she is on the process of recovery right now.

I got a call from my vet around 1:00 PM and he explained to me how the surgery went. The lump consisted of a material that was thick as a clay. He removed it and washed it with antiseptic solution. At the bottom part of the cyst, there was a lot of scar tissue. This happens when the cyst is left for a long period of time. It was disturbing the surrounding tissue so there was an inflammation (I missed a bit of info here because I was exhausted from the training at my work... sorry). He successfully removed the cyst and the envelope. He said it was a good decision to go with removal but there is still a small chance that it may come back, but it is unlikely. Her stitches will be removed in 2 weeks. Although she should not be able to reach that area, he told me to come back if stitches are disturbed or removed. I asked if I should separate my pigs for 2 weeks; he suggest to keep them together because guinea pigs get stressed when separated. It would help her recovery if they are put together. Overall, I am happy that he was the surgeon for my pig... especially considering that many clinics rejected to take guinea pigs in.

As of now, she usually comes to me when I bring her the treats. My pig has lost about 50-60 g right after the surgery and she continues to lose a bit (She weighed 950g in the morning and was 943g when I came home from work). She has become picky with foods and this indicates me that she feels sick/pain. She continues to eat majority of food, but she is not that interested in apples anymore. Since she eats hay and veggies actively, I do not think she needs force-feeding at the moment. Since she has lost some weight, I am encouraging her to eat more by feeding piggies with various veggies every 2 to few hours (when I am at home).

I am not sure if anybody's interested, overall, the vet fee for this case was around $850+ CAD.

Thank you.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Jul 09, 2021 9:48 am


Thanks for the follow up! Apples aren't a vegetable but a fruit so better to only give occasional small bits (if any) at any rate.

I am interested to know what this "clay like" matter is. If your vet can provide more info, especially regarding what was the likely cause (how it formed), that would be very helpful.

I hope it does not recur too. Sounds like you are on top of everything, monitoring food intake and behavior. Here is a page on pain, for other readers. You likely know what to look for.
https://www.guinealynx.info/pain.html

victoria15

Post   » Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:21 am


Hi Lynx,

I was going to get back to you after I ask questions on the cyst when my pig gets her stitches removed.

But things changed.

I am seeing the vet first thing tomorrow morning because the incision opened. Two days after the surgery, I asked the vet to have a look at her stitches because it was leaking and it seemed partly loose in my opinion. The Vet B (not my pig's surgeon) who saw my pig did not find an issue. My pig started to lose appetite/ had diarrhea from either or both pain killer and antibiotics so I was advised from the Vet A (my pig's surgeon) to stop both. She gained back her appetite and had been happy until tonight. Last night, I noticed her incision site had formed a hard white crust around the area that it was leaky. The Vet B advised to take the antibiotics again. After I arrived home from work today, I noticed that her incision site was opened so I immediately called the clinic; they booked her in for tomorrow morning. She was obviously in pain so she is on pain meds. I think her incision opened because the air-dried solution of red blood cells and white blood cells, that was covering the stitches, cracked and broke the stitches. I simplified the story but the communication with the clinic/vet was quite disorganized. For example, when the front told me the vet B prescribed baytril, I was like, Uh... you know that I already have them, right? I don't think they have updated my pig's record. The vet B prescribed 15mg/kg of baytril which I said "No" to. No to the prescription fee on the med that I already own and to the dosage. I gave 5mg/kg instead and will be feeding poop-soup (thank you for summarizing the recipe/method). Although my pig was lucky to have the surgery during the pandemic, my impression is that this clinic is over their capacity. To be fair, when I was calling that her incision opened, I was prepared to hear "we are about to close so go to emergency" like I have heard many clinics say; instead, they booked my pig in for tomorrow morning so that is one positive that I can say about this clinic. I really hope the vet would smoothly decide to go for a partial anesthesia. If they tell me they are doing the same surgery again, I don't know what to do ... I am nervous for the appointment.

It is also annoying that tomorrow's treatment will be on my expense although I had been saying this since the day or two after the surgery. Personally, sewing could have been better. My pig cannot reach that area and my other pig has showed no interest. I should have insisted and called again the day after she was returned untreated. But like the vet B said, there may had been no issue at the time.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Jul 17, 2021 9:44 am


Is there any odor? Odor could indicate infection. Do you have any pictures? Did you send the vet any pictures to help evaluate how the incision was opening?

On the postop page, there is a discussion of what to expect with an incision and a link to my guinea pig's incision as it healed (I was at first afraid to handle her much so the pictures are after quite a bit of healing happened):
https://www.guinealynx.info/spay.html#incision

I am glad you are so on top of this. You can certainly remind the vet you brought up the incision looking loose a couple days after surgery.

I think the diarrhea would most likely have occurred relative to the antibiotic or an infection, not the pain medication.

Let us know how the followup visit goes.

victoria15

Post   » Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:23 am


Hi,

At the vet appointment, he said it is healing well although there was a hole of approx. 1 cm diameter opened at the top of surgery site. He seemed like he knew what is going on. At the appointment, I suggested moist healing but he said he wants to keep it dry. I am no expert, but I cannot find any evidence that drying better than keeping it moist. He told me to come back in a month.

Now, three holes: two are around 1.5 cm and the smallest one is around 0.5 cm.

I will be purchasing derma gel online. I cannot find any source that drying is better now days.

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