Beef's Medical Topic

beefyduck

Post   » Sat Aug 21, 2021 11:53 am


ItsaZoo, I am extremely hesitant about a surgery. Beef has always been a pig to pee and then sit in it so to think about her doing this with an open wound makes me cringe. She also hates being handled so I fear she would wriggle too hard and tear open her incision when I try to inspect it. I feel like if this surgery goes well, all of this would still make the recovery extremely tricky and I'm worried that I won't be able to keep her as clean as she needs to be to heal well.

Bookfan, it seems like she didn't like the hormone injections because they aren't guaranteed to work whereas the spay would be curative. She also mentioned that the injections work well for a certain type of cyst (I couldn't catch the name), but that type does not happen to be the most common type.

I have to decide if Beef gets an ultrasound with our regular vet ($90) or with an ultrasonographer (over $500). With our regular vet she would only be able to look for obvious things that are wrong but the ultrasonographer would do a more thorough check of all of her organs and the scans would be sent to a radiologist for reading. I was originally going to do the ultrasound with our vet, but it seems that your experiences with ultrasounds weren't so definitive? Maybe it is worth it to get the ultrasound with the ultrasonographer..

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Lynx
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Post   » Sat Aug 21, 2021 4:39 pm


It is a difficult call. I think if funds were no problem at all, valuable info might be gained from a more professional ultrasound. But you still will likely be left with difficult decisions.

Has a set of xrays been done? It is also possible to gather information from an xray that could, for example, identify the ovaries and whether they are enlarged.

beefyduck

Post   » Sat Sep 04, 2021 7:37 pm


The vet preferred we go the ultrasound route over xray because she said it was more likely that we find something that way.

An update: We actually just got the ultrasound done today. I decided to get it done with our vet and she was not able to find anything (no obvious cysts or tumors). She said that if it is cysts then they are likely small and not too serious of a problem at the moment. She also did some bloodwork so we will see in about 3 days if that tells us anything new.

We went ahead with a lupron injection. I would have preferred cystorelin of HCG, but my vet does not use those and was not willing to get them. She said if lupron is working, we should see her hair growing back in about 3 weeks and I'm going to hope that it also stops Beefs rumblestrutting and grumpiness and weight loss!

Does anyone have experience with lupron injections? How often do they need to be administered? My vet said lupron absolutely must be administered monthly or it will be ineffective but I was under the impression that hormone injections are on an "as needed" basis. She recommended the deslorelin implant if the first shot of lupron works because they apparently work the same way? and the implant would turn out to be cheaper than monthly injections. In my research the implant has a really low efficacy rate whereas lupron seems to be fairly successful. So when my vet said the two are basically interchangeable it made me doubt her expertise in pigs. As always, input is appreciated!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Sep 04, 2021 9:05 pm


It sounds like you've done your homework. I don't know what to advise you on the shot vs implant. You may be able to find more using a search of the forums.

I too really hope the shot helps with behavior and weight loss and most importantly, HAIR regrowth!

Periodic updates are greatly appreciated.

beefyduck

Post   » Sat Oct 09, 2021 11:52 am


It has been a little over a month since Beef's first shot of lupron and exactly 1 week since her second shot. She is still a bit rumbly but perhaps that is just her personality. We are seeing beautiful, soft, shiny, dark hair growth!!!! I am very happy with her hair growth. It used to be coarse and dry but it feels so healthy now! Her black fur has been fading to a brown color, but since the lupron that brown fur is growing out black

https://ibb.co/mqsPdYK

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mmeadow
Supporter 2004-2022

Post   » Sat Oct 09, 2021 4:13 pm


Very good news! The shots are definitely the right choice for a six year old.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Oct 09, 2021 9:50 pm


That is super news!

Your link doesn't work for me but I trust she is looking better.

beefyduck

Post   » Mon Oct 11, 2021 7:21 pm


Sorry about that. Hopefully this works? https://imgur.com/a/n9caqwc

Beef might be due for yet another vet visit :(

I noticed that she has a tiny area on her butt that has some flaky skin. When I tried to get the flakes off, a tiny clump of hair would come off with it. I noticed a very small amount of flakes in this exact area over 2 months ago (I believe there is a picture in this thread), but didn't think anything of it. It is only slightly more flaky now. I am wondering if this could be residual flaking from a possible mite infestation? She was treated with revolution about 6 weeks ago.

I have read that fungal infections usually cause flaky skin and hair loss in clumps that start around the face. Her butt is the only place she has flaky skin. It has been over 2 months since i first noticed the flakes but her cage mate doesnt show any signs of fungal infection, so I am hoping for the possibility that there is no infection going on. Could this just be a fungal infection that is progressing slowly? What else could it be? I am thinking about giving her butt a thorough shampoo to get rid of all the flakes to see if they come back.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Oct 11, 2021 9:44 pm


I have lots of trouble with imgur and can open the page but everything goes blank before I can see the pic. Still trust she is looking better from the shots.

I would definitely give a Nizoral shampoo a try. It should help with the dandruff (a yeast/fungal infection)
https://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html

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