Protozoa in Bladder/Urine and Metronidazole

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Thu May 05, 2022 11:09 pm


Wow, her belly looks so much better. You are really taking good care of her, and I agree with Lynx. You need to sleep as well.

DevoutHaruhiist
Supporter in '22

Post   » Fri May 06, 2022 1:29 pm


Thanks, everyone. I got a little better sleep last night and she did not seem to have another episode like that.

That said her weight has been a little worrying. She dropped down into the 820s/830s from her previous week which was in the 840s-860s. Not sure if this might be some interference from her tooth or something internal.

I will see if it is just a temporary thing but the trend has been worrying. Her appetite has still seemed good though I would say in her syringe feeding sessions (she has 3 small ones a day still) she has been less interested in taking the syringe food. She used to take a lot of it if I just put it in front of her mouth. She still does for the first few 1mL syringes but peters out a lot quicker than before. Still eating all of her greens (though I have kept this amount low for fear of gas) as well as her pellets. Eating hay as well but the amount is harder to measure. Pooping plenty, that's for sure.

DevoutHaruhiist
Supporter in '22

Post   » Fri May 06, 2022 2:09 pm


(Also contemplating whether all this means I have to start getting more aggressive or frequent with her syringe feeds again)

DevoutHaruhiist
Supporter in '22

Post   » Sun May 08, 2022 10:48 am


Sadly she keeps losing weight. Has been around 810g in the mornings the last 2 days. Still very interested in food for the most part-- eating veggies and excited about them, eating pellets, still eating hay. I will say she is a little less enthusiastic about the syringe food which I had still been giving 3x a day. I know this was discussed before but I may need to step this up again. I was wondering what thoughts were on here about being more free with the pellets as well. In the past I limited them to less than a tablespoon due to concerns about her diet, sludge, etc. (she gets Oxbow Garden Select btw). But I am wondering if feeding them more freely might help her weight stop dropping.


Luckily no more episodes like what happened last Weds but she still does have occasional periods of discomfort or lethargy. I have also heard the return of some (very occasional at this point) pain while going to the bathroom. Still very limited number of spots she is going to in her cage, pretty much just walking around in the food area and sitting/sometimes lying next to it. That said she doesn't seem to have any walking issues when in her playpen, but I do think her lopsidedness with her belly distension probably makes it hard.



She has a vet appointment Weds to check her tooth again as well as it was supposed to be for a new urine culture, but honestly I think she might have to go back on antibiotics either way rather than waiting a few days for the culture to come back.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun May 08, 2022 11:24 am


Sorry to hear about what looks like more weight loss - though it is a small amount, I know you pay attention to everything and are worried this is a trend.

I wish there was a good food to feed that did not have any added calcium (I understand wanting to limit pellets). If more pellets helped but indirectly produced more pain -- not good. Maintaining weight is, however, important. It is possible the pellets might have more digestible calories which would help. I believe Critical Care also has added calcium.

So no answers - could experiment with more pellets and see if they are eaten and evaluate weight and pain changes.

DevoutHaruhiist
Supporter in '22

Post   » Sun May 08, 2022 8:11 pm


Yeah the trend has not been great, she is down 50g in the last week with no sign of stopping. And that's despite eating fairly well as I mentioned. I will have to experiment with the pellets a little-- it's definitely a balance. I think there is no doubt she will go back on antibiotics since I also found some pink in her urine today. I am also afraid her distended belly is getting a tiny bit bigger/worse.

Trying to compile my thoughts for the vet visit early Tuesday morning so I don't feel like I missed anything. I think the topics of discussion, in no particular order, will be as follows:

1. Her tooth. Probably by Tues it needs to be clipped/evened out. It does not seem to be bothering her eating except for very occasional strange chewing-- I don't think this is the central cause of her weight loss.
2. UTI/ultrasound/antibiotics question. Might involve a culture but I'd hate to wait for the results to get her started. That said last time it took two different antibiotics and a lot of time to work.
3. Weight loss -- see if there are any new ideas
4. Stomach bulge/lopsidedness-- xray? last few times didn't really see anything from an xray
5. General mobility, heart, lungs, etc.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun May 08, 2022 10:25 pm


Sounds like you will be prepared. Let us know what the vet has to say.

DevoutHaruhiist
Supporter in '22

Post   » Tue May 10, 2022 2:11 pm


Went to the vet today. Margaret continued to not do great last night, she still has an appetite but it is definitely lower.

1. She got her incisors clipped/evened out, so that was good
2. Got ultrasounds and x-ray. Ultrasound showed some sludge in there (as always) and some thickening of the bladder wall. He also saw her pee in pain. X-ray did not really show anything new. Still has the distended stomach but no bloat or anything. No stones either.
3. She is starting on the same regime of dual antibiotics again (bactrim and orbax). Probably will be a long term thing.

She is definitely tired both from the trip and her condition. Also noticing a lot of soft poops today (before the antibiotic) so hoping her digestive system holds up. She did not have a bad reaction to the antibiotics before so hoping that continues. I also hope her appetite improves again. I have had to be more persuasive with the syringe food again. Though she is still eating pellets, veggies, and eating some hay on her own in small spurts.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed May 11, 2022 10:31 am


I hope she tolerates the antibiotics well. I know it is helpful to you to monitor changes. Glad the vet had a chance to see her pee in pain (though I wish she was not experiencing pain). I think describing behavior that causes pain is one thing but if the vet can see it, he/she should realize how important it is for you to mitigate it.

DevoutHaruhiist
Supporter in '22

Post   » Wed May 11, 2022 1:38 pm


Yeah, I expect the antibiotics to be handled well since she was on them for quite awhile and had no issues. That said, even before the antibiotics (early yesterday) into today her appetite has started to drop more. She is showing a lot less interest in her syringe food and I have to get creative about getting it in her again. Will probably also have to up the number of feeding sessions again. She is still happy about pellets and veggies but unenthused about hay. She will come out and eat a few strands and then go back into hiding. I hope that this is something the antibiotics might turn around in a few days at most. But last time it took a long time to see any effect.

Her poops yesterday into today have been small and clustered looking mostly, but they are flowing at least.

DevoutHaruhiist
Supporter in '22

Post   » Thu May 12, 2022 2:36 am


Today (Weds) was the second full day of her back on her dual antibiotics course (bactrim and orbax). Worry of the day for me is around digestive issues. Her appetite was not great Tuesday so Tuesday and today I stepped up the syringe feeding. Tuesday it was a lot of small, round, often clustered poops for her. Today it was very soft and smelly poops bordering on diarrhea, along with the occasional gas "pop" sounds (alongside her straining with her urine probably). I am not sure if the soft stool is just a coincidence or related to the antibiotics. I would be surprised if she had bad side effects from them when she was already on this course for 4 weeks+ with no real issue and has only been off them for maybe 2 weeks. Or maybe it's because ~60% of her diet the last day was critical care mix. Not sure. There's also the unexplained stomach bulge/lopsidedness so idk if that might end up having digestive implications.

Only silver lining was that in the early/late evening today her appetite seemed to improve a little. I.E. while she ate little to no hay on her own in the morning, by evening she seemed to be into it again. That said even late into the evening during her last syringe session still a lot of "soft serve" poop coming out.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu May 12, 2022 8:17 am


It sounds like she may have had some digestive discomfort/pain. Hope she eats more today.

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