Blood in pee, UTI/IC/cryst/tumor

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JJGiebz
Make Good Choices

Post   » Thu Aug 04, 2022 8:47 pm


Good luck!! We are all pulling for you both, I hope you find a good balance for her.

alex117

Post   » Fri Aug 05, 2022 5:06 am


I think i kinda know what triggers her diarrhea, it is the cucumber. 2 12g of cucumber turn her poop back to soft poop. She was having perfect poop until she had 2 slices of cucumber :/.

On the other hand, she is still peeing blood out and it looks like the more she strains when she pees, the more blood she will pee it out. I have increase her metacam to 0.4ml q12h temporary to supress her inflammation

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Fri Aug 05, 2022 6:46 am


I wish I had something useful to suggest. It's good that you were able to attribute the loose stools to the cucumber. Hopefully by eliminating that from her diet, or at least reducing the amount, you can avoid further issues with that.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Aug 05, 2022 10:56 pm


Thanks for your updates. I so hope your medical plan is successful.

alex117

Post   » Sat Aug 06, 2022 3:44 pm


Hi guys, it is me again.

Just want to say thank you for all the support and suggestions. We had an xray today and we found out there are 3 more stone like object on her bladder and the opacity match the previous stone like object, based on the previous experience, it probably something that we cannot remove.

Because of that, i have decided to put her down. And she has just crossed the rainbow bridge.

alex117

Post   » Sat Aug 06, 2022 4:07 pm


I will upload the x-ray to this thread later and also i will see if i can get the ultrasound sample. Hope that can help with other guinea pig owner.

Lisa12

Post   » Sat Aug 06, 2022 4:09 pm


Oh, no!!
I am so very sorry for your loss..i ve been reading and hoping she will recover from all her troubles..R.I.P.

alex117

Post   » Sat Aug 06, 2022 4:41 pm


Ball's today x-ray
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rct-rf ... p=drivesdk
Closeup:
[SHOW]
Image
Ball's x-ray 3 weeks ago
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11CEc1C ... p=drivesdk
Closeup:
[SHOW]
Image
As you can see, there is more and more stone like objects in her bladder. We don't believe they are actual stone because of the opacity of the object matched with the "stone like" object 3 weeks ago, and we confirmed there is no stone in her bladder when we open her bladder (the dr. who performed the surgery couldn't find the stone and she also ask another dr. to come in and locate the stone, both of them cant find any sign of the stone).

alex117

Post   » Sat Aug 06, 2022 5:08 pm


I hope you all dont find me too cruel to end her life today (she is still bright and eating a bit). Even though we were supposed to try the polysulfated glycosaminoglycan injection today, consider her overall vital:
1) weight is still slowly dropping with 3 tablespoon critical care and some veggies everyday,
2) she hide on her cave 24/7 and just want to face herself to the wall for these 3 weeks,
3) painful urination and i cannot suppress her hamaturina with doxycycline, dog metacam at 0.8mL per day, and gabapentin .
4) Extremely sensitive GI,
5) her appetite and energy decreased drastically in this week, she doesn't want to eat veggies since yesterday
6) her lung has a little bit of fibrosis from the URI she got on May

and given that the injection wont heal the bladder immediately, it takes 2-3 week to see the effect, i do not believe i can stall that long for her bladder before seeing other complications, and even i am able to stall that long, there is almost no evidence to support PSGAG injection can reverse the damage, based on the xray, i believe the damage is too much for her to repair. Therefore i made this tough decision.

Popcorn free, my little ball
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D9rpCU ... p=drivesdk

Closeup:
[SHOW]
Image

alex117

Post   » Sat Aug 06, 2022 6:07 pm


Also, i have done some more research about Adequan and Cartrophen that i would like to share in here, hopefully other piggie owner can find this useful when dealing with IC piggy.

Adequan and Cartrophen, are used to treat the same illness - arthritis, but the ingredient is fundamentally different.

Adequan main ingredient is the Polysulfated glycosaminoglycan(PSGAG), the mechanism of action is to inhibit many of the catabolic enzymes that degrade cartilage, proteoglycans, and hyaluronic acid, and inhibit the synthesis of prostaglandin E2, which is released upon joint injury and causes inflammation, increases the loss of proteoglycan, and reduces the threshold of pain receptors[1]. Since a part of proteoglycan complex is made of glycosaminoglycan(GAG). And interestingly enough, the mucosal bladder surface also contains a layer of GAG[2], and in 2003, a research found out that in IC patients, the GAG layer is damaged and made permeable, allowing an influx of urinary solutes, particularly potassium into the submucosa. This influx of potassium causes a cascade of tissue inflammation, degranulation of mast cells, and depolarisation of the sensory nerves, resulting in injury to tissue and bladder pain [3]. However, it doesn't really say it can reverse or heal back the layer effectively. In addition, if Cystease doesn't work the chance of injecting PSGAG will not make a huge difference, since cystease contain N-Acetyl glycosaminoglycan.

On the other hand, the main ingredient of Cartrophen is Pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS). PPS is a semi-synthetic, sulfated polysaccharide, which is chemically and structurally similar to heparin and GAG. A proposed mechanism is that the drug replaces the damaged parts of the GAG layer that lines the bladder [4][5]. It is also an FDA-approved drug for treating IC [6]. Unfortunately Cartrophen is not available in the US, but there is an oral form for humans IC call Elmiron, and both contain the same amount of PPS. So if someone end up in ball situation, maybe you can try giving elmiron on a small dosage first.

For those who want to know more about IC, i recommend reading "GAG Layer Replenishment Therapy for Chronic Forms of
Cystitis With Intravesical Glycosaminoglycans", this gives a very holistic overview on how human treat IC with different medications, it is quite useful as it talks about PPS and some form of Glycosaminoglycans.

Reference:
[1] Chronic Pain in Small Animal Medicine - Steven M. Fox
[2] Glycosaminoglycans Replacement Therapy Promising for IC/BPS in Multiple Studies to Date - Interstitial Cystitis Association (ichelp.org)
[3] Interstitial cystitis intravesical therapy - Ha - Translational Andrology and Urology (amegroups.com)
[4] Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome and glycosaminoglycans replacement therapy - PMC (nih.gov)
[5] GAG replenishment therapy for bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis - PubMed (nih.gov)
[6] Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome (IC/BPS): Establishing Effectiveness of Drugs for Treatment Guidance for Industry | FDA

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Aug 06, 2022 6:24 pm


Oh, I am so sorry for your loss, alex117. No, there is absolutely nothing cruel about ending their suffering when a pet's quality of life has become greatly diminished due to chronic illness, age, or other issues. It is, in fact, one of the most loving, compassionate things we can do for them so that they are no longer hurting.

You tried so hard to help Ball. I know how hard this must be.

Thank you for the update and information. Please take good care...I am keeping you in my thoughts.
Sef

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Aug 06, 2022 8:23 pm


I am so sorry she's gone. Euthanasia can be the kindest decision one makes. You understood well what she was going through and did your best to correct her problems. You have all our sympathy.

Thanks for the information on the two drugs. If you wish, I can permanently add your pictures to this topic for future readers.

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