Protozoa in Bladder/Urine and Metronidazole

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DevoutHaruhiist
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Post   » Sun Apr 24, 2022 11:56 pm


She probably was, it's just odd how she kind of occasionally stops in the middle of things (like eating) and falls asleep rather than going to certain spots like she used to. This is also kind of connected to the fact that she is only using about 1/2 of her cage recently. I probably mentioned she's blind so I'm not super surprised she was eyes wide open. I have never really observed her breathing closely so wasn't sure if how she was breathing in the video would be considered "labored."

She is still on 3 medications, not sure if longer term use of these (Bactrim, small dose of Orbax, and metacam) would have any bad effects or if it's just her age. She doesn't seem to be in pain, especially compared to before when her UTI was bad.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Apr 25, 2022 9:16 am


It sounds like a promising combination at the moment if she does not seem to be in pain and is improved.

DevoutHaruhiist
Supporter in '22

Post   » Mon Apr 25, 2022 8:55 pm


Yeah, you are probably right Lynx. I am watching her weight with some concern. Last night around midnight after her last syringe feeding she was topped out at 880g but this morning had her lowest weight in awhile at 846g. It went back up throughout the day as she ate and pooped normally (she is excited for food, syringe or regular) but I am concerned about the trend even though I know it is still only a small drop. Not sure why she would be losing weight given she is eating just as much if not more than before. I know she is at least eating some hay overnight as well from watching the camera playback.

DevoutHaruhiist
Supporter in '22

Post   » Wed Apr 27, 2022 8:00 pm


"Small" (well, in my usual rambly style) update on Margaret today. She is coming off of her antibiotics. Plan is for her to be off them for a bit (she had been on them a long time to kick this infection) and do a new culture at my next vet appointment on May 10th.

Her weight has been holding but still didn't recover from that sort of inexplicable drop at the beginning of the week. Whereas last week her weight would start the day in the high 860s/870 and end near 900 or over, now she is around 950s in the morning and 980 before bed. Seems she is holding with the bit of syringe feeding I am doing (and she is still eating plenty on her own and very excited for food).

I noticed her doing more self-grooming today, especially on her left side. Not sure what that is about. Have been giving her daily soaks this week and the frequent pee pad replacement has kept her much drier. That said her underside of course still looks pretty bad, it's mostly on her left side. Her left leg has little to not fur on it as you can see in the picture. I will note regarding the pictures of her stomach here-- it is not as red in real life as it appears in the picture. It's much lighter more like a pinkish skin color with maybe one or two more reddish spots. Lighting here makes it look very red.

I am not sure if all her grooming is self-barbering here or what. I did ask my vet about arthritis and he looked at her x-rays again and did not see anything prominent. Still very unsure about that bulge though I have to say, I still am thinking cyst even if one was not detected last time.

Always nervous for me going into Thursday because my vet is only there M-W usually. So I always feel a big drought Th-Su. That said she seems to be holding, with just those periods of blank stares or looking a bit under the weather punctuated throughout the day. I sometimes hear her randomly chatter her teeth as well (doesn't seem to be directed at anything).






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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Apr 27, 2022 11:00 pm


Thanks for the update. I wish the challenges we face with ill guinea pigs were never so complicated.

I'm having a hard time visualizing what angle you took the last picture from. Are the folds weight loss?

DevoutHaruhiist
Supporter in '22

Post   » Wed Apr 27, 2022 11:05 pm


Haha yeah that was a weird pic. It was from behind her diagonally. So that is the back of her left back leg. I am almost certain those folds are from weight loss. Back in December 2021 she was around 1100g and before that topped out at 1200 so now that she's like 850-900 I guess it shows in her skin :(.

Yeah it would be nice if it weren't so complicated! But I am happy to hear her wheeking each day again considering how she was before. Though of course I wish she would make a fuller recovery.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Thu Apr 28, 2022 6:15 am


Baby steps, sometimes, but at least it's progress. Glad to hear she is doing better.

DevoutHaruhiist
Supporter in '22

Post   » Fri Apr 29, 2022 7:19 pm


Thanks. I certainly hope things at least stabilize.

Weight continued to be unstable today. Just slightly lower than yesterday and not really gaining a lot of ground throughout the day (normally I would see a low weight in the morning that would go up throughout the day as she ate/got fed, then drop at night-- now I am seeing some drops during the day). She does still seem eager for food but also has uncomfortable looking periods. Definitely concerned about her weight, despite it still being only tiny changes. In my discussions on theguineapigforum it was mentioned that not being able to maintain weight could be based on just nutritional absorption being bad and body slowing shutting down. I hope this is not the case with her.

Someone at theguineapigforum was telling me about one or two pigs they've had with thickened lower bowels which led to period stomach cramps that would come and go quickly. Really curious if this is what Margaret might be suffering from since a lot else has been eliminated. They said the treatment they used were motility drugs and metacam mostly. I don't have any motility stuff at the moment but she is already on regular metacam (though I might up it again slightly since I had cut it back). She is still pooping a good amount, though some of them are starting to look again like ones pictured way back in the start of this thread-- slightly oddly colored (lighter) or textured. Not sure if I should up probiotic intake.

As another issue I am going to try and get an updated picture of her tooth. One of her issues many posts ago is her tooth broke. It started growing back but looked a bit discolored and "chunky," which the vet also looked at. He said the discoloration is normally a sign of infection but didn't see anything going on on her gums. Now the tooth is about equal in length to the other top tooth (and might be a little longer?) and still chunky/discolored. It does not seem to impair her eating but just another thing to watch.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Apr 29, 2022 9:10 pm


I am unfamiliar with thickened lower bowels and do not recall any guinea pigs with that diagnosed medical condition (maybe someone else might recall?).

Here's an interesting article about gastrointestinal problems in guinea pigs (and rabbits):

Gastrointestinal Disease in Guinea Pigs and Rabbits
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7128126/
Parasitic disease GI helminth infections are predominately due to the guinea pig roundworm, Paraspidodera uncinata. The nematode develops and resides in the cecum and colon but does not invade the mucosa. Typical oxyurid eggs are shed in the feces, and ingestion leads to infection within 3 to 5 days. Infections are often mild and subclinical, although heavy infections lead to anorexia, diarrhea, weight loss, and poor coat. Treatment is with ivermectin (0.2 mg/kg SC) and prevention by effective sanitation.22, 34
Has your guinea pig ever been treated with ivermectin? Or antiparasitics, besides the treatment for protozoa? I asked because I ran across hair loss as one sign. Could account for some of the weight loss and signs you are seeing.

DevoutHaruhiist
Supporter in '22

Post   » Fri Apr 29, 2022 9:23 pm


Hmm. Good question. She has never had any other parasite treatment before the Flagyl for the protozoa way back at the beginning of this thread. That is a good question though maybe for me to ask the vet or see if I can at least rule it out.

The vet did say that the "bulge" is likely (having ruled out the other stuff) a distended cecum. Though why or whether that is a problem was kind of a "wait and see" I guess. Her behavior really has me guessing. She is super excited for food and yet is losing weight (very slowly). She can run around and climb, wheek ,etc. but other times she seems a bit weak, kind of plopping down wherever.

DevoutHaruhiist
Supporter in '22

Post   » Sat Apr 30, 2022 1:16 am


One more new thing I noticed tonight. Some thinning of the fur on her left flank (kind of middle of the body, in front of the "bulge"). Looks like one or two scabs there (sorry if the pictures are no good, it's kind of dark there with her black fur. I am thinking this might be from her over grooming this area over the last week or so, either from pain or something else. (?) No equivalent on her other side. Similar to how her left foot I guess has also lost most of its fur but the right has not. Weight was not great tonight during her last feeding -- was up from the morning of course but not as much as prior days, which has me anticipating another net loss tomorrow. I am wondering if I should increase her pellet intake as well as add another syringe feeding per day. She is eager to eat everything, as I have said, and I had cut back the pellets quite a bit due to her urinary issues. But at this point I wonder if she just needs to eat more.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r2sd21 ... rZ5JR/view

DevoutHaruhiist
Supporter in '22

Post   » Mon May 02, 2022 10:26 am


Vet will be able to squeeze me in tomorrow thankfully. Her weight has still been a bit shaky but at least it's not dropping fast, though still slowly creeping downward. Making a list here (mostly for myself) of things I want to make sure I get checked/ask questions about.

1. Generally check of all vitals (heart/lungs)
2. Check of that thing I found on her skin on her flank
3. Ask about her weight loss
4. Check her distended looking bulge
5. Check her left leg and underbelly (lost fur, I have seen rare stumbles on her left leg)
6. Check urine (she just finished her loooong course of antibiotics last week but I have seen more sludge in her urine lately)
7. Check and probably trim her front tooth. The broken one is now growing back too long (and still looks a bit chunky/discolored)

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