Penny's Med Thread

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bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Tue Nov 15, 2022 10:57 am


IMO, blood work isn't going to tell you a whole lot about a guinea pig unless there's some serious illness going on. And it's very hard to draw blood on one because their veins are so tiny. I always refused blood work unless they could get enough from clipping a toenail and getting a drop that way.

Why on earth do you suppose this vet doesn't think a guinea pig needs to weighed regularly? While I agree that there's no need to weigh more often than once a day, preferably in the morning, I can't figure out a reason why they shouldn't be weighed weekly.

Annapox

Post   » Tue Nov 15, 2022 11:13 am


He said that weighing too often can be misleading because you can get caught up in the little fluctuations instead of seeing the overall trend. I've definitely gotten caught up in the little fluctuations before, but I don't agree that that means I shouldn't weigh the pigs weekly. (And I have a line graph on my weight chart spreadsheets so that I can see the overall trend more easily.) I'm still planning on weighing my guinea pigs weekly when they're healthy and more often than that when they're sick, because every other vet I've met has been in favor of that.

The vet recommended blood work because GI stasis can sometimes be caused by other things that would show up in blood work, like bacterial infections. He also said that we don't draw blood from guinea pigs by clipping their toenails anymore because it's the equivalent of cutting off the tip of a person's finger. The vet I went to before I moved to where I currently live got blood samples that way, though, so I had thought that was standard practice. I don't know. The fact that he doesn't think weighing guinea pigs weekly is important makes me think I should take everything he says with a proverbial grain of salt.

Annapox

Post   » Mon Nov 21, 2022 12:10 pm


Penny has been on the Cisapride for about a week now. Between 11/14 and 11/20 she gained back 11.3 g. I weighed her every day just to make sure she didn't lose weight for several days in a row, and she didn't. I'm hoping that means she's on the mend.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Nov 21, 2022 8:02 pm


I hope so too! Thanks for the update. Hoping positive updates continue!

Annapox

Post   » Wed Nov 30, 2022 4:37 pm


Penny's weight was stable through 11/27 (three days ago), and I even saw her popcorn two or three times over the last few days. However, she's barely touched her pellets today, and when I weighed her, she was 94.3 g lighter than on 11/27. Only 12.5 g of that can be accounted for by the uneaten pellets. I have a vet appointment for Penny tomorrow afternoon, but it's at a different location (same practice, though) with a different vet. Penny's last dose of the Cisapride was on 11/24; could the weight loss be because she isn't on it anymore?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Nov 30, 2022 10:05 pm


I'm sorry to hear she has lost weight. Let us know what the vet thinks. The cisapride (a motility drug) may have something to do with it - but I don't really know. Does she seem to be in pain at all?
www.guinealynx.info/pain.html

Annapox

Post   » Thu Dec 01, 2022 8:31 am


Her fur is sticking out, but I don't think she's hunching. Then again, I've never seen a guinea pig hunch as far as I know. Penny's fur has also always stuck out during veggie time, so it didn't register as a possible symptom until I read the list you linked. I don't think she's showing any of the other symptoms on the list. She's acting like her usual happy self, although of course she's probably not actually happy. She ate her veggies as eagerly as usual yesterday and has eaten her vitamin C biscuits yesterday and today (she gets one twice a day and loves them), but I left the pellets out for her overnight and they still looked untouched this morning. I did see her eat one pellet last night, though.

I did the math (or rather my spreadsheet did), and Penny lost 9% of her weight between 11/27 and 11/30. She still looks the same size, but that might just be because her fur is sticking out. The silver lining is that, since Penny was very overweight before all this, she could afford the weight loss. I'm not so worried about whether she'll gain the weight back; I just want her to stop losing weight.

The vet appointment is scheduled for about 5.5 hours from the time of writing this, so I'll post an update sometime after that.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Dec 01, 2022 8:43 am


So glad she is still eating. F
FYI, a good way to evaluate weight can be found on this page (a veterinarian sent me condition guidelines - they do not depend on weight but distribution and condition).
www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html

Annapox

Post   » Thu Dec 01, 2022 7:34 pm


Thank you for the info!

The vet said it's GI dysmotility; Penny's back on the Cisapride and will remain on it indefinitely. The vet said that any number of things can cause GI dysmotility in older pigs. He managed to draw blood without anesthesia (he drew it from her leg), and according to the results of the first set of tests Penny's liver and kidneys and everything are functioning normally. I should get a call about her red and white blood cell counts and things like that by early next week.

Penny is currently eating her pellets, which is a relief.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Dec 01, 2022 10:07 pm


Yes, there definitely are guinea pigs that have been put on motility drugs long term.

Annapox

Post   » Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:17 am


Penny resumed eating her pellets within a couple hours of her first dose of Cisapride on 12/1 and finished her pellets about as fast as she does when she's healthy. She didn't finish them until about 10:15 pm, though, and I'm guessing that's why she was very slow to eat her pellets yesterday (12/2). She almost finished them during the night; she had about ten pellets left when I woke up this morning.

On 12/1 I forgot about weighing her until after she'd had her veggies, but she was weighed at the vet when she'd only had a little bit of lettuce (for hydration on the way to the vet), and her weight was stable compared to 11/30. Yesterday (12/2) when I weighed her, she'd gained 62.9 g from 11/30.

Yesterday I got an email from the vet who did Penny's well check in October (he asked me to keep him updated on Penny's condition back when we started her on the meloxicam), and he said Penny's weight loss could be caused by stopping the Cisapride but that he's usually careful about putting pigs on Cisapride long-term because it can cause electrolyte imbalances. He also told me which vet to ask about it if I brought Penny in for an appointment, and it was the vet who saw her on 12/1. That vet didn't mention anything about electrolyte imbalances and said it was safe to put guinea pigs on Cisapride long-term, so now I'm a little confused. The vet's office just called a few minutes ago to check in and see if I had any questions, so I asked about Cisapride and electrolyte imbalances. The office will call me back when they have an answer for me.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:22 am


As I mentioned earlier, there are definitely guinea pigs here who have been put on motility drugs long term.

Glad to hear she's eating better now!

Do make sure any exam includes an examination of her teeth in case she is losing weight. It's helpful to keep the details of this page (signs of malocclusion) in mind:
www.guinealynx.info/malocclusion.html

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