Peppa’s Possible Pyometra

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JJGiebz
Make Good Choices

Post   » Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:22 pm


She dropped the most recent 150 grams over the course of the past month, but she has been eating voraciously.

She has dropped about 500 grams over the past 4-5 months. I guess I would be glad to think that was just senior weight loss. I would certainly feel better about not having her poked and prodded further. But she is so severely under weight - I can feel every one of her bones.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:28 pm


Have you read this case study? I don't know if it will be helpful or not, I reread some of it but not all:
https://www.guinealynx.info/hyperthyroi ... study.html

JJGiebz
Make Good Choices

Post   » Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:39 pm


Thanks, Lynx! I have read that. That was what pushed me to push for the thyroid meds, in addition to the recommendations of a vet we used to see several moves ago (the most trusted of all the vets we've seen).

She has always consumed a lot of water and peed frequently in large volume, so that is not new. But the voracious eating and rapid weight loss are both new. She certainly doesn't have excessive energy, but she is also in quite a bit of pain from her feet as well as (I think) from her weight loss. Which contributes to her not moving, which makes her feet worse, etc. etc. Another symptom - she has recently begun regrowing hair in a lot of bald patches she's had for the past few months. I really thought it was thyroid, but the medicine just had no effect on her.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:47 pm


When you say she is eating a lot. Everything is going in? Poop is going out? I ask because a guinea pig that is having teeth issues, for example, may look like they are eating but not as much is going in as it looks like. Weighing pellets, for example, may help get a good reading on intake.

Are you hand feeding? Some people will make Critical Care "mush balls" for a guinea pig to consume if they can eat on their own.

JJGiebz
Make Good Choices

Post   » Sat Apr 01, 2023 9:13 pm


Oh yes, she is eating and LOTS of poop is coming out. I am glad for that, at least. I am also giving her some critical care when she has her meds, but she is eating about 3 times the recommended amount of pellets - about 3/8 of a cup - in addition to her regular vegetables and hay. She has always been a grazer and not at all what I would call food motivated, so this is definitely unusual.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Apr 01, 2023 9:19 pm


This sounds like a mystery then. I am sorry pursuing thyroid issues did not prove fruitful. It would seem her body is not able to process the food if so much is going in and she is still losing weight.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sun Apr 02, 2023 1:13 am


Maybe try giving her some BeneBac. It won't hurt, and it might help.

JJGiebz
Make Good Choices

Post   » Sun Apr 02, 2023 6:06 am


Thanks, bpatters! I did give her some benebac last night after the second increased dose of flagyl, after the diarrhea started. It seemed to help a little. Weirdly (luckily) she has never had a negative reaction to any antibiotic before. So maybe I will keep up the increased dose of flagyl for 5 days, give her benebac after each dose, and see what happens.

Reading through other users experiences with flagyl it sounds like it is usually prescribed for 5-7 days. It is under a different brand name here, but it is the same strength. So I wonder why the vet told me it requires a 30 day course.

As always, I wish science would pay more attention to these tiny critters. In the meantime, trial and error. If this doesn't work, I may go back to the thyroid meds and increase the dose slightly until something happens. I feel like she has nothing to lose at this point.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Apr 02, 2023 2:04 pm


Flagyl used as an antiparasitic may need an extended course of treatment. If there are no problems, it could help. Parasites can be introduced through contaminated food we give them.

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