Peppa’s Possible Pyometra

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JJGiebz
Make Good Choices

Post   » Fri Aug 10, 2018 5:41 pm


Update:

Yesterday morning I found Peppa in extreme pain while trying to poop, and actively bleeding from what appeared to be her anus, but there was no blood on the stool. She peed blood, but didn’t seem to be in pain/straining to pee.

She had all of these symptoms two weeks ago when I first took her to the vet, except for the blood. The blood of course scared me, I called the vet and Dr. Powers very kindly called me on her day off. Since the pain had subsided with no lasting effects two weeks ago, I decided to watch her and wait. (I gave her metacam and critical care.)

Sure enough, within an hour she had stopped bleeding, relaxed and started eating and moving around normally. She had less and less blood in her pee until it was clear again today.

Dr. Powers gave all of her parts an extemely thorough once over today and found nothing unusual. She said her lady parts were closed, and the blood could not be coming from there, therefore it’s likely not reproductive after all. She said the inside of the anus was red in color, but otherwise smooth (ie not open/bleeding) and was consistently red. Peppa was pooping during the exam with no issue.

Needless to say I canceled the spay and will likely schedule the ultrasound afterall.

Has anyone had any experience with anything like this? I’ve never seen a pig in as much pain as she was in, and 12 hours later you’d never have known it. It is the weirdest thing.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:44 pm


I notice you had xrays taken that it seems ruled out stones. I would have suggested stones as a possibility - passing a stone as a cause for her pain. Do look around thoroughly to see if you can find anything that might indicate she passed a stone (on rare occasion, an xray will miss them - or she might have passed a different stone earlier).

JJGiebz
Make Good Choices

Post   » Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:17 pm


Yes, I keep an eye out. Unfortunately I am out of town this week, obsessively checking in with the sitters. The vet suggested that she may have stones too small to see on the X-ray. When I get home, I think I will go ahead with the ultrasound as the vet really didn’t know what else to do. She said she could refer me to the University of Tennessee for a second opinion, because she was just that stumped.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:22 pm


UT has a pretty good reputation with exotics. Or at least they used to. I haven't heard anything about them recently.

JJGiebz
Make Good Choices

Post   » Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:42 pm


Well, the plot thickens.

Peppa had her ultrasound today, nothing abnormal except a very small gall bladder stone which the drs assessed should not be bothering her, and would not result in the bleeding she was experiencing. She does have a small flap of skin hanging out of her butt which is attached and is not inflamed/diseased or otherwise bothering her. The vet thought that perhaps Peppa had gone in for a poop and accidentally mopped this piece of skin. That didn’t appear to be the case to me, but I was panicking at the time.

Unrelated (I hope) - I noticed her cage mate (1 yr old neutered male) had blood in his urine, so he went in today, too. Urinalysis confirmed blood but no infection, blood work was totally normal, and he had X-rays in June which were clear of stones.

I have no idea what’s going on with these pigs! The vet jokingly asked if I was feeding them rat poison. She is going to email our primary vet discuss next moves for Gus. I’m going to just keep monitoring Peppa, I guess, and take a video if she has another bleeding/cramping episode.

I am glad the tests keep coming back negative, but I also want to figure out what is causing all of this! Such a double edged sword.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Aug 22, 2018 10:51 pm


Just a quick note that bladder stones can grow very quickly (within a couple weeks, in some cases).

I hope you get these guys sorted out so you can relax!

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Thu Aug 23, 2018 3:06 pm


You're all in my thoughts!!!

JJGiebz
Make Good Choices

Post   » Thu Aug 23, 2018 11:41 pm


Thank you! Lynx - I plan to have him x-rayed again. I wish they would have done it when they knocked him out to take his blood, he needs a sedative and three techs to hold him down ;)

After that, and if it shows nothing again, I’m not sure what to do for either one of them!

JJGiebz
Make Good Choices

Post   » Mon Oct 01, 2018 5:56 pm


Peppa had another “episode” about ten days ago and has been in pain while peeing ever since. It was very clear this time, though, that the blood was coming from her urinary tract.

Gus has had very visible, bright red blood in his urine as well, so I took them both back to the vet today.

There is still nothing obviously wrong with either one of them. They both had updated urinalysis done today, both showed blood but no infection.

To date (since July) Peppa has had X-rays, an ultrasound, full blood work, and multiple urinalysis with all normal results except the blood in her pee. Gus had new X-rays done today which were clear, and he too has normal blood work.

I’m at a total loss, as is the vet. I switched them to bottled (RO) water, cut their veggies down to green leaf lettuce and red bell pepper (with occasional carrot/tomato treats), and I just don’t know what else to do.

Anyone else have experience with phantom bleeding?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Oct 01, 2018 8:46 pm


I would have guessed stones for Gus. On rare occasions for a female, there can be a couple days of a very few drops of blood that may be related to a menstrual cycle. Nothing but stones comes to me for Gus though.

I hope you are able to get to the bottom of this.

JJGiebz
Make Good Choices

Post   » Mon Oct 01, 2018 8:59 pm


Thank you, me too! I fully expected Gus to need stone surgery.

Peppa’s bleeding has been more than a few drops. It’s almost as though she gets blocked up, starts bleeding, and then when she finally does pee, it’s very bloody. After your last tip, I kept her out of the cage during the last episode until she finally peed so I could check to see if she passed a stone. No stone. Nothing even unusual looking.

The vet is going to post their case on a message board for veterinarians (VIN?). She also mentioned a friend of hers who does a lot of research, who runs the message board incidentally, and said she would email him directly.

If we find anything out, I will be sure to share here!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Oct 01, 2018 9:02 pm


It is possible Gus passed a small stone. Is he still bleeding or has it let up?

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