Emergency please help: Duck's URI gasping for breath

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Apr 17, 2023 10:34 pm


That is good news! So glad to hear she is no longer lethargic. I hope the antibiotics are doing their job and there are no regressions.

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Tue Apr 18, 2023 11:42 pm


I hope she’s on the mend. It’s such a relief when they start to eat a bit on their own after being so sick.

beefyduck

Post   » Wed Apr 19, 2023 7:34 am


Thank you both! I really hope so as well. Her energy levels are slowly improving!

I've got a question about human medications for pigs. The vet prescribed guaifenesin for her to help break up mucus because after 1 week on antibiotics she is still sneezing. The link to the medication she sent me has some ingredients that I'm afraid might be toxic for pigs. Does anyone have experience with this? I know some of these ingredients aren't great for humans either, but I'm particularly worried about the menthol really bad for her. I have no idea if the other ingredients are pig safe either. She was prescribed .3ml three times a day

Active ingredients: 200mg guaifenesin
Inactive ingredients: caramel, citric acid, FD&C red #40, flavor, glucose, glycerin, high fructose corn syrup, menthol, purified water, saccharin sodium, sodium benzoate

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Apr 19, 2023 8:04 am


Guaifenesin is listed in the Merck veterinary manual:
https://www.msdvetmanual.com/pharmacolo ... in-animals

And is even used as a muscle relaxant when injected:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/pharmaco ... or-animals

The ingredients you wonder about are likely used in small amounts and at least deemed safe in humans.

beefyduck

Post   » Sat Apr 22, 2023 11:27 am


Thank you lynx. I ended up not giving her the guafenisin because I was waiting for my vet to get back to me about whether any of those ingredients are toxic for pigs.

I am delighted to let you know that duck has started eating more hay on her own and her poops are starting to look more normal. She's got the energy to fight me (and win) during feeding times, so I will be reducing feeding down to twice a day.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Apr 22, 2023 12:20 pm


Super! Keep it up, Duck!

beefyduck

Post   » Sat Apr 22, 2023 1:16 pm


Duck has another follow up scheduled for tomorrow and I am internally battling whether or not to take her. As I mentioned before, the vet wants to take an xray to check if there is any pneumonia visible because she wants duck to be on antibiotics 1 week after clinical signs of infection clear up. She said duck will have to be sedated and this is the part that worries me.

Duck is an old pig (6) and has recently been through a lot and is just now starting to get better. Additionally, when she was 4 years old she was sedated with injected isoflurane for an xray and I remember that vet visit taking all day because she was taking much longer to come out of the sedation than anyone expected. Even when we took her home she was still groggy for a few hours after. All of this makes me extremely skeptical of allowing her to be sedated and I would like to ask for your opinions.

What would you do if this was your pig? I would hate for Duck to have made all this progress only for sedation to knock her back down. I would also hate for her uri to come back because we didn't know to give her a longer course of antibiotics without the imaging. Can we not assume a "safe" duration for the antibiotic course that would ensure the infection is completely cleared even without imaging?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Apr 22, 2023 1:33 pm


I didn't know isoflurane could be injected. I thought it was only used as an inhalant anesthetic.

Inhalant anesthetics do not depress the system as much as traditional injected anesthetics, from what I understand. From what I understand a small amount of inhalant anesthetic (what at least one member has described as a "whiff" of anesthetic) may be enough when taking an xray.

I would definitely bring up your concerns, see if you get confirmation of how I understand anesthetics to work. Check out this post by Talishan regarding anesthesia and surgery:
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/view ... 8#p2134188
and a short discussion here:
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/view ... 7#p1938147

beefyduck

Post   » Sun Apr 23, 2023 7:29 pm


I brought up my concerns to the vet and I asked her for more information (what sedative would be used/how it is administered) so I could make an informed decision and she never got back to me. We showed up to the follow up and she dismissively said "since we aren't doing the xray duck will need 2 more weeks on antibiotics" with no real examination of her. She also prescribed an expensive alternative medicine immune support capsule because it will hopefully help her beat the infection. I am very unimpressed with this vets communication and lack of respect for pet owners concerns. Its really frustrating to be spending so much money at this vets discretion when she won't take the time to give me the full story of what Duck's care plan is.

We will finish the additional 2 weeks of both antibiotics with fingers and toes crossed that her infection fully clears and her tummy isn't too bothered by it.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Apr 23, 2023 8:46 pm


I am sorry she did not take the time to address your concerns. They were reasonable questions, IMO (anyone else want to chime in?).

Also hoping the antibiotics clear her infection.

What was the "alternative medicine immune support capsule" that was prescribed?

beefyduck

Post   » Sun Apr 23, 2023 9:02 pm


They are I'm Yunity capsules. Looks like it's a mushroom extract. A lot of posts i found are about its use in dogs with a specific type of cancer

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Sun Apr 23, 2023 9:46 pm


I think questioning the sedative and clarifying what the procedure would be for doing an x-ray was not only reasonable, but also an indication that you’re a concerned and informed pet owner. Too bad the vet didn’t see it that way.

Some veterinarians seem to think owners are challenging or doubting their treatments when actually, the owners are well-informed and just want to understand how to help their pet recover. It’s hard to work with a vet like this.

If the antibiotics are helping and are being tolerated without serious side effects, I would think 2 extra weeks should be okay. I don’t know anything about the alternative medicine for immune support. I would think Vitamin C and probiotics would be beneficial.

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