a sigh of relief for Rutto (just venting)

LunaticPoodle

LunaticPoodle

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Hiya, posting here since it's not an emergency anymore.
So, as you know we recently lost Geezer, so I'm ultra paranoid about Rutto while we wait for his surgery. We came back from my mother in law's around 5.30pm, a couple hours later I was lying on the sofa with a massive headache from sitting in the sun too long, and of course being sunday with all the good vets closed, Rutto started to cry a lot harder while going potty and scream and strain. Of course I'm thinking his stone got stuck and we're in an emergency, so I give him extra painkillers and start calling the emergency room. No one can operate on him but they can try to flush it back into the bladder-I am wondering what is the POINT of the emergency room if they can't give an emergency surgery to exotics, and to be honest I don't trust them trying to flush his bladder if they aren't experienced with guinea pigs.
So I tell them I'll check if he can pee at all and if not I'll take him in (it's across the street). Well, our boy had a sperm plug. It wasn't super hardened yet so it came out very easily. Pee is coming out normally now (but still red and painful) so I decided not to take him in and talk to his vet tomorrow to try and anticipate his surgery. The complaining calmed down a lot, however his weight has significantly dropped in the last month, his poops have been getting smaller lately, and today they were particularly small, so I'm starting with Critical Care already.
I feel so horrible for him (and Geezer), having health issues one after another. I'm exhausted, worried sick, and I have to rely on my husband as my emergency vet fund is gone twice over. Luckily he's a saint and loves the piggies to bits, and I'm getting paid tomorrow anyway.
So, nothing really, just had to get this out of my system I guess. I am so grateful for this place because without you all I wouldn't have known what to pay attention to and things would have gone badly a lot earlier.
 
I’m so pleased Rutto is sorted for now. I bet that was so uncomfortable for him.

I hope you can keep him comfortable and syringe fed until you can get to the vets. I had two sick piggies at the same time so I know how stressful it can be. Sending you a hug 🤗 and healing vibes to Rutto.
 
Sending you hugs. I understand your rant completely, as do many of us here, it's good to let it out!
Poor Rutto, sending him hugs too.
 
Thank you both, really. He seems a bit more comfortable now, he even got some grass and forage from Piggy Grandma's garden. But he hasn't been eating a whole lot these days, so it's definitely time to bring out the Critical Care. When he recovers from surgery I'll try to bond him with Baldrick. Baldrick has always been very interested in him and Geezer, but he's a little hurricane so I really didn't feel confident in attempting a trio, given the other two were living in peaceful bliss. Rutto is extremely calm, gentle and shy in spite of his size (or rather, former size).
On a positive note, Eppu and Surma's bond is working brilliantly, they're sleeping closer and closer to each other and Eppu is slowly convincing him to accept affection. They touched noses yesterday, and Surma is trying to make Eppu follow him out of the living room, and got him to the treshold🥳
 
He was better for a few hours, he got his Metacam and glucosamine evening dose, ate some critical care from the bowl by himself, but he's back to crying and straining and he's hoarse from the crying poor bug... The pee is red with blood and while it does come out, it's not as abundant as it should be so I'm preparing to take him for an emergency surgery today. I did a dip test a moment ago and he has high proteins, slightly hightened leucocytes (didn't have either last time) and higher Ph at a full 9. His pee does smell so I'm positive he's got a UTI. I have Ditrim but it's been open a while so it might not be 100% effective. Sucks as I've been changing his pee pads constantly as he tends to sit in the same spot a lot when he's under the weather, and yet. :mal:
 
Been up all night with poor Ruttoliini, he's been crying sooo much... We spent some time snuggling on the sofa and he took a short nap. I called in sick today as I haven't had any sleep and I can't deal with machinery in this state. I'm at the third vet clinic phone call and so far no one has space or knows how to operate a piggy. His usual vet opens late afternoon today, and I hope she'll be able to deal with this. He doesn't have a full blockage but he's very uncomfortable and in pain. Currently I'm back to giving him 0.35 Metacam x 2, 1 full capsule of glucosamine x 2, Ditrim, probiotic cos his poop isn't even close to normal yet, Tramadol in the middle, and Critical Care that he still manages to eat by himself at least. He's turning 3 in 3 weeks, and I'm really hoping he will.
 
Talked to my vet around 5pm, she said since he's still peeing to see if the stone is on its way out. I doubt it, but she said to stay in touch and take him in tonight if it gets worse. I'm worried and annoyed, if he gets a blockage in the middle of the night he's going to end like Geezer cos no one can operate him at the ER. He's in pain and miserable. At least he's eating.
 
I'm leaving for work soon, however Rutto is doing a lot better this morning, he's eating, poops are looking almost normal, weight is stable, and he hasn't complained much at all while going potty. He's a lot more active too. I'm guessing having a UTI on top of the stone shifting around was extra painful for him, and with the antibiotic he got at least some relief.
Eppu on the other hand had some wonderful zoomies this morning!
 
LunaticPoodle said:
I'm leaving for work soon, however Rutto is doing a lot better this morning, he's eating, poops are looking almost normal, weight is stable, and he hasn't complained much at all while going potty. He's a lot more active too. I'm guessing having a UTI on top of the stone shifting around was extra painful for him, and with the antibiotic he got at least some relief.
Eppu on the other hand had some wonderful zoomies this morning!
Click to expand...
How is Rutto tonight? I hope he is at least comfortable and eating ok. 🤞🙏
 
Yes, thank you! He's doing much better with the antibiotic. He still complains when going potty but more like "I'm uncomfortable" than "I'm in pain". Such a relief. I'm still convinced he needs surgery sooner than later though, he has a particular sound he makes when there's a stone moving around. But overall he's improved a lot, I don't need to syringe feed him cos he eats it from his bowl like a good boy ❤️ Weight is picking up too. The dip sticks were a good purchase, they do work and give me a decent enough idea of what is going on with their urinary tract and what to discuss with the vet.
 
We had a bad day yesterday, he wasn't eating at all and I ran out of Metacam so he's only had Tramadol for pain these last couple days, which might be what upset his tummy. He was also crying a lot. Had to switch to syringe feeding & hubby was picking the seed heads from his hay, it was the only thing he accepted. After a long night he's back on his feet, has been eating a little hay and nibbling on his morning veg, has had more Critical Care and there were normal sized poops in the morning. Managed to get him a surgery appointment for wednesday afternoon, and I'm watching his fleece like a hawk to see how much he pees. Poor bug. He's so skinny now under all that fluff😢
 
Thank you so much ❤️ I'm not worried about the surgery, this vet is a wizard with those, I'm just hoping he actually gets to wednesday in the first place, if he doesn't start eating more on his own another 4 days basically on Critical Care and little else seems a little stretched. A lot of the medication you guys use aren't available here in Finland, and while he's definitely better on the antibiotic, it's been 6 days and it just doesn't seem "better enough". His pee still smells really strong, his crying is inconsistent in strength but constantly there, at least the blood hasn't been there for a couple of days though.
I'm going to see how he is after this surgery, but if his condition doesn't improve significantly, I'm afraid I'm going to have to make a tough decision in the next few months.
It just doesn't seem fair to him at this point to keep poking and prodding if he's in near-constant pain. Just how many surgeries is too many for a little piggy?
He's always been a quiet one, but there's a marked difference with him these days, he's really not in the mood for anything much. Maybe he misses having a friend too, and I'm hoping to bond him with Baldrick once he recovers from surgery. Hopefully they'll balance each other out.
 
Hi everyone, so we just came from the vet and poor boy had 3! enormous stones. He's been really miserable these last few days, only ate Critical Care, barely any hay, a little grass, and only a nibble of bell pepper cos he had soft poops. He's recovering on his king-size (for a piggy) bed under a blankie, with grass the vet picked for him after the surgery. She's lovely like that.
The stones look horrendous, they're the biggest so far, and not even round. They are a different colour from his previous ones too, they look like struvite (he did have a UTI this time), didn't send them to the lab this time though. I'll attach a couple of pictures with husband's bass pick for scale (couldn't find anything more normal, like a coin🤦‍♀️)

His (and Geezer's) pee has such a high Ph that the vet said it definitely makes him develop stones very quickly, among all other contributing factors. They said the ideal Ph should be between 7.2 and 8 at the most. He usually has around 8.5 and Geezer always had a full 9.
So basically my next goal is to try and lower it as much as possible and see if it helps. Unfortunately I'm afraid he doesn't have enough time before he develops more stones.

I did have "the talk" with the vet, and while it hurts to possibly have to say goodbye to him in the near future, it just doesn't seem fair to put him through a surgery every 2-3 months. She is very firm about where her ethical boundaries stand. It may seem harsh, but I am grateful that she speaks directly and with an animal's best interest in mind, where a pet owner might not be in the position to see clearly due to not wanting to lose a beloved piggy.

He is the sweetest boy and doesn't deserve any of this. I hope this will be the last time he's in pain and will grow to reach a venerable age but realistically his chances are slim. I'll make the rest of his life as comfortable and full of love as I can, and help him across the rainbow bridge if he needs to go.
 

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I hope so too. It's unlikely there will be many, but I will continue to do my best for him. He needs to put weight back on, he lost so much, nearly 300g the last 2 months only. He will have a friend once he's recovered and that will make him feel better, he looks like he feels lonely without Geezer. Baldrick is a very affectionate piggy, it will be good for both of them if they can make it work.
He'll be happy without those nasty stones for a while anyway! I can't imagine the relief he feels right now. Poor darling.
 
I bet he’s feeling a lot more comfortable with those out. They are huge. I really hope he likes his new friend.

My Pepper lost about 350g last July. And he’s just got back up to his pre illness weight. It does take quite a while to put back on. Good luck. With your TLC I’m sure he’ll be ok.
 
Poor Pepper, what was wrong with him? Is he ok now?
Baldrick has always been very interested in him and Geezer, and they're always really friendly through the bars... Once he even managed to break into their cage, there was a terrible racket but nothing serious happened, luckily I was in the room.
It would be great if they get along and we get two pairs, they get a big cage and everyone wins.

He's still under the blanket, at least he ate a bit, but I know he's a sensitive guy and quite shy, so vet visits are always particularly stressful for him. Only lately he started to relax in my lap, yesterday he really laid down and made himself comfortable to take a nap, then Baldrick distracted him :) but it's progress. None of them really like being handled anyway, they accept cuddles but on their own terms, and that's ok.
 
Pepper had a tooth root abscess. He completely stopped eating while on a long course of antibiotics. He’s fine now thank goodness.

Hope Rutto is doing better today
 
Sorry to hear this about Rutto. Best of luck to both you and Rutto.
 
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