Anything new in the IC world?

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Hi guys, hope everyone is doing well!

I was just wondering if there was any new info or advice for IC pigs as Iggy is having another flare up. I’m considering cutting out all veg and trying an elimination diet to see if there’s something I’m missing.

We’ve just started some sulfatrim as that often helps the flare ups for some reason and I’m just thinking of other ways to help more long term.

Any thoughts? Thanks guys as always x

 

[Betsy]

Can't help you @Cavy Kung-Fu as I've never experienced IC in guinea pig but just wanted to say it's nice to see you back.

 

[stef.trg]

Oh no, poor Iggy! IC is such a nasty illness. I’m not going to be the biggest help on here but one of our girls has been diagnosed recently and we‘re currently going through the whole elimination diet process. That together with 1 capsule of Cystease per day has already made such a difference. She still has the occasional squeak when toileting which we can‘t seem to get rid off but she seems happy so I‘m not going to worry about it too much. I‘m keeping a food diary for her to make sure I don’t mix anything up as I found that to be rather easy to do.

I wish your piggy & you all the best and hopefully the flare up settles down quickly! x

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Can't help you @Cavy Kung-Fu as I've never experienced IC in guinea pig but just wanted to say it's nice to see you back.

Thanks Betsy, hope you’re doing well! x

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Oh no, poor Iggy! IC is such a nasty illness. I’m not going to be the biggest help on here but one of our girls has been diagnosed recently and we‘re currently going through the whole elimination diet process. That together with 1 capsule of Cystease per day has already made such a difference. She still has the occasional squeak when toileting which we can‘t seem to get rid off but she seems happy so I‘m not going to worry about it too much. I‘m keeping a food diary for her to make sure I don’t mix anything up as I found that to be rather easy to do.

I wish your piggy & you all the best and hopefully the flare up settles down quickly! x

It is isn’t it? He’s struggled with it for 4 years and we’ve had our ups and downs. I use something similar to cystease but I might try switching brands to see if it helps. What veg do you normally feed? It’s such a weird illness so it’s always nice to hear from others, thanks so much x

 

[VickiA]

Hello and welcome back.
Poor Iggy. It’s no fun. Holly also has IC. I now filter their drinking water, feed grain free pellets and feed a rather boring selection of veggies each day. No root veg.Just celery, cucumber, green bean, pepper and coriander. We have pretty much got it under control thank goodness, now that we have found the veg that don’t cause her a flare.

 

[artcasper]

Oh no, poor Iggy! IC is such a nasty illness. I’m not going to be the biggest help on here but one of our girls has been diagnosed recently and we‘re currently going through the whole elimination diet process. That together with 1 capsule of Cystease per day has already made such a difference. She still has the occasional squeak when toileting which we can‘t seem to get rid off but she seems happy so I‘m not going to worry about it too much. I‘m keeping a food diary for her to make sure I don’t mix anything up as I found that to be rather easy to do.

I wish your piggy & you all the best and hopefully the flare up settles down quickly! x

Hi just curious as I use Cystease.. wondered how you give it?

 

[artcasper]

Hello and welcome back.
Poor Iggy. It’s no fun. Holly also has IC. I now filter their drinking water, feed grain free pellets and feed a rather boring selection of veggies each day. No root veg.Just celery, cucumber, green bean, pepper and coriander. We have pretty much got it under control thank goodness, now that we have found the veg that don’t cause her a flare.

This is pretty much what the girls all have now...although they often reject a perfectly good green bean!

 

[stef.trg]

Hi just curious as I use Cystease.. wondered how you give it?

I always mix 2 capsules of cystease with approx. 4ml of water and give her 1ml twice a day. Lasts me two days and I keep the already mixed stuff in the fridge. She thankfully quite likes it so there‘s no fighting with getting it into her! How do you give it if you don’t mind me asking?

 

[stef.trg]

It is isn’t it? He’s struggled with it for 4 years and we’ve had our ups and downs. I use something similar to cystease but I might try switching brands to see if it helps. What veg do you normally feed? It’s such a weird illness so it’s always nice to hear from others, thanks so much x

Awww poor boy! It’s so awful when they are in pain and you can’t do much to help. We’ve only dealt with Pewter’s synoptics for a few months and her IC seems to be quite mild compared to what I read from others. So I can’t complain too much!

We used to feed cucumber, spring greens, coriander, pepper, and whichever treat veg we had in the fridge (usually green beans, baby corn, or beetroot). When she was diagnosed a few weeks ago we completely stopped all veg until her symptoms were mostly gone. Since then we‘ve slowly introduced cucumber, green pepper, and coriander again. We also tried little gem lettuce but that was a big no-no! I haven‘t 100% decided what I‘m going to introduce next but probably romaine lettuce. I‘m a bit reluctant to feeding spring greens again as she gets quite gassy from it.

I agree, it’s such a strange illness and seems to be so different for every piggy! I‘m also always glad to hear from others, makes me feel less alone with it all x

 

[Betsy]

Thanks Betsy, hope you’re doing well! x

Well I'm fine but I lost Christian and Dennis within 4 days of each other at the end of November/beginning December last year, Meg was really ill last May and I adopted Patsy in September. So it's been a rollercoaster ride of emotions with my piggies this past year!

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Thanks so much guys, I really appreciate your help and reassurance it means a lot. I often worry that he’s not having the quality of life that he should when he has flare ups and it’s so upsetting.

I tend to do romaine lettuce, cucumber, peppers, celery and French beans with the occasional spring greens or chard. Sometimes I mix in some herbs like dill, basil, mint and coriander to add a bit of interest. I don’t know if any of those ring alarm bells?

We also tried little gem lettuce but that was a big no-no! I haven‘t 100% decided what I‘m going to introduce next but probably romaine lettuce.

That’s so interesting he has recently had some little gem... Well we can add it to the “hell no” list aha. I wish I knew why certain foods caused problems!

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Well I'm fine but I lost Christian and Dennis within 4 days of each other at the end of November/beginning December last year, Meg was really ill last May and I adopted Patsy in September. So it's been a rollercoaster ride of emotions with my piggies this past year!

Aw that’s awful I’m so sorry to hear that! That must have been so hard. These fluffy devils give us a real ride with the emotions don’t they? X

 

[Betsy]

Aw that’s awful I’m so sorry to hear that! That must have been so hard. These fluffy devils give us a real ride with the emotions don’t they? X

They certainly do!

 

[stef.trg]

Thanks so much guys, I really appreciate your help and reassurance it means a lot. I often worry that he’s not having the quality of life that he should when he has flare ups and it’s so upsetting.

I tend to do romaine lettuce, cucumber, peppers, celery and French beans with the occasional spring greens or chard. Sometimes I mix in some herbs like dill, basil, mint and coriander to add a bit of interest. I don’t know if any of those ring alarm bells?



That’s so interesting he has recently had some little gem... Well we can add it to the “hell no” list aha. I wish I knew why certain foods caused problems!

Coriander is fine for Pewter, we don’t really give many other fresh herbs because we never have any in haha. She gets the odd basil leaf but she seems fine with that too.

I know, it all just seems so random! Pewter had some squeaky wees/poos tonight, god only knows what’s caused it. Maybe the dried dill I mixed in their hay last night. I‘ll add that to my „hell no“ list for now haha!

 

[Lily & Rose]

Thanks so much guys, I really appreciate your help and reassurance it means a lot. I often worry that he’s not having the quality of life that he should when he has flare ups and it’s so upsetting.

I tend to do romaine lettuce, cucumber, peppers, celery and French beans with the occasional spring greens or chard. Sometimes I mix in some herbs like dill, basil, mint and coriander to add a bit of interest. I don’t know if any of those ring alarm bells?



That’s so interesting he has recently had some little gem... Well we can add it to the “hell no” list aha. I wish I knew why certain foods caused problems!

Hi, I have heard that dill has caused problems for some IC piggies. I used to avoid it with my pig who had IC.

 

[artcasper]

I always mix 2 capsules of cystease with approx. 4ml of water and give her 1ml twice a day. Lasts me two days and I keep the already mixed stuff in the fridge. She thankfully quite likes it so there‘s no fighting with getting it into her! How do you give it if you don’t mind me asking?

Well I have been adding 2 capsules to some water but not actually measuring how much water and giving it her once a day (about 4ml) ... I think maybe I am not doing it right! She is also on pain relief (1ml twice a day) but maybe the cyst ease twice a day will be better for her.... Its so hard at times to know if she is in pain or just fussing... I did stop her pain relief for 2 days and she was making more noises so started it again.

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Ooh interesting, well guess I’m going back to basics on the pig food, I feel sorry for the girls as they’re going through the same diet as him

Well I have been adding 2 capsules to some water but not actually measuring how much water and giving it her once a day (about 4ml) ... I think maybe I am not doing it right! She is also on pain relief (1ml twice a day) but maybe the cyst ease twice a day will be better for her.... Its so hard at times to know if she is in pain or just fussing... I did stop her pain relief for 2 days and she was making more noises so started it again.

I’ve just upped the cystassist tablets I give Iggy but I was giving 1 tablet per 1ml of water.

May I ask what pain relief? Iggy’s on metacam/loxicom 0.5mls twice a day so I’m curious!

 

[artcasper]

Ooh interesting, well guess I’m going back to basics on the pig food, I feel sorry for the girls as they’re going through the same diet as him


I’ve just upped the cystassist tablets I give Iggy but I was giving 1 tablet per 1ml of water.

May I ask what pain relief? Iggy’s on metacam/loxicom 0.5mls twice a day so I’m curious!

same pain relief but 1ml a day but she has been on that quite some time now... probably contact the vet to double check - hard to know !

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

same pain relief but 1ml a day but she has been on that quite some time now... probably contact the vet to double check - hard to know !

Ah same as Iggy then, the dosage has crept up over the years he used to be fine on 0.3ml twice a day... It is hard isn’t it?

Does anyone find that the painful wees tend to be at night? I mentioned that to Kim from Cat & Rabbit and she said quite a few people find that. Who knows why but Iggy tends to get most his painful ones in the evening

 

[artcasper]

Ah same as Iggy then, the dosage has crept up over the years he used to be fine on 0.3ml twice a day... It is hard isn’t it?

Does anyone find that the painful wees tend to be at night? I mentioned that to Kim from Cat & Rabbit and she said quite a few people find that. Who knows why but Iggy tends to get most his painful ones in the evening

I work from home and in the day hardly hear a peep out of her... but defo more vocal in the evening! So weird... if only they could talk and let us know what they are feeling..

 

[Betsy]

Does anyone find that the painful wees tend to be at night? I mentioned that to Kim from Cat & Rabbit and she said quite a few people find that. Who knows why but Iggy tends to get most his painful ones in the evening

How strange! I wonder why the time of day makes a difference?

 

[Free Ranger]

Is piggy IC related to people IC? I've read that's worse at night but the suggestion is because when you're tired you don't cope so well... maybe?

One possible treatment for some people seems to be antihistamines. I suppose the idea is that there is some sort of overactive immune system problem. But I don't know anything about trying antihistamines for piggies... or even whether there are antihistamines suitable. The other thing is that women seem to be much more prone to this than men (something between 10:1 and 5:1) and I wonder whether Simon and Kim see this sort of ratio between sows and boars, or whether they think it might be related to the human 'disease'.

My thoughts and prayers are with all you IC piggies x

 

[stef.trg]

Ah same as Iggy then, the dosage has crept up over the years he used to be fine on 0.3ml twice a day... It is hard isn’t it?

Does anyone find that the painful wees tend to be at night? I mentioned that to Kim from Cat & Rabbit and she said quite a few people find that. Who knows why but Iggy tends to get most his painful ones in the evening

Yes, it‘s the same with Pewter. She can be fine all day and then all of a sudden start having painful wees in the evening. So awful hearing her squeak when we’re sitting on the sofa

 

[piggieminder]

Hello @Cavy Kung-Fu Kung lovely to see you here again, you have been missed.
Rusty's the same with more evening squeaks. I used to think I just heard him more because I was sitting in the living room in the evening and not so much during the day. Since all the lockdowns I've been in the living room a lot and hardly ever hear a daytime squeak. I think his squeaky wees are caused more by sludge than IC but I do wonder if the 2 are linked in his case.

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

I work from home and in the day hardly hear a peep out of her... but defo more vocal in the evening! So weird... if only they could talk and let us know what they are feeling..

That’s the same as Iggy! It’s very odd isn’t it?

How strange! I wonder why the time of day makes a difference?

I’ve tried asking Iggy but he’s keeping it to himself apparently!

Is piggy IC related to people IC? I've read that's worse at night but the suggestion is because when you're tired you don't cope so well... maybe?

One possible treatment for some people seems to be antihistamines. I suppose the idea is that there is some sort of overactive immune system problem. But I don't know anything about trying antihistamines for piggies... or even whether there are antihistamines suitable. The other thing is that women seem to be much more prone to this than men (something between 10:1 and 5:1) and I wonder whether Simon and Kim see this sort of ratio between sows and boars, or whether they think it might be related to the human 'disease'.

My thoughts and prayers are with all you IC piggies x

That’s really interesting, thanks for that it’s definitely something I’ll consider! I think Iggy’s IC comes from an neuter operation when he was a baby, when I took him on he’d been ill from it for about 2 weeks It’s probably something he’ll always have but anything I can do to keep him happy and out of pain that’s what I’ll be doing! x

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Yes, it‘s the same with Pewter. She can be fine all day and then all of a sudden start having painful wees in the evening. So awful hearing her squeak when we’re sitting on the sofa

It’s the exact same thing for me, they’re in my living room too and hearing him breaks my heart. Luckily he’s not doing it right now, I think the antibiotics and cutting out veg has settled him but the next step will be difficult seeing what veg he can have! We will start off with cucumber I think.

Hello @Cavy Kung-Fu Kung lovely to see you here again, you have been missed.
Rusty's the same with more evening squeaks. I used to think I just heard him more because I was sitting in the living room in the evening and not so much during the day. Since all the lockdowns I've been in the living room a lot and hardly ever hear a daytime squeak. I think his squeaky wees are caused more by sludge than IC but I do wonder if the 2 are linked in his case.

Aw thanks so much, I hope you’re all doing well!

We’re quite lucky as Iggy doesn’t have sludge or crystals or anything. When ever his urine is tested it’s just slightly higher protein indicating an inflamed bladder but that’s it.

I’m hoping the solution is in food so we’re going to go slowly, I’m much more optimistic now knowing that there’s something I can do! X

Thanks again to you all it’s been amazing to see that I’m not alone and all your help has been great as always xx