Bladder stone returned 2 weeks after operation...

[Hiitshannah]

My piggy Nutmeg, 4 years 9 months old, had surgery 2 weeks ago for a bladder stone that was stuck in his urethra. He was under anaesthetic for 4 hours (!) and lost a lot of blood. He had an x ray done the day before it became stuck and we were told it was sludge not a stone, but that’s a whole other story! We thought his chances were good as we have been on a strict low calcium diet, filtered water and cystease regimen with all of the pigs since Cashew’s stones were discovered back in January, so the diet would have had a few months to take affect.

Anyway, he recovered AMAZINGLY quickly, he was running around everywhere just days later - we nicknamed him turbo Nutmeg! But then very quickly the blood in his urine returned. Today, an x ray revealed a new stone. His bladder was flushed to remove sludge, but the stone is too big to be flushed. He’s home now, completely fine in himself still, no squeaking when urinating, and we’ve been given potassium citrate in hopes this may stop the stone growing any larger (we’re taking in a urine sample in a week to see if there are less crystals present). Our vet would be willing to operate again, but not for at least a few weeks.

I’m hoping for any advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation, and from a moral perspective. I realise by leaving the stone for weeks we risk it entering his urethra again. I also realise the same thing may happen - an operation then stone returning weeks later. But looking at him now and the way he is, I can’t have him put to sleep. He has such a clear desire to be alive? Even when the stone was blocking his urethra (it was nearly 1cm!) he was sat on my lap outside the vet happy squeaking when stroked and alert, eating hay from his carrier etc. It’s crazy how much this guinea pig wants to be here and a complete contrast to my experience with the other pigs when they’ve been poorly.

 

[Elephonty]

My piggy Nutmeg, 4 years 9 months old, had surgery 2 weeks ago for a bladder stone that was stuck in his urethra. He was under anaesthetic for 4 hours (!) and lost a lot of blood. He had an x ray done the day before it became stuck and we were told it was sludge not a stone, but that’s a whole other story! We thought his chances were good as we have been on a strict low calcium diet, filtered water and cystease regimen with all of the pigs since Cashew’s stones were discovered back in January, so the diet would have had a few months to take affect.

Anyway, he recovered AMAZINGLY quickly, he was running around everywhere just days later - we nicknamed him turbo Nutmeg! But then very quickly the blood in his urine returned. Today, an x ray revealed a new stone. His bladder was flushed to remove sludge, but the stone is too big to be flushed. He’s home now, completely fine in himself still, no squeaking when urinating, and we’ve been given potassium citrate in hopes this may stop the stone growing any larger (we’re taking in a urine sample in a week to see if there are less crystals present). Our vet would be willing to operate again, but not for at least a few weeks.

I’m hoping for any advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation, and from a moral perspective. I realise by leaving the stone for weeks we risk it entering his urethra again. I also realise the same thing may happen - an operation then stone returning weeks later. But looking at him now and the way he is, I can’t have him put to sleep. He has such a clear desire to be alive? Even when the stone was blocking his urethra (it was nearly 1cm!) he was sat on my lap outside the vet happy squeaking when stroked and alert, eating hay from his carrier etc. It’s crazy how much this guinea pig wants to be here and a complete contrast to my experience with the other pigs when they’ve been poorly.

I'm really sorry to say I was in exactly the same position and unfortunately made the difficult decision to PTS only today.
Buzz was pretty alert and was eating (until about a day ago) but the pain was very obvious when he went to the toilet all the time, he was on the strongest opioid possible which just took the edge off!
I gave him a month to try and dissolve the sludge before making the decision, ultimately you know your piggy best and will know when's the right time!
I think that in most cases if your piggy is bright and alert and happily eating to a healthy extent keeping on the pain meds is ok until any changes occur. Is your piggy on potassium citrate? That is supposed to help stop the formation of stones
Sending you healing thoughts

 

[Hiitshannah]

I'm really sorry to say I was in exactly the same position and unfortunately made the difficult decision to PTS only today.
Buzz was pretty alert and was eating (until about a day ago) but the pain was very obvious when he went to the toilet all the time, he was on the strongest opioid possible which just took the edge off!
I gave him a month to try and dissolve the sludge before making the decision, ultimately you know your piggy best and will know when's the right time!
I think that in most cases if your piggy is bright and alert and happily eating to a healthy extent keeping on the pain meds is ok until any changes occur. Is your piggy on potassium citrate? That is supposed to help stop the formation of stones
Sending you healing thoughts

Sorry to hear about Buzz he is on potassium citrate now, and on loxicom (we have Tramadol in case his pain does get worse). We will of course do the kindest thing if anything does change (e.g. pain squeaks when urinating) if a second surgery isn’t an option at that point! It’s so tough to know what’s right in these situations isn’t it. I hope you’re coping ok with your loss x

 

[Elephonty]

Sorry to hear about Buzz he is on potassium citrate now, and on loxicom (we have Tramadol in case his pain does get worse). We will of course do the kindest thing if anything does change (e.g. pain squeaks when urinating) if a second surgery isn’t an option at that point! It’s so tough to know what’s right in these situations isn’t it. I hope you’re coping ok with your loss x

Thank you, it's still very raw but I know I have made the right choice. If surgery is an option for you I have seen multiple pigs pull through a second and even third surgery, sadly this wasn't available to buzz as he had such a bad reaction last time. Really hoping you get some good news

 

[Swissgreys]

You are doing the absolute right thing for your boy.
Medical diagnosis is of course important, but you also need to read their cues, and as the person who knows your piggy best, the decision you take will always be the right one.
It isn't exactly the same, but we went through something similar with Ruby several years ago with bladder sludge.
She had a flush and took a long time to recover. At one of our many follow up appointments the vet told me I really needed to think about how much time and money I wanted to spend, and how fair it was to Ruby.
The vet was right of course, but she didn't see the guinea pig that I did, and I knew Ruby simply was not 'done'.
So we persisted, and Ruby is still here - hale and hearty - 3 years later.

Every pig is different and you know your own pig best - sometimes it is right to let go and allow them to leave peacefully, and sometimes they need a bit more time.