Bleeding with sterile IC cystitis.

[Snowflake]

Hi everyone, does anyone on here have pigs that bleed with sterile IC cystitis? I have a year old boy who has got this problem since the start of August. His had x rays, urine test, scan all fine. After 3 months of being on tramadol, calpol, metacam, gabapentin and baytrill he was looked into by a specialist who said this could be a habit of crying. His bladder wall is thickened and some of it has come away. His kept him on cystophan and metacam. After 3 months we turned a corner and his crying settled to only wimpering whist passing urine and poo. But his brother had a pop at him last week. So he was shaking for 3 days being scared ( they are fine now)! And a trip to the vets last week for a flush out of nose as he had hay stuck in nose. So this stressful time has set him back to square one again! Metacam is upped. Does anyone else have pigs that bleed with the sterile IC cystitis? Vet said he may be like this for a year or two until one day it will go. Just got to manage it. His on mineral water. Low calcium diet. Grain free nuggets. Holding weight. 990g he is a tiny pig.

 

[Siikibam]

Sorry to hear your boy is suffering. I’ve no experience but wanted to offer support. The experienced members will be along in good time to give you a comprehensive answer.

 

[Snowflake]

Aww thank you for your kind support.xx seems we have lived at the vets and specialist since August. He has been diagnosed as sterile IC as all other tests have come back clear. His acting normal. Just a case of managing it. And didn’t know if other people’s pigs with the same problem pass blood in urine faintly.xx

 

[Veggies Galore]

If you have a bit of time to spare, I advise you do a search for old threads about IC .
There are a lot of threads by forum members who have had guinea pigs with this condition .
I'm afraid seeing blood in the urine is not uncommon - but , I would regard this as a flare up and, as you have done, increase Metacam . Can I ask you what dose of Metacam your Guinea pig is on?
Personally, I feel stress can be a major factor in triggering a flare up of IC and I am wondering if your boar's reationship with his cagemate may be part of the problem

 

[piggieminder]

I'm not a health expert but I do have some experience of this.
Yes they can bleed with it if the bladder wall is badly irritated.
It sounds like you have a good vet. I used cystease for my boar but I think it does the same as Cystophan.
I filter my water in a Britta type filter jug. Still mineral water is good as long as it's low calcium.
My vet suggested soy and wheat free pellets, I did see an improvement but it may have been coincidence, there is definitely an improvement in my bladder sludge boys without soy.
Sending you and your poor piggie my best wishes, I hope he improves soon. Peanut did get better with age.

 

[Scooter Pie]

Yes, definitely blood with sterile IC here. We treat flares with metacam (.25 dog once a day) and increased glucosamine for a few days till it settles down. We see spots of red/pink. Sometimes it looks normal, but urinalysis shows red blood cells.

Definitely read old IC threads! Lots of good info to discover.

 

[Snowflake]

If you have a bit of time to spare, I advise you do a search for old threads about IC .
There are a lot of threads by forum members who have had guinea pigs with this condition .
I'm afraid seeing blood in the urine is not uncommon - but , I would regard this as a flare up and, as you have done, increase Metacam . Can I ask you what dose of Metacam your Guinea pig is on?
Personally, I feel stress can be a major factor in triggering a flare up of IC and I am wondering if your boar's reationship with his cagemate may be part of the problem

Thank you. The pair of them have a strong bond. Are brothers. And are always together and grooming each other. But my boy is very nervous and gets stressed quickly. His mum had sterile IC so makes me wonder if it’s been passed on in the genes? His on dog metacam twice daily 0.35ml and one capsule of cystophan. It took us 3 months to get it under control before and the two incidents that have happened closed together has made him have a flare up.

 

[Snowflake]

Yes, definitely blood with sterile IC here. We treat flares with metacam (.25 dog once a day) and increased glucosamine for a few days till it settles down. We see spots of red/pink. Sometimes it looks normal, but urinalysis shows red blood cells.

Definitely read old IC threads! Lots of good info to discover.

Ahh thank you so much. His had blood on the puppy pads for a week now since his flare up. Exactly like you described red/ pink. Does the blood go when the flare up dies down? After 3 months of different medications and specialist we got him on a regular dose of dog metacam 0.10 mls twice daily and one cystophan capsule. But for a week now his been on 0.35mls twice daily metacam and one cystophan capsule and calpol some days until it dies down. My vet said it may take years of flare ups and managing it then one day it will suddenly go away. I’m glad that it’s normal to blood in sterile cystitis. Thank you.x

 

[Veggies Galore]

Thank you. The pair of them have a strong bond. Are brothers. And are always together and grooming each other. But my boy is very nervous and gets stressed quickly. His mum had sterile IC so makes me wonder if it’s been passed on in the genes? His on dog metacam twice daily 0.35ml and one capsule of cystophan. It took us 3 months to get it under control before and the two incidents that have happened closed together has made him have a flare up.

if your pig wieghs somewhere in the vicinity of 1kg - 0.35mls metacam is an acceptable dose .
I had an IC guinea pig called Reuben - he was on 0.3 mls Metacam twice daily plus 1/2 capsule Cystophan daily as a maintenance dose .My vet was happy for him to have up to 0.6mls metacam when he had a bad flare up.

Ahh thank you so much. His had blood on the puppy pads for a week now since his flare up. Exactly like you described red/ pink. Does the blood go when the flare up dies down? After 3 months of different medications and specialist we got him on a regular dose of dog metacam 0.10 mls twice daily and one cystophan capsule. But for a week now his been on 0.35mls twice daily metacam and one cystophan capsule and calpol some days until it dies down. My vet said it may take years of flare ups and managing it then one day it will suddenly go away. I’m glad that it’s normal to blood in sterile cystitis. Thank you.x

Yes- I'm afraid Sterile IC can continue for a few years

 

[Scooter Pie]

Ahh thank you so much. His had blood on the puppy pads for a week now since his flare up. Exactly like you described red/ pink. Does the blood go when the flare up dies down? After 3 months of different medications and specialist we got him on a regular dose of dog metacam 0.10 mls twice daily and one cystophan capsule. But for a week now his been on 0.35mls twice daily metacam and one cystophan capsule and calpol some days until it dies down. My vet said it may take years of flare ups and managing it then one day it will suddenly go away. I’m glad that it’s normal to blood in sterile cystitis. Thank you.x

Yes, the blood and pain would die down after about 3-4 days...we were not authorized to increase the metacam, though. But many times I was tempted to do it because so many on here have had their vets OK it. What I would do would be to give it say 6-8 hours earlier than 24 hours.

And from what Ive read on here, they say the increased glucosamine is what makes the difference in a flare, even more than increasing pain meds.

I always give extra cucumber during flares for the water content.

We had done potassium citrate and hydrochlorothiazide for sludge and stone prevention for one of my other pigs who had big problems with her bladder. She was on it permanently.

My current newer IC pig is just going on the above two meds for 2 weeks, after her second flare and seeing a LOT of sediment/calcium crystals. Otherwise
we're following the "as needed" meloxicam and increased glucosamine.

We are also looking at diet for her. Carrot may have caused her most recent flare.

 

[Snowflake]

Thank you. He is on one casuals of cystophan a day. I give him half a capsule os cystophan with 1 ml of water in the am and the same pm. His also on 0.35 ml of dog metacam am and pm. And sometimes calpol. I weighed him this am and he was 990 g. But today he is 940g. Last time with his flare up he lost weight and went down to 910g but he slowly put on weight!
I am giving him bran now. Also everyday he has twice daily pepper, coriander, baby sweet corn,celery, cue, long green beans. Then on alternate days he has cabbage( for magnesium) and romain lettuce.
Also a bowl of grass.
The vet put him on bay trill last week as blood in urine. But his still got blood in urine today. It’s not really gone away since August. He did pass a large clot of blood in August and specialist said was some of the tissue of his bladder wall. His had xrays of kidneys, bladder and urine test last month. The specialist said he has a bad case of sterile IC. And it’s trying to manage it. He was doing well bless him but the two unfortunate events have set him back again.
His had a course of cartrofen injections. He also said pigs remember pain so that may be why his learnt to do this when he weed or poos. My vet said one cystophan capsule everyday would be enough for him. May now be another 3 months until he gets better again! His eating and drinking fine. Popcorning with his brother.xx

 

[Scooter Pie]

Sounds like you're doing everything possible! He's a boar or else Id wonder if there was a uterine or ovarian issue along with it. Hope it resolves eventually! Any pics?

 

[Snowflake]

Thank you so much for all of your help with little snowflake. It’s been very much appreciated. His blood has slightly dyed down today. So fingers crossed. His happier today. They are a worry. Bless them.xx snowflake is the one with the brown nose. And the bigger all white boy is blizzard snowflakes brother.

 

[Scooter Pie]

Sweet little fluffy boys!