bowel trouble? If not cystitis?

[Laura 1899]

Graham is still squeaking most times he poos. Xrays have shown inflamed bladder but nothing seems to help him. On his first course of Cartrophen and on numerous pain killers & low calcium water & diet. NOTHING helps. So now I am thinking shall I treat for a bowel issue? Anyone else with a guinea pig who squeaks in pain when pooing? It is not continuous he has flare ups. But it is heart breaking to hear him all throughout the night as he is in my bedroom. He is on Marriages cold pressed grain free food but I hardly give him this maybe a teaspoon every 3 days. Yes he is always hungry. He has loads of cucumber every day and a slither of sweet pepper. Sometimes rosemary herb too. Sometimes dill. He has endless supply of Timothy hay, dried plantain has just been added to his diet plus sometimes dried dandelion now. He has a teaspoon of Pro Fibre pellets maybe once every other day (pro and pre biotics). Thanks

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

HUGS
I am very sorry for your ongoing problems. The sharp end of sterile IC can be extremely difficult/impossible to treat, sadly.

Anyway, I don't think that throwing gut meds into the mix will help since the pain issue is sitting in the bladder/urinary tract and radiating into the gut and not the other way round. Sterile IC seems to especially affect the natural glucosamine coating of the walls of the urinary tract (not just the bladder but also the urethra both of which are right adjacent to the end of the gut where the poos are firmed up, formed and expressed. It is the pressure from the gut on the inflamed urethra and bladder that makes the pooing painful.

This glucosamine coating acts as an insulation between the raw tissue of the wall and the highly corrosive urine. The pain comes from the urine hitting spots where the raw tissue is exposed. If you ever have had urine accidentally splashing on an open scratch on your hand, you'll know how painfully that stings.

Your boy may need more regular cartrofen? (Which provides a high level glucosamine by the way).

 

[Wheekallweek]

This sounds just like my Larry, his bladder was massively inflamed, it hurt him to pee and poo. I understand from @Wiebke post the Cartrophen provides glucosamine. Is Cystease worth a go too, or is that glucosamine overkill? Larry never had Csrtrophen but he did have Cystease which seemed to help for a while.

 

[Wiebke]

This sounds just like my Larry, his bladder was massively inflamed, it hurt him to pee and poo. I understand from @Wiebke post the Cartrophen provides glucosamine. Is Cystease worth a go too, or is that glucosamine overkill? Larry never had Csrtrophen but he did have Cystease which seemed to help for a while.

Please confer with your vet and do not give additional glucosamine on spec. I haver personal experience only with mild to medium cases but not with cartrophen - that is too new a kid on the block.