Livia Rabideau
Adult Guinea Pig
My Snickers who is at least 6 years old has been having breathing issues for months. I have tried a round of bactrim, baytril, and have tried a nebulizer. Nothing has helped. She has a runny nose that gets a little crusty. Her eyes get a bit crusty sometimes too. She sounds really stuffy. She seems more labored in her breathing than my other pigs. The first vet after trying antibiotics said her lungs sounded clear and that it's hard to tell if she is labored or stressed. I went to a second vet who was recommended by a guinea pig Facebook group. I spent 250 bucks on x-rays that I didn't get to see because they aren't allowing clients in the building. She said her lungs sounded bad. They looked like a cat or dog who has asthma. No fluid in the lungs. She then said she doesn't see guinea pigs often and referred me to a specialist 3 hours away which really pissed me off. I had her send my x-rays to me. I an not able to get in there for several months anyway. I don't want to put her through a bunch of tests. Most would require sedation which I am not comfortable with. I just want to help her breathe easier. So I went to a 3rd vet. She redid x-rays because the ones that were taken were not great. She said the heart looks good, but cannot rule out a heart issue at this time. She said we may try some heart meds at some point, but wants to address the glaring lung issues first. She said there is no fluid. She believes there is an infection. She sent a prescription for doxycycline and theophylline to a local pharmacy so I could get the meds fast. I picked them up. 70 bucks later. They looked like a crushed tablet sitting in oil. I was so mad. I called the vet. Of course she wasn't in. The receptionist talked to another doctor who said the prescription should NOT look like that. They told me to call the pharmacy. I did. He said it's the best he can do. I called the vet back to leave a message for her to call me back. I also sent an email with pictures of the medication so she could see what I was talking about. I didn't here back from her for days. I broke down and sobbed. I feel like I am trying so hard and not getting anywhere. In the meantime I have doxyvet liquid on hand. I started her on that and back on nebulizer praying I would hear from the doctor. She finally called Friday. She was so angry with the pharmacy. She sent the meds to a different one online. God knows how long I will have to wait for these. I paid 15 bucks extra to try to get it here sooner. She recommended trying coupage with her after the nebulizer. She actually sneezed out some mucous when I did this. I am so lost and sick about all of this. Everything I do seems to be such a waste of time and money. She said to keep giving her the doxyvet liquid. I think her breathing has improved a bit. I hope. I cannot wait to try the theophylline. I hope that really makes a difference. If not, we may try some heart meds to see if that makes a difference.
