Dental and thyroid issues

[Josie_lg]

Hiya, we have recently been dealing with some quiet complicated health issues with my five year old piggie honey. We first noticed she was more subdued and struggling with her eating for a couple of days. Got her seen and then did a CT scan (conscious) the vet dispensed gabapentin for her as could see some issues with her teeth and felt this was a better medication for teeth/nerve pain. She has also had a small and squishy lump under her neck inside her dewlap (was checked by a vet as soon as we found it) the vet was highly suspicious of hyperthyroidism especially alongside her big appetite and weight loss.
The CT confirmed enlarged thyroid along with a very small abscess behind a molar-this molar is apparently deformed, I’ve been told she most likely was born with it and it hadn’t caused an issue till now. Along with a spur/malocclusion. It also found a small nodule believed to be a micro abscess on the lung-incidental finding! And some enlarged lymph nodes around her thyroid.
We have been to see an exotics specialist for a consult and opinion. It was a very in depth and detail consult and he explained everything very well. Sadly there is a chance the thyroid could be due to cancer. But only way of knowing is sampling etc. she does present as a hyperthyroid Guinea pig. He said the only way to get rid of the tiny abscess behind that molar is tooth removal, a risky and not very nice procedure. (Note the abscess can’t be felt or seen it is very tiny and only seen on a CT scan) We had a long chat about what the best thing to do is and have agreed we want to make sure she’s comfortable and give her the best quality of life possible.
Manage any pain and start her on thyroid medication to help settle that. So she needs to have the spurr filed down as he has said that can’t be left. And bloods are advised strongly in order to check her thyroid function as well as kidney function before starting her on thyroid meds.
She is on a four week course of co-trimazole as I’ve been told this should help reduce/shrink? The tiny abscess behind her molar. And we have weaned her off the gabapentin and she is on metacam.
She has gained a fantastic amount of weight in one month, and is so much brighter and currently eating very well with minimal discomfort.
However the specialist did advise getting the spurr sorted asap so it’s not left to worsen or cause ulcers or sores. And check the bloods.
We wanted to go to the specialist to have the op done to get her the best care possible as she has these other issues going on now too (you wouldn't know it she is the happiest squeakiest piggie ever) and as a family we have agreed to sort that tooth out and keep her pain free.
My question is I know the spurr can’t be left but it’s so difficult to face putting her under GA when she’s currently doing so well.
She first started having minor issues two years ago with not much found. Could she have had this all along? Can they continue on with a spurr/malocculision? I assume it will only get worse.
The cost is extremely high to have it done there. Of course she is worth every penny but I’ve heard a lot about cat and rabbit clinic being the first choice for most piggie owners and dentals. Does anybody know if they are experienced in blood sampling too? And thyroid cases? And if anyone would feel comfortable to share what the costs look like there.
If the care is just as good/better, but the cost is lower it’s worth a long journey from essex.
So sorry for such a long message but I wanted to give all the details. Thank you for reading and any advice/recommendations you can giveI just want the best for her x

 

[Josie_lg]

Like I say she is worth every penny but I am a recently qualified vet nurse myself and I don’t earn a huge amount of money so if she can have the same /better care for slightly less than what the specialists are offering it would be good to know

 

[Freela]

I can't advise you on UK vets as I'm in Canada, hopefully someone can come along and give you some advice there. I did have a pig with hyperthyroidism so maybe I can help out a bit there.

One of my past pigs, Tomie, developed hyperthyroidism around age 3. She dropped weight despite having a big appetite, she was also extremely thirsty and went through tons of water. She had a bunch of blood work done and was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism (I can't remember the exact TSH value that was normal for guinea pigs, but hers was 7 and it was significantly elevated.) In her case there was no thyroid nodule to feel, but we were told that didn't necessarily rule out a tumor as the cause. Doing a biopsy was expensive and invasive so we decided to just treat her medically and not put her through the stress/risk of an operation that couldn't really make her prognosis any better.

So she started on methimazole twice that we started gradually titrating up to try to get her to a point where she stopped losing and gained some weight. It was a long process getting a good balance of meds, we did eventually get her to a point that she was gaining weight after a few months. She sadly ended up passing away at about 3.5, she was doing well and gaining weight, got a respiratory infection but seemed to be beating it with antibiotics, and then had a really sudden turn for the worse and collapsed and passed really suddenly. It was quite a shock. I'm not sure that her thyroid was even a factor, I think she had some sort of sudden heart incident that was probably from a variety of reasons, from the acute infection to being underweight, to potentially an underlying malignancy if that was a factor in her thyroid issues. Not trying to freak you out because it could have been completely unrelated, there's just no way to know for sure.

In your place, I would try to address the dental spur. They are painful, and a hyperthyroid pig will lose weight FAST if their food intake is impaired. For what it's worth, Tomie had anesthesia a couple times for blood work when her hyperthyroidism was not yet being treated and actually did fine with it both times. For meds, you'll probably get methimazole on a twice-daily schedule because they have a fast metabolism. I was told to try to be pretty precise with the timing and dosing, I had an alarm set on my phone for Tomie meds to remind me. You can start slow and titrate up. Some vets will want to do repeat blood work to look at TSH levels, but we just monitored her weekly weights because I didn't want her having repeated anesthesia for blood work.

I hope this helps a bit, feel free to ask me any questions and I'll try to think back and answer!

 

[weepweeps]

I had a piggy with a very large tooth root abscess. My vet wasn’t confident to operate so referred me to a specialist. They quoted me £1,500-2,000. This included a ct scan.

I got him in with Cat and Rabbit and I think the cost was about £500. They are amazing vets. They didn’t do a ct scan. They operated the same day as I live 2 hours away from them. It was a long day but so worth it. Good luck I hope Honey is soon on the mend.

 

[Josie_lg]

Thank you for sharing your experiences I really appreciate it. Does anyone know if they are happy taking blood samples from piggies at that clinic? And whether your pigs have had a sedation or full GA and how has their recovery been? I’ve sent an email to them today and will ask my vets to do a referral tomorrow when I’m in work. I just want to make sure I’m making the right choices for her
I was hesitant on the bloods but I’ve been told it’s dangerous to start thyroid meds without blood sampling first. And that the meds can effect the kidneys. Especially as the specialist said she’ll have to stay on metacam long term as they found she’s arthritic (I had my suspicions) on the CT and they found an age related issue with a disc in her spine bless her. Xx

 

[Gem789]

Thank you for sharing your experiences I really appreciate it. Does anyone know if they are happy taking blood samples from piggies at that clinic? And whether your pigs have had a sedation or full GA and how has their recovery been? I’ve sent an email to them today and will ask my vets to do a referral tomorrow when I’m in work. I just want to make sure I’m making the right choices for her
I was hesitant on the bloods but I’ve been told it’s dangerous to start thyroid meds without blood sampling first. And that the meds can effect the kidneys. Especially as the specialist said she’ll have to stay on metacam long term as they found she’s arthritic (I had my suspicions) on the CT and they found an age related issue with a disc in her spine bless her. Xx

Yes they can take a blood sample if you wish.The way they told me they do it in the past is to cut the nail a bit too short (into the quick) as the other way can be very painful for them.I don't know if they still do it this way though.If you go to the cat and rabbit clinic,you'll be in the best hands and you won't regret it,they're brilliant.

 

[Josie_lg]

Okay thank you. Xx
The history and letters and CT have been sent across to them today. Does anyone know how long it takes to get a response back and how quickly they tend to get you booked in? And whether he does them on a Saturday? Xx

 

[Gem789]

Okay thank you. Xx
The history and letters and CT have been sent across to them today. Does anyone know how long it takes to get a response back and how quickly they tend to get you booked in? And whether he does them on a Saturday? Xx

You should get a response soon,they are very busy but you will get a response.I'm not sure how it works now but Kim used to work on the Saturday 10 till 4.

 

[Josie_lg]

Thank you! We are getting the process moving but I would just really like to hear people’s own experiences with going to the cat and rabbit clinic for dentals. How have your piggies been ? How have the recovered? Were they okay on the journey home? My family are all quite nervous and they’ve asked me to ask on here to hear other people’s experiences if possible ? Xx

 

[Gem789]

I've had a couple of piggies that have had conscious dentals and they've been fine.They were fine on the journey home too and I normally use buses so it's 2 buses there and back.I normally have hay in the carrier and I pack a bit of cucumber.I also usually keep a small pack of dill with me.I also had poppy who had a stone removed when she was 8 years old and she came back on the bus with me with a wait for it.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Lots of their clients travel very long distances and the piggies cope very well!

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

I couldn't recommend C&R highly enough, for both their knowledge and experience and also for their care and gentleness with the piggies they see.
I wrote a testimonial for Debbie at TEAS after Squeaks treatment 18 months ago which told how Kim practically brought him back from the dead, he also had had fairly regular conscious dentals there after which he was always eating without a problem.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...-announcement-please-read.204494/post-2831516

He was fine with the <1.5hour journey afterwards as well, accompanied by his cagemate.