Enlarged lymph nodes and balding flanks on our 3.5 year old sow

[Bethan]

Hi all,

Our 3.5 year old sow, Clarice, has this week developed swollen / enlarged lymph nodes. I lost my 5 year old boat to lymphoma last year so immediately I am in panic mode. I also this week have noticed that Clarice seemed to have “crusty” nipples and balding flanks / hips.

Our regular vet gave some antibiotics to tie us over until exotic vet can see her tomorrow - in case the lymph nodes were swollen due to infection. This does not seem to have helped though she has only had 2 doses so far.

Tomorrow we will ask the vet to do a biopsy but I’m just wondering in the meantime if anyone else has had similar experience… to me, the symptoms seem to be indicative of lymphoma - re the swollen lymph nodes, and ovarian cysts because of the nipple issue and balding flanks.

My partner thought maybe this could be an ovarian cyst and closed pyometra issue. I have no idea obviously, I suppose I’m just looking for other people’s experiences if any.

Lymphoma is so cruel and I’m not ready to lose another so soon.

Clarice pics for attention

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

I am very sorry that it is all happening at once but glad that you can be seen by an exotics vet tomorrow.
Please accept that we cannot replace a vets hands-on visit sight unseen as much as you are desperate for answers. We can only guess at the best and we can easily guess wrongly; which can throw you even further.
The swollen lymph nodes are the priority issue.

Lymphoma is unfortunately always one of the conditions that need to be taken into consideration when dealing with swollen lymph nodes. I am sure that your vet will do so tomorrow and will be able to give you a considered diagnosis. Lymphoma can range from fairly mild to very aggressive and fast progressing. I truly feel for you if you were confronted with it again.

It is always so much harder when you have lost a piggy to the same or a very similar problem before; your fears are kind of in high definition compared to a new health issue; they are not any greater but you know better what is coming.
But as heart-breaking as it is, having gone through it once means that you know that you have the inner strength to face it again even though it won't be any less painful. That proof of your own resilience is a hidden rock within yourself that you can cling to and that can help you weather any storm, as I have found for myself in the depths of despair.
I have only ever lost one piggy to potential lymphoma (the node in question was deep inside a fluid-filled chest) but I have lost piggies repeatedly to some rather unusual problems without any obvious connection. Just the cosmic lottery of short straws at work; it is truly random.

Bethany may have some unrelated hormonal ovarian cyst issues which can wait. She is at the age when hormonal cysts are most commonly active before the non-hormonal fluid filled ones take over in terms of numbers although the majority of them go unnoticed.

Fingers firmly crossed! We will be there for you for moral and practical support once you know what you are up against.

 

[Bethan]

Hi

I am very sorry that it is all happening at once but glad that you can be seen by an exotics vet tomorrow.
Please accept that we cannot replace a vets hands-on visit sight unseen as much as you are desperate for answers. We can only guess at the best and we can easily guess wrongly; which can throw you even further.
The swollen lymph nodes are the priority issue.

Lymphoma is unfortunately always one of the conditions that need to be taken into consideration when dealing with swollen lymph nodes. I am sure that your vet will do so tomorrow and will be able to give you a considered diagnosis. Lymphoma can range from fairly mild to very aggressive and fast progressing. I truly feel for you if you were confronted with it again.

It is always so much harder when you have lost a piggy to the same or a very similar problem before; your fears are kind of in high definition compared to a new health issue; they are not any greater but you know better what is coming.
But as heart-breaking as it is, having gone through it once means that you know that you have the inner strength to face it again even though it won't be any less painful. That proof of your own resilience is a hidden rock within yourself that you can cling to and that can help you weather any storm, as I have found for myself in the depths of despair.
I have only ever lost one piggy to potential lymphoma (the node in question was deep inside a fluid-filled chest) but I have lost piggies repeatedly to some rather unusual problems without any obvious connection. Just the cosmic lottery of short straws at work; it is truly random.

Bethany may have some unrelated hormonal ovarian cyst issues which can wait. She is at the age when hormonal cysts are most commonly active before the non-hormonal fluid filled ones take over in terms of numbers although the majority of them go unnoticed.

Fingers firmly crossed! We will be there for you for moral and practical support once you know what you are up against.

Thank you for your reply. The vet will do a biopsy tomorrow but I’m pretty sure I know what the result will be. It’s so hard, I’ve only had the privilege of being her Mam for 9 months. X

 

[VickiA]

Hope all goes well at the vets.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for your reply. The vet will do a biopsy tomorrow but I’m pretty sure I know what the result will be. It’s so hard, I’ve only had the privilege of being her Mam for 9 months. X

I am keeping my fingers firmly crossed for Bethany and you today!

 

[Bethan]

So we took Clarice to her appointment and the vet is 99% sure it’s lymphoma. Devastated. He took a sample and we should have results middle of next week to confirm.

 

[Wiebke]

So we took Clarice to her appointment and the vet is 99% sure it’s lymphoma. Devastated. He took a sample and we should have results middle of next week to confirm.

BIG HUGS

I am so sorry that your worst nightmare has come true.

Please try to focus on making the most of the time you have left with Clarice. Turn her life clock back to zero and see every further day as the special gift that it is and fill it with special memories. Guinea pigs don't measure their lives in average life spans, they measure their lives in happy todays. As long as you do the same and fill the remaining time with meaning, you are not failing Clarice in any way and you are also creating lasting happy memories for yourself; hopefully lots of them. It doesn't matter how long you have a piggy, it matters what you make of that shared time. Doing constructive and happy things will also help your emotional wellbeing; you are not just sitting there staring at the end and giving your fears and nightmares free reign.

One of my most memorable piggies who makes still me grin every time I remember him even a decade on was an old widowed boar who I only had for a year. However, Bryn managed to pack this year so full of fun, naughtiness and joy of life that it seemed like a proper life time and still does so. Empty time slips through your fingers; filled time expands. You can pack a lifetime of love into just a moment. Go and catch as many expandable moments as you can.
You will still continue to your grieving underneath it all. But if you face it openly, it will mean that there is a lot less processing 'homework' waiting for you afterwards. The pain of your loss won't be any easier but you won't have to digest all the other stuff together with it at once. You won't grieve any less overall but you can do so at an easier pace.

PS: You may find this guide here helpful; it deals with the challenges but also the hidden bonuses that come with dealing with caring for a terminally ill guinea pig addressed in more detail in a special chapter.
The guide admittedly doesn't make the easiest of readings but it will hopefully be a useful guide through the emotional, ethical and practical tangle you are finding yourself so you do not have to feel quite as overhelmed and alone on your journey and can make it with hopefully a clearer mind and less nightmares: A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs

My thoughts are with you and Clarice.