Feeling sad about guinea pig’s arthritis

[wheekly]

Hi everyone,

I’m feeling a little down about my guinea pig today.

I posted about her a little bit ago. She is 7 years old (which I’m very proud of — I adopted her in 2016 when she was about 4 months old). She has never had an issue other than the recent onset of arthritis. Before that, she’s never had to go on medicine for anything!

I got her at the end of 8th grade. So I had her my entire high school career (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th) and the entirety of college (I’m now a fourth year student). It’s insane to think about the fact that she’s been with me throughout so many huge changes in my life

She started on dog metacam a little over a month ago, at a dose of 0.6 mL twice a day (she is approximately 2.1 pounds consistently when she gets weighed) hence the higher dose. My vet says that her maximum safe dose for her weight would be 0.95 mL.

It has made a difference for sure. Before she started on the medicine, she was falling over and was noticeably wobbly. It has helped a lot with her quality of life.

I’m just feeling a bit down today because she started wobbling again yesterday, and today she improved and then it got bad again to the point where she was basically laying on her leg. My vet had advised me to give her 0.75 mL in the event that I felt it was absolutely necessary - so I did, because she was clearly in a lot of pain.

Now, it’s just a waiting game of seeing how she responds to the 0.75 mL dosage and then consulting my vet again.

I know there’s not much more I can do other than keep her comfortable on top of giving her the medicine, but I can’t help but feel really bad. I find it really hard just knowing she’s in pain. I wish there was a quick fix but I know that that doesn’t exist for arthritis, and I just have to keep working with my vet to adjust the dosage until she’s comfortable.

I just feel so bad for her. I’m sure a lot of piggy parents on here can relate. It’s not a nice feeling knowing your pigs are in pain. Especially when you know they don’t understand why. I wish they could talk to us and let us know what’s working and what’s not.

Anyways, sorry for the long post. Any replies are welcome — I’m kind of just getting this off my chest. I worry for her and I’ve had her for so long that I can’t even imagine my life without her. I would appreciate any words of advice or even your own personal experiences battling guinea pig arthritis (it seems to be and up-and-down battle)

Thanks everyone

 

[piggl]

I totally empathise with you. Although I’ve never had a arthritic pig, it is so tough when our little furry family members are ill. It can be so tiring celebrating the progress just to have it go worse the next day, and that’s mentally straining on you.
I can tell how loving and caring you are and I can tell your lovely girl has had an amazing life.
7 is a fantastic age, you should be so proud of your journey together.

Although I do believe in times like these you should celebrate successes, but when on such a bumpy ride, I find it easier to not celebrate the highs as much so the lows don’t seem so hard. That is easier said than done, but I have personally found it very helpful in such stressful times. Certainly don’t stop enjoying the highs, but being more aware of the “road” ahead helps me cope with what is going on.

We have quite a few members who have experience with arthritis and I am sure they will be along soon to give you some more practical advice but for now I will send you many hugs.
Remember to take care of yourself in times like these, you are doing so well for her and with things like arthritis it’s certainly a journey and I know you will find your path soon.

 

[wheekly]

I totally empathise with you. Although I’ve never had a arthritic pig, it is so tough when our little furry family members are ill. It can be so tiring celebrating the progress just to have it go worse the next day, and that’s mentally straining on you.
I can tell how loving and caring you are and I can tell your lovely girl has had an amazing life.
7 is a fantastic age, you should be so proud of your journey together.

Although I do believe in times like these you should celebrate successes, but when on such a bumpy ride, I find it easier to not celebrate the highs as much so the lows don’t seem so hard. That is easier said than done, but I have personally found it very helpful in such stressful times. Certainly don’t stop enjoying the highs, but being more aware of the “road” ahead helps me cope with what is going on.

We have quite a few members who have experience with arthritis and I am sure they will be along soon to give you some more practical advice but for now I will send you many hugs.
Remember to take care of yourself in times like these, you are doing so well for her and with things like arthritis it’s certainly a journey and I know you will find your path soon.

Thank you so much

 

[wheekly]

Hey guys! Just wanted to pop in and give you an update. I ordered her a snugglesafe heating pad after reading about them on the forum. She just had her evening veggies with her sister and now they’re both relaxing. Gonna stay positive and see how she does with the slightly higher dosage.

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

I have a 7 year old piggy with bad arthritis, and yes, it is sad to see them looking uncomfortable and unable to run around like they used to - especially when you've had them since they were very young (I adopted Squeaks when he was 6 weeks old).

Squeaks has been on max dose of metacam for dental pain for over 15 months which initially helped his arthritis too when that started. When it started getting noticeably worse, my vet added gabapentin, which seems to have helped. I also use Oxbow Joint Support biscuits and/or Johnsons 4Joints which some people find makes a difference. One of my Rainbow Bridge piggies that had arthritis had metacam and Tramadol. So you could try adding another pain relief if your vet is willing.

 

[wheekly]

I have a 7 year old piggy with bad arthritis, and yes, it is sad to see them looking uncomfortable and unable to run around like they used to - especially when you've had them since they were very young (I adopted Squeaks when he was 6 weeks old).

Squeaks has been on max dose of metacam for dental pain for over 15 months which initially helped his arthritis too when that started. When it started getting noticeably worse, my vet added gabapentin, which seems to have helped. I also use Oxbow Joint Support biscuits and/or Johnsons 4Joints which some people find makes a difference. One of my Rainbow Bridge piggies that had arthritis had metacam and Tramadol. So you could try adding another pain relief if your vet is willing.

Thanks for the advice! Will keep this in mind

 

[Viennese Furbabies]

I always find it's the worst part of keeping guinea pigs when you have to watch a loved piggy suffering and can't do much about it. I'm very sorry you have to go through this at the moment.
Apart from keeping her warm and comfortable (also dry around her backside), adjusting her pain medication with your vet and giving a joint supplement, there is not much you can do.
Muffin was also given CBD, but it didn't do him much good. So I don't know if it doesn't work or if it just didn't work for Muffin.
Billie is also on two types of pain medication which made quite a difference.

7 years is a grand old age for a guinea pig.
Unfortunately, there is always a bitter side to caring for a senior, because we all know there will come the time to say goodbye.
Try to create as many happy memories as possible and cherish the good days as hard as it can be.
Take care!

 

[piggieminder]

Sending you hugs. It's hard watching our beloved piggies age. I have 2 with arthritis, they are on Metacam and I have Gabapentin for the bad days. I also give them Johnson's4Joints which I think helps.

 

[Eriathwen]

I currently have 4 with arthritis and 1 with osteodystrophy which is fairly similar. It's definitely hard trying to find the right combination of meds and treatment! Luckily there is quite a lot of things to try, to find what works for you and your pig.

Drugs wise there's metacam which most are put on first, then you can add in gabapentin, tramadol, paracetamol, short term buprenorphine etc

You can also use a good quality glucosamine supplement and look into cartrophen injections. Personally I also like curcumin supplements to help with inflammation as well.

Then there are treatments such as laser therapy, acupuncture, vitamin b12 injections, assisi loops that you could discuss with your vet, they may have to refer you to a different practice depending on what they offer but all those things do have a medical benefit in other animals if you can find somewhere willing to use them for guinea pigs.

Most piggies can be kept comfortable with medication however and won't need most of the above! But it's useful info to have just in case.

 

[Tigermoth]

I hear you, I’m going through the same with Jenny and it’s just heartbreaking to watch. When she first came to live with us I remember her being so fast she escaped and ran under the coffee table like a shot. I was really nervous when we first got the pigs and I had to get my husband to fish her out as I was scared of her biting me . Now she can only bumble at best. She tried to zoomie the other day and it was only the expression on her face and the noises that gave it away, bless her.

I’m not sure where we are in terms of best interests for Jenny, she is still climbing up the bars and wheeking for her tea but I don’t feel like we have long before we will need to make a one way trip to the vet. She just started gabepentin but I’m not convinced it’s helping much. I gave her a good bum bath and I’m monitoring the state she is getting in though as she is sitting in her own mess and I don’t want her to scald. I scratched her ear the other day when I could see her try and give up

Seven is a great age and to know that this is part of her aging and inevitable end is hard. Enjoy her and spoil her with all the things she loves for now. There is a guide for senior piggies but I can’t find it. I know it was linked on my own thread on age so I’ll go find it.
ETA Caring for Older Piggies and Facing the End - A practical and supportive information collection

It talks about palliative care though so you might not be quite ready to think about that xx