Guinea Pig bladder stone medication treatment

[JasmineGurung]

Hi,

I'm new here and nice to meet you all. I'm Jasmine a guinea pig mother of two boys (Thor and Dior) living in Melbourne, Australia.
My Thor is 3 years 5 months old and this year has not been good to him. It started out with a hay poke, then bloat issues, and then a severe UTI which then the doctor suggested it might be stones, which they did not find in the several vet visits but found recently. He also had/has respiratory problems where I see him breathing more faster than my Dior and I hear bit of clicking. He's on 4 different medication at the moment.

This all happened within 2-3 months and I was just wondering is there a more severe problem as to why my Thor ended up getting all these sickness all at once? I give both my boys vitamin C tablets on the daily since they were young, limit their calcium intake after reaching 6 months maturity, and offer large amount of Oaten Hay and some Timothy Hay. I also give them daily exercises by letting them out around my apartment where they run and play.

Last but not least, the vet prescribed Thor on 2 human medication for life because of his Bladder Stone; Potassium Citrate and Hydrochlorothiazide, which helps soften the bladder stone and prevents other stones from forming. He said it is pretty unorthodox and not common for guinea pig use. Has anyone else here used any of those or have heard of them? Does it actually work because I assume the only way to remove bladder stone is thru surgery?

Sorry for the long read, just wanted to be as detailed as I can.

Thank you.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi,

I'm new here and nice to meet you all. I'm Jasmine a guinea pig mother of two boys (Thor and Dior) living in Melbourne, Australia.
My Thor is 3 years 5 months old and this year has not been good to him. It started out with a hay poke, then bloat issues, and then a severe UTI which then the doctor suggested it might be stones, which they did not find in the several vet visits but found recently. He also had/has respiratory problems where I see him breathing more faster than my Dior and I hear bit of clicking. He's on 4 different medication at the moment.

This all happened within 2-3 months and I was just wondering is there a more severe problem as to why my Thor ended up getting all these sickness all at once? I give both my boys vitamin C tablets on the daily since they were young, limit their calcium intake after reaching 6 months maturity, and offer large amount of Oaten Hay and some Timothy Hay. I also give them daily exercises by letting them out around my apartment where they run and play.

Last but not least, the vet prescribed Thor on 2 human medication for life because of his Bladder Stone; Potassium Citrate and Hydrochlorothiazide, which helps soften the bladder stone and prevents other stones from forming. He said it is pretty unorthodox and not common for guinea pig use. Has anyone else here used any of those or have heard of them? Does it actually work because I assume the only way to remove bladder stone is thru surgery?

Sorry for the long read, just wanted to be as detailed as I can.

Thank you.

Hi and welcome

It may be that there is an underlying health issue that is impacting on the immune system. The hay poke is not related and nor should the formation of bladder stones be.

Potassium citrate can be used for bladder stone/sludge piggies. The one I am not familiar with. Normally, the best way would be to operate a stone out because they generally don't go away on their own (boars have a fairly narrow urethra with an awkward inglenook where stones that are washed out have a tendency to fetch up in) but in view of his other issues, I can understand why your vet is somewhat reluctant to do this.

Could you please tell us what other meds your boy is on?

Here is our diet advice for guinea pigs with urinary tract problems. While the calcium absorption process is complex and quite a lot can play into it, diet is the one angle that you as an owner can make a difference.
Please be aware that it takes several weeks for any dietary chances to work their way through the body; it is not a quick process but long term the most secure. You can't go zero calcium; that is as harmful as too high in it. There is a band in which there is an ideal balance; but as the water quality, pellet intake/quality and only thirdly the veg are all playing into the calcium balance and there are major local variances, you need to find your own sustainable soft spot. I would however recommend to filter the water and to reduce the pellet intake to 1 tablespoon per piggy per day in order to cut off the two largest sources of calcium in the diet and to control them better. This will leave you more leeway with the veg.
For more dietary measures see the chapter on special diets in our diet guide: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

What I also would recommend, especially with the bladder already impacted and continuing to be impacted, is to look at supporting the natural glucosamine coating of the walls of the bladder and the urinary tract that prevents the very corrosive urine from coming into contact with raw tissue. Stones and crystals in the bladder are tumbled around and will be banging into the bladder walls (especially the area around the exit) with every pee your boy makes. Glucosamine is classed as a food supplement and not as a medication, so many vets won't prescribe it.
You can try the Oxbow bladder supplement as we know from other Australian members that other avenues are a bit more difficult to work out for you. Again, it is not an instant improvement as the glucosamine will take some time to build up but it will be important for longer term comfort and help with bladder trauma and secondary bacterial cystitis, which can happen as a result of longer term irritation of the bladder.

I hope that this will help you?

 

[Scooter Pie]

Hi there! I have an almost 5 year old sow who has been on potassium citrate and hydrochlorothiazide (.25 ml twice a day) for the past year.

She's on it to prevent stones. With some UTIs, her urine was found to have a huge amount of crystals. After a few weeks of treatment, it improved to the point that the vet wanted to keep her on it for life.

We still deal with UTIs or possible sterile cystitis. After a year on and off antibiotics, we're trying anti inflammatories (meloxicam) for flare ups, and a glucosamine suppliment (oxbow joint support). That worked for a few months. Now the blood and pain is returning and not disappearing with a week of meloxicam, so trying antibiotics again.

Hope that helps, you're not alone, unfortunately.

 

[JasmineGurung]

Hi and welcome

It may be that there is an underlying health issue that is impacting on the immune system. The hay poke is not related and nor should the formation of bladder stones be.

Potassium citrate can be used for bladder stone/sludge piggies. The one I am not familiar with. Normally, the best way would be to operate a stone out because they generally don't go away on their own (boars have a fairly narrow urethra with an awkward inglenook where stones that are washed out have a tendency to fetch up in) but in view of his other issues, I can understand why your vet is somewhat reluctant to do this.

Could you please tell us what other meds your boy is on?

Here is our diet advice for guinea pigs with urinary tract problems. While the calcium absorption process is complex and quite a lot can play into it, diet is the one angle that you as an owner can make a difference.
Please be aware that it takes several weeks for any dietary chances to work their way through the body; it is not a quick process but long term the most secure. You can't go zero calcium; that is as harmful as too high in it. There is a band in which there is an ideal balance; but as the water quality, pellet intake/quality and only thirdly the veg are all playing into the calcium balance and there are major local variances, you need to find your own sustainable soft spot. I would however recommend to filter the water and to reduce the pellet intake to 1 tablespoon per piggy per day in order to cut off the two largest sources of calcium in the diet and to control them better. This will leave you more leeway with the veg.
For more dietary measures see the chapter on special diets in our diet guide: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

What I also would recommend, especially with the bladder already impacted and continuing to be impacted, is to look at supporting the natural glucosamine coating of the walls of the bladder and the urinary tract that prevents the very corrosive urine from coming into contact with raw tissue. Stones and crystals in the bladder are tumbled around and will be banging into the bladder walls (especially the area around the exit) with every pee your boy makes. Glucosamine is classed as a food supplement and not as a medication, so many vets won't prescribe it.
You can try the Oxbow bladder supplement as we know from other Australian members that other avenues are a bit more difficult to work out for you. Again, it is not an instant improvement as the glucosamine will take some time to build up but it will be important for longer term comfort and help with bladder trauma and secondary bacterial cystitis, which can happen as a result of longer term irritation of the bladder.

I hope that this will help you?

Hi,
thank you so much for the info, I’ll definitely look into that and YES I have been feeding him the Oxbow Urinary Tract Supplement and it does have Glucosamine on it as you said, and I’ll try to get my hand on it too because he does, on the rare occasion, squeal when he tries to pee or poo and it just breaks my heart cause I can’t do anything).
The other two medications, other than the two for bladder stones (Potassium Citrate and Hydrochlorothiazide) is Meloxicam for pain reliever, and Doxycycline for his lungs. And at the moment he’s at the hospital again because last night I realised his breathing became laboured again and I had to take him to the emergency. They’re saying it’s fluid in the lungs, but the other vet said he was fine and did not hear anything in his lungs so I should stop Doxycycline immediately as he’s been on a lot of antibiotics and it has affected his immunity. I’m not sure if the vet had a misdiagnosis or it was something I did or if it’s because Thor eats too quickly but yeah I’m just waiting for the doctor to run more tests on him.

 

[JasmineGurung]

Hi there! I have an almost 5 year old sow who has been on potassium citrate and hydrochlorothiazide (.25 ml twice a day) for the past year.

She's on it to prevent stones. With some UTIs, her urine was found to have a huge amount of crystals. After a few weeks of treatment, it improved to the point that the vet wanted to keep her on it for life.

We still deal with UTIs or possible sterile cystitis. After a year on and off antibiotics, we're trying anti inflammatories (meloxicam) for flare ups, and a glucosamine suppliment (oxbow joint support). That worked for a few months. Now the blood and pain is returning and not disappearing with a week of meloxicam, so trying antibiotics again.

Hope that helps, you're not alone, unfortunately.

Hi,
Honestly your post gives me reassurance that my Thor can get better THANK YOU. I was worried because Thor couldn’t get surgery so the only way was the medication which is long term and doesn’t show quick results. The vet did say the bladder stones are more likely to develop again for a Guinea pig who have had it before, so he told me to put Thor on it for life too, which I’m fine with. I’ll definitely get the supplements with Glucosamine and all the best with your sow!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi,
thank you so much for the info, I’ll definitely look into that and YES I have been feeding him the Oxbow Urinary Tract Supplement and it does have Glucosamine on it as you said, and I’ll try to get my hand on it too because he does, on the rare occasion, squeal when he tries to pee or poo and it just breaks my heart cause I can’t do anything).
The other two medications, other than the two for bladder stones (Potassium Citrate and Hydrochlorothiazide) is Meloxicam for pain reliever, and Doxycycline for his lungs. And at the moment he’s at the hospital again because last night I realised his breathing became laboured again and I had to take him to the emergency. They’re saying it’s fluid in the lungs, but the other vet said he was fine and did not hear anything in his lungs so I should stop Doxycycline immediately as he’s been on a lot of antibiotics and it has affected his immunity. I’m not sure if the vet had a misdiagnosis or it was something I did or if it’s because Thor eats too quickly but yeah I’m just waiting for the doctor to run more tests on him.

Very sorry to hear that he is poorly again. He is obviously very much loved and cared for!