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Heart disease

Lisanjake

Lisanjake

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jul 15, 2015
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Saffron walden
Hi all

My older girl Erin has been diagnosed with heart disease today :(
I noticed her breathing was getting a lot heavier and she was sleeping more and much deeper than normal over the last few weeks. she was also losing weight as all she was doing was sleeping. Also she seems to kind of zone out, like she can be eating one minute then staring into space the next..
She has always had one runny nostril, for a long time now. i wonder if that could be a symptom.

I have been given Frusol and Vetmedin to give twice a day, so i hope it helps her soon bless her.

What are peoples experiences / life expectancy with this? i was too scared to ask the vet... I hate getting upset in front of people i dont know.
She is 6 years old now so i know she is getting on a bit.
Do people top up daily with critical care? will she start gaining weight again with the meds?
Always forget to ask something before i leave! haha
 
I’ve had a number of guineas over the years with heart disease and all have managed really well. I have found it takes a while to get the right balance of medication but once you do, they manage a very good quality of life. For instance if they seem to be very laboured with their breathing you may want to increase the frusol for a day or so as there will be a build up of fluid. Frusol will ease this. Once the breathing is back under control, reduce it again. The vet can give you the range of dose for your size Guinea. I would also offer some water by syringe, as frusol can dehydrate them if you use it a lot. I try and avoid syringe feeding unless they aren’t eating but go for high quality hays, dried herbs, readigrass etc, corn on the cob etc. I reserve the syringe feeding when they really need it.

hope that helps😜!
 
Thanks Debbie that is good to know.
okay I wont force feed, she likes to eat the critical care off a spoon thankfully lol

Ahh i see, how long would it take to see any improvement roughly?
shes currently on 0.25ml Frusol (only had her first does at 12pm) and a quarter of a tablet of Vetmedin)
Do people have any tricks on how to give the tablet? I was told by the nurse to put it in the syringe whole, with some syringe food.

she is very lucky, lots and lots of different hay and good treats! lol :)
She does tend to drink quite alot anyway which is good,
 
Just an update really.. Erin seems to be doing okay on her meds (back up to her normal weight pretty much)
Last few days she’s put on a bit more than usual - maybe 15-20g more)

I’ve noticed tonight her breathing looks slower, like 48 beats per minute. Is that super slow?
I can’t remember what it was at before but it looks a lot slower. I’ll try and upload a video for comparison…
 
Is anyone awake? Shea currently passing

So I leave her on my lap or put her home? Or take her to vets emergancy is 40 mins in car.
 
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