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Help, browny, yellowy discharge. Sows soaked all down stomach and looks blocked.

Hi all, got a vets appointment again this morning. Asked if we could just pick her antibiotics up but looks like they wanna see her again. Same vet so I'm hoping she listens and at least trials the antibiotics, otherwise may have to seek out another practice. Living nightmare!
 
sarahloo89 said:
Also noticed her poops are getting smaller and are shaped like a tear, pointy on end.
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I’m glad you’ve got an appointment.

As per my question above, are you weighing her on kitchen scales?
This is the only way to know she is still eating enough.
Smaller poops can indicate a reduction in hay intake but given there is a 1-2 day delay between food intake and poop output, by the time the poops look small a piggy has already not been eating enough for a couple of days. The daily weight checks are essential and are the only time to get real time information on hay intake.
Weekly weight checks are routine when a piggy is healthy but they need to be weighed daily while there are health concerns. If she is losing weight, then she needs to be syringe fed

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
 
sarahloo89 said:
Does anyone know how long Sulfatrim lasts once opened? I ask as I have nearly a full bottle that I got for my rainbow bridge piggie back at the end of January. Also, it was kept in a garage during the hot weather for around a week whilst moving house so will this have caused it to go bad?
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Sulfatrim only lasts about 3 weeks after opening. It quickly loses its potency.
 
Hi all, just got back from vets and what a nightmare! Firstly when we arrived they had no power, entire towns power supply was off, secondly she obviously had to be examined with minimal light and thirdly the worst, Heidi is now traumatized!

On examination the vet had to squeeze her bladder to get another urine sample but she squeezed so hard (but had to be done) Heidi yelped out in such pain, poor baby, my heart sank (I panicked her bladder may have burst!) On emptying her bladder the smell went from fishy to the worst smell ever, that resembled sewerage!

The smell to me is what I know an abscess lets off when they burst so still very concerned however, vet again didn't expect stones as could not be felt.

They have put her on antibiotics for 10 days. They said we could leave her so they could perform and xray but didn't recommend it as obviously they had no power and didn't know when it would be back on.

On top of that, on return home 20 nutracyst tablets seem to have gone missing so can't find them anywhere. Questioned the vet afterwards on phone who said they definitely gave me 42 tablets however, been through bins, every inch of the house! They went on to say they will check their stock and see if its their mistake. This is definitely not my day, week or even year!

Gonna monitor Heidi and see how she responds to antibiotics, if she deteriorates then I'll take her back for further treatment, xray etc. I am just very worried that there is something seriously wrong with her insides, as even the vet was puzzled to what is causing such a horrid smell. I hope whatever it is, that it can be cured.
 
It’s good to hear that they tested her urine and have prescribed antibiotics. Expressing the bladder is something many vets do in order to get a sample, and the piggies nearly always shriek. Different infections smell different - some do smell worse than others. I hope that the antibiotics together with the pain relief/inflammation relief and nutracyst all help her. Please do keep weighing daily to ensure she’s maintaining her weight and be ready to step in with syringe feeding if necessary.
 
I hope the treatment works and gets her back to her usual popcorning self too. It is horrible when our babies are poorly, I wish I could take it away from her and have the illness myself instead. Yes, I will definitely keep a close eye on her weight, syringe feed if needed and update everyone on her progress.

I am hoping it is not stones, any infection/complications that have arisen from her spay/uterine tumor removal back in march, another uterine tumor or any nasty abscesses/cysts internally.

I am wondering if I should monitor her on the antibiotics first, then if no progress get further tests/xray or whether I should just jump straight in for further investigation? I just dont want to put her through too much at once incase she isnt strong enough to cope. Also thank you all so much for the support, I really need it at the moment ❤️
 
I hope Heidi is ok and they can find out what is wrong and it’s easily sorted. Good luck 🤞
 
Oh no - poor Heidi!

My George currently has a big stone in his bladder. It's his second one in the past few months and he's nearly 6 now. We found out last week but we're on antibiotics too. Symptoms of incontinence, smelly wee with blood tint, discomfort, eating less, losing weight, hiding away etc. George has improved since he's been on his... currently apart from a faint whiff of old wee and a slightly damp underside he's doing OK, eating much better, piggin' around with the girls, eager for veg. He might have had this stone for some weeks but it was just over a week ago that the severe symptoms appeared. If poor Heidi smells bad you've got to be thinking infection... stone or no stone. Even if she does have a stone or two keep with the antibiotics.
 
Hi, haven't long been back from vets, that's 3 trips since Friday! Been an expensive week! Saying that we've been 5 days in 1 week before, we have no luck.

Well Heidi had xray and couldn't see any signs of a stone however, much sludge was present. They give her a painkiller injection and have told me to continue with antibiotics and metacam. Hopefully that will work otherwise yet another vets trip.

Got her home now and fingers crossed she seems much more content and is enjoying her hay and a few pellets. Havent seen her bowled over in pain like earlier, thank God. I hope this lasts when the injection wears off in about 5 hours time!

Oh no so sorry to here about poor George bless him. Will he be undergoing surgery? It really is so devastating our piggies are so susceptible and go through so many illnesses. I really do hope he is OK. It's so difficult when they hide their illnesses so well that we only really recognise it when it gets too severe.
 
I’m so pleased Heidi is home and is feeling a little better.
 
I'm so pleased she's at least able to eat again. Fingers crossed you see improvement in the next 24-48 hours after starting antibiotics. And if you do think seriously about getting the others seen too. If you aren't happy with this vet ring around. My practice is generalist but a few vets are piggy experienced and/or keep piggies themselves. The one seeing George at the mo is a piggy keeper too. If Heidi has sludge it'll be painful to pee out but at least she stands a chance of doing that.

No, George won't have a surgery. George was a big healthy 5 1./2 year old lad (albeit with some arthritis and impaction issues) until July, when he started to 'look his age' but no other obvious symptoms until one evening I was horrified to see his urethra was almost completely blocked by a lump as big as a bean - and a big bean at that. A stone that had appeared out of the blue. The vet squeezed it out (!) with no follow-up ill effects but we both knew that the chances of him throwing another were pretty high and indeed he has. If he survived the surgery and the painful recovery there's no reason he wouldn't form another in a matter of weeks. And George won't realise I'm putting him through all that to 'help' - he's been gentle and timid all his life. He'll do OK for a while - no idea how long - but if his quality of life deteriorates, well... we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now he's enjoying being pampered a bit more than usual. The vet was speculating that he might actually pass this one too but the chances are incredibly small. I'm getting over the shock I think, but it is very hard...
 
Me too, hope her lucks in and she does improve and yes, I will defo get others seen too if symptoms flare up. To be honest, my other piggies seem OK at the moment and are very relaxed, think the nutracyst has something to do with it.

Awwww George! Sounds like he's been through the war zone too and I completely understand why surgery is not the best option. I really hope he continues with a fantastic quality of life for as long as possible.

He sounds like he gets plenty of love from you and is spoilt with affection! Fingers crossed, even tho his chances are small that he passes that nasty stone. My thoughts are with you and George.
 
You are doing a great job with heidi - and she is soooo gorgeous. I have a bit of a thing for silver agoutis.
Fingers crossed that the antibiotics work their magic and she feels much better very soon.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Was a bladder flush not suggested, to get rid of all that sludge? x
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No they didn't suggest it, just told me to carry on with meds and if no improvement then take her back. I hope she recovers as I hate seeing her unwell and to be honest money is becoming really tight. I'm hoping my luck and my piggies luck will change, been a terrible year for illnesses.
 
Glad she’s feeling a bit better. My girl poppy had an onset of bladder issues a year and a half ago, she had multiple x rays and ultrasounds (all conscious) and they found no stone. She went through the UTI treatment route. But gets flare ups every now and again. She is currently having a two week flare up which is really awful for her. Since coming home from piggie boarding while we were away. And the flare up before that was due to the numerous thunderstorms overnight (despite being inside). Dreading firework night for her :(
Some stones are only seen on ultrasound and no x rays and some are seen on x rays and not ultrasound. Which is interesting too.
I really hope she starts to feel better soon. I can really sympathise with your piggie and her sore bladder it’s not nice at all❤️
 
Josie_lg said:
Glad she’s feeling a bit better. My girl poppy had an onset of bladder issues a year and a half ago, she had multiple x rays and ultrasounds (all conscious) and they found no stone. She went through the UTI treatment route. But gets flare ups every now and again. She is currently having a two week flare up which is really awful for her. Since coming home from piggie boarding while we were away. And the flare up before that was due to the numerous thunderstorms overnight (despite being inside). Dreading firework night for her :(
Some stones are only seen on ultrasound and no x rays and some are seen on x rays and not ultrasound. Which is interesting too.
I really hope she starts to feel better soon. I can really sympathise with your piggie and her sore bladder it’s not nice at all❤️
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Oh no poor Poppy, it's not nice for her or yourself having recurring bladder issues to cope with. I do hope she is OK. Me too, I am dreading Fireworks all my pets hate them and to be honest so do I! I hate that our piggies are so susceptible/prone to so many nasty health issues. Is Poppy on any ongoing meds for her flare ups? If yes, does it help? I ask as I am not sure whether to buy cystease for Heidi when the vets prescription has ran out and keep her on this x
 
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