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New medication making piggy sleepy?

UPDATE:
I talked with the vet this morning. I discussed Stubbins' behavior and the vet had me feel her stomach.
She said to:
1. Continue with the two medications
2. Decrease the syringe feeding sessions to 3-4 times per day. She thinks that syringe feeding her every 2-3 hours makes her constantly full, and therefore, she is not eating as much hay as she should be at this point in recovery.
She will refer us to a specialist if Stubbins does not show more progress in about four days.
 
I really just want Stubbins to get better. :(
It is around 2:00 a.m. and I checked in on the piggies just now. Stubbins had some sort of diarrhea just now. I am not sure if that is how to classify it, but (and I am so sorry for writing this) the consistency of yogurt (I'm sorry, I couldn't figure out what to write). :(
I brought this up with the vet today.
I feel like the medications are causing this. Before bringing her into the vet, her only issue was not eating and lacking energy. Now, she has a whole other problem.
I just don't know when I can stop giving her the medication/syringe food. The vet says she should be on both until she is back to eating once again.
Stubbins eats, I honestly just can't tell if it is enough. I feel like she used to eat a lot more hay.
However, I am only syringe feeding 2-3 times per day, and she is maintaining her weight.
How do I know when things are back to normal?
This has been really hard on me and my piglet. :(
P.S.
I have tried taking her off veggies, but her poops never change. :(
 
Hello, this is really tough for you.

First recommendation: get some sleep. Things rarely look good at 2am. Also, you need to take care of yourself in order to take care of her.

I wouldn't stop giving her the medication if you've been advised to continue by a professional. Once her diet gets back to normal, the poop thing will hopefully resolve itself and, in fact, all the symptoms are likely to be related - not eating leads to weird poops as well as causing lethargy as they run out of energy. It's also worth knowing that poops are a few days behind what's going on the front end so you won't see the output of what you are doing today until the weekend probably - I'm guessing this may be why your vet recommended the four day wait.

I imagine you already looked at this but it might be worth taking a reread of the advice here on digestive issues: Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
 
I think you're in California so just wanted to say good morning and I hope you and Stubbins after doing ok
 
URGENT:
I took Stubbins' weight today, and the scale says 757 grams.
Only three days ago, she weighed 789 grams. How is this possible? What do I do? 😥
 
This has been a rough night. :(
Stubbins was actually eating some hay for about 20 minutes, but her weight has not gone up at all.
In terms of syringe feeding, I have tried everything. Banana mixed in, different holding techniques, ect., but she fights, pulls away, and even if we do manage to get some into her mouth, she refuses to eat it and will let it drip out of her mouth. :(
 
URGENT:
I took Stubbins' weight today, and the scale says 757 grams.
Only three days ago, she weighed 789 grams. How is this possible? What do I do? 😥

The difference you are describing is around 30g which, according to the weight management guidelines could be a normal swing even in a single day:

"30g / 1 oz: Normal daily weight swing
Any weight gain or loss within this band does not count because the difference between a full bladder and a full gut and an empty bladder and gut can be up to 40g and because the weight is swinging in this bandwidth throughout the day."
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Therefore, I wouldn't immediately panic over that although obviously keep an eye on the trend.

Regarding the feeding you shouldn't cary put food in if she's not swallowing due to the risk of it getting in her lungs. You have to put in a tiny bit and wait for it go down or, if it doesn't, I would try again in the next session for now. Not sure of you are also syringing water?

Is she still eating independently (even if not enough) and is she still pooping?

If you are still seeing runny poops, you could also try some "poo soup" (recipe in the gut health thread above) from one of her companions to get things back in order.

When is your next vet visit?
 
The difference you are describing is around 30g which, according to the weight management guidelines could be a normal swing even in a single day:

"30g / 1 oz: Normal daily weight swing
Any weight gain or loss within this band does not count because the difference between a full bladder and a full gut and an empty bladder and gut can be up to 40g and because the weight is swinging in this bandwidth throughout the day."
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Therefore, I wouldn't immediately panic over that although obviously keep an eye on the trend.

Regarding the feeding you shouldn't cary put food in if she's not swallowing due to the risk of it getting in her lungs. You have to put in a tiny bit and wait for it go down or, if it doesn't, I would try again in the next session for now. Not sure of you are also syringing water?

Is she still eating independently (even if not enough) and is she still pooping?

If you are still seeing runny poops, you could also try some "poo soup" (recipe in the gut health thread above) from one of her companions to get things back in order.

When is your next vet visit?
That is a relief to hear! Thank you so much for always responding to my overly-dramatic posts. I am just very over-protective of the piglets.
I am not sure exactly what you meant about the syringe food getting into her lungs. I just give her a little bit, but she lets it drip out of her mouth. I never give her more until she has either swallowed, or the food has entirely dripped from her mouth.
She is eating independently and pooping (in diarrhea/soft stool form).
Unfortunately, the vet is not available until Friday, which is when we scheduled to talk on the phone again. The last time I talked to her was on Tuesday.
I have also taken the hay out of the hay bags so that Stubbins has easier access to it. Who cares about the mess as long as she is eating! :)
 
Hi! :)
I am trying to sort things out by myself until I can talk to the vet tomorrow.
Stubbins is still on both medications, but I am a bit curious about syringe feeding.
As of right now, she is only being syringe fed about 2x per day. This is because she has started eating a reasonable amount on her own, but isn't quite where she needs to be.
My main question is this: Last night, she refused any syringe food. She seemed super stressed, so my mom figured that we would try again an hour later and let her go home. She had refused the syringe food, but when we let her back into my room, she ran to go munch on some hay.
Is this her way of telling us that she is eating enough on her own? I honestly can't tell, but is it possible that she is eating enough on her own?
She is maintaining her weight with two syringe sessions per day, but I am fearful that if we try stopping the syringe food, that she will drop weight.
Any advice?
 
I am not sure!

Perhaps if @furryfriends (TEAS) or @Wiebke are around they could give you some advice on whether you should keep offering the syringe feeds or whether you could skip for this evening /tomorrow morning until you get to speak to the vet again.
 
if you’re sure she’s eating, then don’t top her up with syringe food tonight, but check weight tomorrow.
Thank you! :)
She is definitely eating a reasonable amount, but I have noticed that she is less food motivated than before this all started. She used to "attack" the hay rack and have fun eating and making a mess. Now, she will only eat if I put the hay into a big pile for her.
Do you know why this could be? :)
 
Hi! :)
I am trying to sort things out by myself until I can talk to the vet tomorrow.
Stubbins is still on both medications, but I am a bit curious about syringe feeding.
As of right now, she is only being syringe fed about 2x per day. This is because she has started eating a reasonable amount on her own, but isn't quite where she needs to be.
My main question is this: Last night, she refused any syringe food. She seemed super stressed, so my mom figured that we would try again an hour later and let her go home. She had refused the syringe food, but when we let her back into my room, she ran to go munch on some hay.
Is this her way of telling us that she is eating enough on her own? I honestly can't tell, but is it possible that she is eating enough on her own?
She is maintaining her weight with two syringe sessions per day, but I am fearful that if we try stopping the syringe food, that she will drop weight.
Any advice?

This usually means that she has decided she doesn't need any topping up anymore. Continue to weigh her daily but only step in if the weight loss surpasses 50g. During treatment, you aim is not recovering weight, but slowing down any weight loss or stabilising the weight. She will put back on what she has lost in her own time on her own as and when her body is feeling ready for.
 
This usually means that she has decided she doesn't need any topping up anymore. Continue to weigh her daily but only step in if the weight loss surpasses 50g. During treatment, you aim is not recovering weight, but slowing down any weight loss or stabilising the weight. She will put back on what she has lost in her own time on her own as and when her body is feeling ready for.
Thank you so much! :)
 
Another rough night for me and Stubbins.
I just finished cleaning up diarrhea. :(
Tomorrow is when the vet comes back and we have scheduled to talk over the phone.
Besides diarrhea, Stubbins has been doing fairly well. She is maintaining her weight with no help from medications or syringe food. I am weighing her daily.
She went 48 hours without veggies, but I ended up letting her have some tonight. She is such a good piggy and doesn't deserve this. 😥
I have never asked for this before, but would it be okay if anyone could pray for her? I just thought that I would ask. It is for sure okay if not. I am just trying everything in my power to help her.
She is so sweet and loving. Why is this happening? Animals are so innocent and I am praying for her to get better. 🤞
 
Another rough night for me and Stubbins.
I just finished cleaning up diarrhea. :(
Tomorrow is when the vet comes back and we have scheduled to talk over the phone.
Besides diarrhea, Stubbins has been doing fairly well. She is maintaining her weight with no help from medications or syringe food. I am weighing her daily.
She went 48 hours without veggies, but I ended up letting her have some tonight. She is such a good piggy and doesn't deserve this. 😥
I have never asked for this before, but would it be okay if anyone could pray for her? I just thought that I would ask. It is for sure okay if not. I am just trying everything in my power to help her.
She is so sweet and loving. Why is this happening? Animals are so innocent and I am praying for her to get better. 🤞

Please stop veg and go back on the syringe feeding top up. Her gut is obviously not ready for them.

I will keep you in my thoughts.
 
It's great that she's maintaining weight by eating independently, hopefully this will help the gut to get back to normal too.

Happy to pray for a good outcome for you and your furry family 😊

Let us know what your vet says.
 
Thank you for your kind wishes, everyone. 💕
I called the vet this morning. She prescribed Bene-bac for three days to hopefully clear up her diarrhea. We scheduled another phone call for Monday. 🤞
 
Is a loud stomach normal for a piggy who is having diarrhea?
I picked up Stubbins today for her Bene-bac and was shocked by how loud her stomach was gurgling.
When I brought her back home, she cleaned herself thoroughly, because she cannot have a "messy hooman" ruining her prized coat! 🤣
 
I know that silent tummy (no digestion) is a bad sign, but I'm not sure about the meaning extra loud noises. It's probably connected to her general digestive issues though. I'd keep her off the veg and on her meds and give it a few days.
 
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