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Opinion on Medications?

Eryan

Eryan

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
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Location
New York
Hi everyone, long time no update.

Pixie has been dealing with bloat on and off for the last three months, because of this she's been on Cisapride and Meloxicam. We've kind of just come to terms that she'll be on it the rest of her life because when we've tried to discontinue it, her entire gut stops.

Issue is, she's also had painful pees/poos? Her pees have a lot of calcium in them, and although they aren't gritty, you can tell there's discomfort because she will softly cry when going. We've done x-rays (no stones!), switched waters, stuck to only Timothy, and nothing has helped.

She's been on Trimethoprim Sulfa the last two weeks because our one vets thought maybe it was a UTI. That didn't stop the discomfort or the calcium though, so we're on to the next medication.

Today she was prescribed Potassium Citrate and Hydrochlorothiazide for the excess calcium and then Lactulose for the discomfort while going poo, they thought a stool softener would maybe help?

Have any of you dealt with Potassium Citrate, Hydrochlorothiazide, or Lactulose?

We're calling another one of our vets tomorrow to see how she feels about these new meds too, but until I was wondering what you guys thought.

Thanks!
 
Update:

We got in contact to our primary vet who suggested holding off on the Lactulose. The other two meds have to be ordered but we're going to try to call for them today.

Pixie will now grunt sometimes while pooping and I don't know what to do to help. Her poops are definitely dry and the wrong color, with them being more light brown/tan. I give her some water through a syringe every little bit and she has critical care in her cage with her. She hasn't been on an veggies in a very long time though because of her bloat and excess calcium. We don't know what veggies would be safe for her as peppers made her bloated and we've been told to stay away from leafy greens because of all the calcium in them.
 
i would hold on the stool softener as they said, you don't want it to go the other way.

Is she on metachlopride (emeprid) also. This and cisapride would work on different parts of the gut. I would advise keeping a food diary to see what may be causing the bloat we have had success with finding culprit to two of our piggies that were long time bloaters. The Meloxicam (metacam) is a pain killer and anti inflamatory so should help with pain and also inflammation of the bladder.

Sending lots of love to your little one, sorry you are going through this, but at least she has a wonderful owner to try and help her through this all
 
what is her diet like? Can you name what you feed her?
 
Hi l have had experience of piggies with chronic bloat and piggies with urinary problems, but never both together!
The amount of calcium in pellets far exceeds the amount in leafy vegetables, following the recommended diet for bladder piggies should help to soften her stools.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

However the bladder and bowel are close together so chances are when she poohs it will irritate her bladder and cause pain no matter how soft the pooh is

I have used the diuretic before but not found it terribly effective but others say it is.

I have no experience of potassium citrate, l think it changes the pH of the urine and is said to ease pain?

Adequate pain relief is essential, what dose of painkiller is she on?
Good luck with sorting her out
 
sport_billy said:
i would hold on the stool softener as they said, you don't want it to go the other way.

Is she on metachlopride (emeprid) also. This and cisapride would work on different parts of the gut. I would advise keeping a food diary to see what may be causing the bloat we have had success with finding culprit to two of our piggies that were long time bloaters. The Meloxicam (metacam) is a pain killer and anti inflamatory so should help with pain and also inflammation of the bladder.

Sending lots of love to your little one, sorry you are going through this, but at least she has a wonderful owner to try and help her through this all
Click to expand...
She unfortunately isn't on Emeprid, but maybe that should be the next step for her. And a food diary is a great idea but I'm just so worried about reintroducing veggies again, I don't want things to get worse. I'm not sure what would be the smartest or safest choice of veggie for her situation.
 
sport_billy said:
what is her diet like? Can you name what you feed her?
Click to expand...
She gets Oxbow Essential Adult Guinea Pig Food mixed with a very small amount of ZuPreem Fiberlong Guinea Pig Food for her pellets. She's never liked the pellets much though and will eat very little of it throughout the day, maybe a couple pellets at most.
For hay, she is currently eating the Oxbow Harvest Stacks Wester Timothy Hay while we wait for her regular loose hay, same brand and type, to be delivered.
She gets a Vitamin C cookie once a day, but also gets pieces of cranberry, apple and banana, and peppermint treats every few hours following her medicine.
She is given benebac once a day too, but that's all she's eats right now. No veggies or fruits, unfortunately.
 
pig in the city said:
Adequate pain relief is essential, what dose of painkiller is she on?
Click to expand...
She's getting 0.5 mL of the Meloxicam once a day, the vet that just saw her suggested 0.4 but her primary said she could have 0.1 extra. She's still crying and grunting though which tells me it isn't enough and that I'm not doing enough for her.
 
Eryan said:
She's getting 0.5 mL of the Meloxicam once a day, the vet that just saw her suggested 0.4 but her primary said she could have 0.1 extra. She's still crying and grunting though which tells me it isn't enough and that I'm not doing enough for her.
Click to expand...
How much does she weigh? Is it meloxicam for dogs or cats?
 
pig in the city said:
The amount of calcium in pellets far exceeds the amount in leafy vegetables, following the recommended diet for bladder piggies should help to soften her stools.
Click to expand...
Peppers are what started her bloat and cucumbers have added to her gas. She's also meant to stay off of leafy greens according to her one vet, so I think that leaves just celery from the link you supplied. Is it worth a try?
 
Eryan said:
Peppers are what started her bloat and cucumbers have added to her gas. She's also meant to stay off of leafy greens according to her one vet, so I think that leaves just celery from the link you supplied. Is it worth a try?
Click to expand...
I think some lettuce and leafy greens and celery should be safe. Start with tiny amounts and build it up gradually.
The amount of calcium in leafy greens is relatively small compared to the amount in commercial pellets. The fluid in the veg will help too
 
That's dog strength
So the dose is about right for her weight but it is usually given twice a day. Talk to your vet about doing this.

Romaine lettuce, some herbs like coriander, dandelion leaves?
 
Update:

I ordered her two medications and should hopefully be able to pick them up either tomorrow or Friday.

Also to note, Pixie's been awfully puffed up today with a very loud stomach. Her poops are even decreasing in size, now being about as big as BB gun pellets. I don't know what could be doing this but I'm still giving her syringes of water and having critical care close by.
 
Update:

Pixie has become very lethargic and as of this morning (7:35 am here right now) she hasn't pooped at all. I've attached pictures of her poops from last night, very very small and not well-formed at all. She's going to the vet and I'm asking for another x-ray.

PXL_20210401_113447794.webp
 
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