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Persistent blood in urine, no stones and no pain

AdamFrench

AdamFrench

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 28, 2016
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Location
Stanley, Durham, UK
Hi,

We’ve got two girls 3 and 4 year old - the 4 year old has been diagnosed with interstitial cystitis almost a year ago. She is on continuous pain/inflammatory meds (metacam and tramadol) alongside nutracyst. This seemed to do the trick as her weight is consistent and she’s just a bubbly and mischievous as her normal self. She’s recently had blood in her urine again looking like it was getting worse. So we took her to the vets and after two weeks of baytril, there was no reduction in blood so we’ve had her in today for an x Ray (she’s had stones etc before the cystitis medication). No calcium in the bladder, no stones and no explanation. Our vet has two options; either try her on a different antibiotic (didn’t recognise the name but think it began with S). Or a surgical exploration of the reproductive system to see if that’s where the blood was coming from and if it is spay her. We’re obviously terrified of the surgery given the possibility of losing her while she is, other than the blood, her normal self. Does anyone have experience with this exploratory surgery of the reproductive system?
Also the 3 year old now has blood in her urine and after 2 week course of baytril is still squeeking while pooping - so we’re trying her on the same antibiotic as above before getting her x Ray done. Both have issues and we’re now officially past ourselves!
Any advice would be appreciated
 
Was it Septrin they mentioned? This if so is often an antibiotic used to treat UTIs.
 
sport_billy said:
Was it Septrin they mentioned? This if so is often an antibiotic used to treat UTIs.
Click to expand...

It may have been. I don’t think it was if I’m honest because I was expecting her to say that. However this was after the exploratory surgery conversation so I wasn’t exactly thinking straight. I’ll pick it up this evening so will update then
 
When Ruby had bladder issues (after a flush to remove sludge) she was on Baytril for 2 weeks, but still showed signs of pain despite her urine samples and x-rays/ultrasounds being clear for blood, stones, sludge, etc.
So she started a 2 week course of Septrin, and the effect was magical - within a week on the Septrin she was a changed piggy, and hasn't had any urinary issues since then.

Our vet (experienced rodentologist) said that sometimes hitting these problems with 2 antibiotics one after the other is exactly what it takes to really clear things up properly.

I know this isn't quite the same as your situation with persistent ic, but in the first instance I would recommend giving a long course of Septrin a try.
 
Swissgreys said:
When Ruby had bladder issues (after a flush to remove sludge) she was on Baytril for 2 weeks, but still showed signs of pain despite her urine samples and x-rays/ultrasounds being clear for blood, stones, sludge, etc.
So she started a 2 week course of Septrin, and the effect was magical - within a week on the Septrin she was a changed piggy, and hasn't had any urinary issues since then.

Our vet (experienced rodentologist) said that sometimes hitting these problems with 2 antibiotics one after the other is exactly what it takes to really clear things up properly.

I know this isn't quite the same as your situation with persistent ic, but in the first instance I would recommend giving a long course of Septrin a try.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. I’ll see what antibiotic exactly it is they’ve prescribed. Hopefully this can get sorted without surgical needs :(
 
Ellie my 6yr old girl had a long stint of bloody urine & deep red undiluted bleeding, when pooping or weeing, she had baytril for uti treatment, she would improve then as soon as the antibiotics finished we'd be back to square one :(

The vet did a conscious ultrasound on her & found an ovarian cyst approx 2.5cm diameter.
The vet told me that she was too old/risky to be operated on & palliative care was the only option....
I suggested HCG Chorulon (hormone) injections&did she think it was an option. She was happy to trial it & phoned the manufacturer for dosage/info.
Ellie had 2x injections in her rump. Each one 7-10 days apart. She had 1 bleed afterwards & never again! :)
The lump went down within a couple of weeks & she had another 2x injections about 12months later when the cyst had enlarged again.
I lost her about 12months after that aged 8.
The hormone injections worked for her really well, although some people find that it does nothing.
Ask your vet if it's an option before invasive surgery is tried?

Make sure you trust your vet & their Guinea savvy'ness/experience before letting her have any surgery.

Try the Septrin first though as that may just be the thing to kick it into touch, before exploring any further :)

Speedy recovery little lady :hug:
 
Last edited:
Was it Sulfatrim? That's what we've been given lately for urinary issues, alongside Baytril.
I hope she is feeling better soon! I've got 3 at the moment with dodgy bladders all for different reasons and it's so frustrating isn't it?
 
GPTV said:
Ellie my 6yr old girl had a long stint of bloody urine & undiluted bleeding, pooping or weeing, she had baytril for uti treatment, she would improve then as soon as the antibiotics finished we'd be back to square one :(

The vet did a conscious ultrasound on her & found an ovarian cyst approx 2.5cm diameter.
The vet told me that she was too old/risky to be operated on & palliative care was the only option....
I suggested HCG Chorulon (hormone) injections&did she think it was an option. She was happy to trial it & phoned the manufacturer for dosage/info.
Ellie had 2x injections in her rump. Each one 7-10 days apart. She had 1 bleed afterwards & never again! :)
The lump went down within a couple of weeks & she had another 2x injections about 12months later when the cyst had enlarged again.
I lost her about 12months after that aged 8.
The hormone injections worked for her really well, although some people find that it does nothing.
Ask your vet if it's an option before invasive surgery is tried?

Make sure you trust your vet & their Guinea savvy'ness/experience before letting her have the surgery.

Try the Septrin first though as that may just be the thing to kick it into touch, before exploring any further :)

Speedy recovery little lady :hug:
Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice. I’ll ask the question when I go in tonight. Yeah our vets is very experienced with Guineas so I have plenty trust with her. Just hate operations:(
 
Eriathwen said:
Was it Sulfatrim? That's what we've been given lately for urinary issues, alongside Baytril.
I hope she is feeling better soon! I've got 3 at the moment with dodgy bladders all for different reasons and it's so frustrating isn't it?
Click to expand...
YES! I’m pretty sure it was sulfatrim to be honest. That sounds like the stuff. Yeah it’s terrifying cause I wouldn’t put a healthy pet down but I hate the idea of complications on the operating table so my mind does loops. Thanks again
 
Eriathwen said:
Was it Sulfatrim? That's what we've been given lately for urinary issues, alongside Baytril.
I hope she is feeling better soon! I've got 3 at the moment with dodgy bladders all for different reasons and it's so frustrating isn't it?
Click to expand...
Yes another name for Septrin, smells of bananas.
 
I wouldn't be going down the surgery root unless her quality of life was affected and she was in pain constantly. Hopefully the AB's will work, different AB's target different bugs, Septrin is a normally well tolerated AB and is often used for UTI, had success with it in the past. Sending lots of healing vibes, please keep us updated
 
sport_billy said:
I wouldn't be going down the surgery root unless her quality of life was affected and she was in pain constantly. Hopefully the AB's will work, different AB's target different bugs, Septrin is a normally well tolerated AB and is often used for UTI, had success with it in the past. Sending lots of healing vibes, please keep us updated
Click to expand...

Yeah that’s my view also. Other than the blood (which I know isn’t normal) she’s perfectly normal, she doesn’t ever seem to be in much pain the occasional wheek during a wee. So I just hate the idea of operating on her.
 
Eriathwen said:
The version we got is grape flavoured apparently, the pigs absolutely hate it! I must remember to ask for the banana one next time so the pigs don't act like I'm trying to poison them :doh:
Click to expand...

These two have both been on baytril for the last two weeks - they HATE that stuff lol.
 
AdamFrench said:
Yeah that’s my view also. Other than the blood (which I know isn’t normal) she’s perfectly normal, she doesn’t ever seem to be in much pain the occasional wheek during a wee. So I just hate the idea of operating on her.
Click to expand...
You may find the AB's do the trick, worth a shot
 
Eriathwen said:
The version we got is grape flavoured apparently, the pigs absolutely hate it! I must remember to ask for the banana one next time so the pigs don't act like I'm trying to poison them :doh:
Click to expand...
Really, I think it may have gone generic now so perhaps the childrens suspension is no longer used :(
 
Just an update on our little one.
She’s been on sulfatrim since Thursday evening. Seeming a little quieter than usual but still out and about most of the time. Her weight has dropped over the past couple of days but maybe this could just be the change in antibiotic - she’s never been on anything other than Baytril before. At least I’m hoping it’s just that, something a bit probiotic will keep under control.

The vet has discussed the possibility that this issue is a reproductive system problem and if it doesn’t get better a spay may be an option but she’d want to go in and have a look to confirm this. Obviously we don’t want a surgical route at all but if she starts to deteriorate do you think it would be safer to spay her and see if the problem goes away or to do a full exploratory surgery to locate the issue?
 
Sorry if this has already been said, but has Intertestial cystitis been ruled out? Its just that Dot had flare ups of this, and has blood in her urine, she tends to drop weight when this happens because of a little less activity. I was trying antibiotics and obviously it wasnt going to work. So i just upped her water intake and fed less calcium to see if that helped.

I'm a little late to the thread and i would hate to be able to help and not mention anything.
 
No, no, thanks for the input.
She has already been diagnosed with IC but after the blood flare up this time she’s had tests and x rays and the vet doesn’t believe it’s from that this time.

I wish it was just this as she’s already on aid for this, but it does seem to be getting worse right now
 
AdamFrench said:
No, no, thanks for the input.
She has already been diagnosed with IC but after the blood flare up this time she’s had tests and x rays and the vet doesn’t believe it’s from that this time.

I wish it was just this as she’s already on aid for this, but it does seem to be getting worse right now
Click to expand...
Ok, sorry i didnt have time to read through every page, well i hope you get to the bottom of the problem. All the best, il keep watching
 
Swissgreys said:
When Ruby had bladder issues (after a flush to remove sludge) she was on Baytril for 2 weeks, but still showed signs of pain despite her urine samples and x-rays/ultrasounds being clear for blood, stones, sludge, etc.
So she started a 2 week course of Septrin, and the effect was magical - within a week on the Septrin she was a changed piggy, and hasn't had any urinary issues since then.

Our vet (experienced rodentologist) said that sometimes hitting these problems with 2 antibiotics one after the other is exactly what it takes to really clear things up properly.

I know this isn't quite the same as your situation with persistent ic, but in the first instance I would recommend giving a long course of Septrin a try.
Click to expand...
Do you know how long you can give Septrim for please? My guinea has the same issues and has had 2 x 14 days of Septrim and 1 x 10 days of Baytril. Both cleared up the bleeding whilst on them but it has returned once the antibiotics stopped about a week after they stopped.
thank you.
 
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