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Please someone help us

VickiA said:
I’m so sorry. It’s awful when you are fighting some sort of invisible problem. And all you can do is investigate and rule out the obvious. Sometimes you may find the answer by chance, sometimes you can’t and sometimes it’s not the answer you want. But you know him and if he’s miserable despite all your interventions then perhaps it’s worth a call to discuss future plans with Simon. So sorry that you and Odin are going through this.
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Thank you. Simon said to continue to syringe feed and see if he picks up now the antibiotic is finished. Will see how he gets on, if he’s still suffering in a few days I’ll give Simon a call. I’ll do what’s best for my boy no matter what
 
Marvel_piggie_squad said:
Thank you. Simon said to continue to syringe feed and see if he picks up now the antibiotic is finished. Will see how he gets on, if he’s still suffering in a few days I’ll give Simon a call. I’ll do what’s best for my boy no matter what
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I know you will. You’ve been (and still are) doing the most amazing job to give him every chance. It must be so wearing and disappointing to get this news x
 
I can't imagine how terrible it must be for you to see one of your piggies so unhappy but have no idea how to help! You are so so so strong Marvel_Piggy_Squad. I truly hope Simon can work out what's wrong with your boy. I'm holding you in my thoughts ❤️. I know you will keep on fighting for Odin your little fighter
 
So after a chat with Kim, our last hope is to try Odin on Tramadol. We need to get him eating to stop the teeth growing back, or we just end up trapped in a cycle forever. We are also hoping if we get on top of his mouth problems, that the cystitis may improve.

I made the 6 hour round trip again yesterday to pick the medication up for him. He is eating much better today 🤞🏻

If he doesn’t make a huge improvement over the next week, I will have to make the hardest decision of my life (no words can describe how much he means to me).

can anyone advise on the cystease? Am I to continue with it indefinitely? Or does he have it for a while then stop?
 
Marvel_piggie_squad said:
So after a chat with Kim, our last hope is to try Odin on Tramadol. We need to get him eating to stop the teeth growing back, or we just end up trapped in a cycle forever. We are also hoping if we get on top of his mouth problems, that the cystitis may improve.

I made the 6 hour round trip again yesterday to pick the medication up for him. He is eating much better today 🤞🏻

If he doesn’t make a huge improvement over the next week, I will have to make the hardest decision of my life (no words can describe how much he means to me).

can anyone advise on the cystease? Am I to continue with it indefinitely? Or does he have it for a while then stop?
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In answer to your question there is no harm giving cystease indefinitely.
My thoughts are with you as you go through this phase. It’s never easy.
 
Marvel_piggie_squad said:
If he doesn’t make a huge improvement over the next week, I will have to make the hardest decision of my life (no words can describe how much he means to me).
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You have tried your very best to get Odin better, sometimes no matter what we do it isn't enough. If he doesn't make an improvement and you have to make that decision, don't blame yourself nobody could have done more than you to try and keep Odin with you. Sometimes the call of the Rainbow Bridge is too strong .... It is a heart breaking decision and one I have had to do myself around this time last year. You will do what is right for Odin. You have always had his best interests at heart. We are here for you.
 
I have a guinea pig a guinea pig with cystitis that has had cystease and a very low dose of metacam daily for about 3.5years and she is doing really well. If she has a flare up, we increase the dose of metacam to manage her pain but her flare ups have become less and less over the years. We feed her the IC diet as recommended on the forum and this has worked very well for her. We try and keep her diet as consistent as possible and we have learned over the years to recognise what veg/hay causes her cystitis to get worse. I would imagine that every guinea pig is different but for our guinea pig anything that is too green tends to cause problems e.g grass, herbs, hay that’s very green rather than a mixture of golden and green. It’s been a lot of trial and error over the years but she takes the cystease very well and hasn’t had any side effects.
 
Thanks all. There’s some big improvement today but he’s still not quite right.
Does anyone know if Tramadol has an immediate effect? Or does it take a few days of it for effects to be seen?
 
So glad Odin is showing signs of an improvement. I can’t advise about Tramadol as I’ve never had to use it But someone will be along soon to answer your question. You and Odin are in my thought, come on Odin we are rooting for you here x
 
Marvel_piggie_squad said:
Thanks all. There’s some big improvement today but he’s still not quite right.
Does anyone know if Tramadol has an immediate effect? Or does it take a few days of it for effects to be seen?
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The fact there is already an improvement is very positive.
 
We’ve had tramadol and it seemed to work quite quickly. We were advised to monitor our guinea pig to make sure it wasn’t making them too drowsy. It’s a balance between managing the pain but also making sure they don’t get too sleepy as you want him to still be awake enough to keep eating. I would imagine that your vet will have prescribed the right dose for that.
 
Toots33 said:
We’ve had tramadol and it seemed to work quite quickly. We were advised to monitor our guinea pig to make sure it wasn’t making them too drowsy. It’s a balance between managing the pain but also making sure they don’t get too sleepy as you want him to still be awake enough to keep eating. I would imagine that your vet will have prescribed the right dose for that.
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Thank you. He’s had 2 doses so far (last night and this morning). No drowsiness. He’s eaten a little more as it seems to help his chewing. Not perfectly but better than it was. I was wondering if I’m likely to see any more improvement once he’s been on it over the weekend? It doesn’t seem to help the IC much though
 
Marvel_piggie_squad said:
Thank you. He’s had 2 doses so far (last night and this morning). No drowsiness. He’s eaten a little more as it seems to help his chewing. Not perfectly but better than it was. I was wondering if I’m likely to see any more improvement once he’s been on it over the weekend? It doesn’t seem to help the IC much though
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I would hope so because his level of pain should become more manageable the more he has it and hopefully this will make him feel more comfortable to eat. The tramadol didn’t seem to have any impact on the gut like antibiotics do so hopefully it will be the same for Odin.
 
It’s just so hard to make a decision for him. I was at the point this afternoon, thinking it’s now his time...
But now he’s sat eating his hay. 😔 it’s so hard to know what’s best
 
Marvel_piggie_squad said:
It’s just so hard to make a decision for him. I was at the point this afternoon, thinking it’s now his time...
But now he’s sat eating his hay. 😔 it’s so hard to know what’s best
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This is exactly how it can be, but in most cases I find they suddenly make sustained progress and do really well.
 
Ah keep going Marvel_piggie_squad .....you are doing so much for Odin - its great he is showing improvement and eating more - hopefully with the tramadol and metacam he will start to really get better - I really really hope so - you are both in my thoughts and sending lots of healing hugs 🥰
 
Fingers crossed he’s just a tired guinea pig - having had sooo much going on . I’m hoping tomorrow he’ll be eating and being his normal lovely self ! Take care of you 🥰
 
Marvel_piggie_squad said:
He’s munching away again today. Lots of hay and veggies. With me syringe feeding in between.
He’s gained around 80-90g over the last few days. I’m not sure how fast/slowly they are supposed to gain weight?
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Sounds like he's doing great :)
 
That sounds really good. He might not have been able to sleep/rest very much if he’s been in pain before the tramadol started. Maybe he just felt more able to rest. If he’s still eating lots of hay and veggies, it doesn’t sound like he’s having too much recovery food. Hopefully eating lots of hay will help his teeth as well.
Good to hear he’s doing so well.
 
That’s great news ! It’s made me happy to know Odin is putting on weight ! How are you doing ? It’s been such an rollercoaster for you all - 🥰
 
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