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Post Op Advice (bladder Stones)

kaja979

kaja979

Junior Guinea Pig
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Good morning all :) sorry for the long, middle of the night post!
Harriet had 2 bladder stones removed yesterday, my brave girl had passed one also. She has been through quite an ordeal but she is a brave strong feisty little gingernut :) unfortunately the vet did find infection in the bladder.

He has given her both septrim adult (1x 0.2ml) and baytril (2x 0.3ml) is this normal?
She is on loxicom for pain twice a day (0.13ml) and he has given us emeprid 3x day.

I am giving her critical care every 2-3hrs through the night, i've managed to syringe around 21ml into her in 12 hours since getting her home and some water with each feed. I sprinkled a little pro-C into it, is that right?

IMG_20180117_225223.webp IMG_20180117_215815.webp
I have cystease, should i use this also or is she on enough?

She was hunched at first but she now looking chilled out, her fur isn't as puffed as it was but she's very sedate, staying in her house, having a munch on some romaine/cucumber/baby corn but nothing substantial, she ate some hay on my lap. There are a few missformed poops in her house and she is urinating without squeaking. Do I stop the emeprid?

She has low calcium veg, filtered water, grain free pellets, timothy hay, anything else I should bare in mind for future care? The vet said she will need to be on vit C and loxicom forever and the antibiotics for a long time, is this typical?

Thankyou in advance if anyone has any advice x
 
I’m so sorry I’m not knowledgeable enough to help you with this. I’m sure someone will be soon. But she’s adorable so I’m sending lots of healing vibes to lovely little Harriet & wishing her a speedy recovery :wub:
 
Poor girl she has been through a lot bless her. I think the long term Loxicom will be to deal with inflammation on her bladder as it will be very inflamed even now the stones have been removed. The antibiotics I think they are trying to ensure that they get rid of the infection properly and are doing a 2 pronged approach. Did they say they would be recommending both antibiotics for a long period or just one of them?

It is ok to put the Pro c in the critical care as long as it is at least 2 hours apart from the antibiotics.

I would explain to your vet over the phone about the poos and ask if they want her to stay on the Emeprid or not. As for the Cystease, this also deals with inflammation so I would be inclined to say keep her on it but I would rather you had your vet agree with that first. Did the vet prescribe it in the first place?

Is the Loxicom dog or cat? the dose seems a bit low even for the dog one, so if she does not perk up you could see if your vet would agree to a slightly higher dose while she is post op.
 
kaja979 said:
Good morning all :) sorry for the long, middle of the night post!
Harriet had 2 bladder stones removed yesterday, my brave girl had passed one also. She has been through quite an ordeal but she is a brave strong feisty little gingernut :) unfortunately the vet did find infection in the bladder.

He has given her both septrim adult (1x 0.2ml) and baytril (2x 0.3ml) is this normal?
She is on loxicom for pain twice a day (0.13ml) and he has given us emeprid 3x day.

I am giving her critical care every 2-3hrs through the night, i've managed to syringe around 21ml into her in 12 hours since getting her home and some water with each feed. I sprinkled a little pro-C into it, is that right?

View attachment 78809 View attachment 78807
I have cystease, should i use this also or is she on enough?

She was hunched at first but she now looking chilled out, her fur isn't as puffed as it was but she's very sedate, staying in her house, having a munch on some romaine/cucumber/baby corn but nothing substantial, she ate some hay on my lap. There are a few missformed poops in her house and she is urinating without squeaking. Do I stop the emeprid?

She has low calcium veg, filtered water, grain free pellets, timothy hay, anything else I should bare in mind for future care? The vet said she will need to be on vit C and loxicom forever and the antibiotics for a long time, is this typical?

Thankyou in advance if anyone has any advice x
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Hi! Here are our post-op care tips and urinary tract problem diet tips:
Tips For Post-operative Care
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diet

We strongly recommend to use cystease capsules (half a capsule daily) to help restore the natural glucosamine coat of the bladder walls in the irritated bladder. Vitamin C can be managed with the diet; you can give extra if you wish to. Loxicom/metacam is only needed for as long as she is showing symptoms of bladder trauma/irritation and an antibiotic only for as long as her operation wound is healing. Thankfully, bladder ops in sows rarely run into complications.

Extra medical support is only necessary if you are dealing with severe bladder trauma or if the calcium absorption in the body cannot be controlled by a low calcium diet; it is a complex, not yet well researched process.
Of my several bladder stone op piggies over the years only one ever had long term issues with her calcium absorption, and even those were eventually slowed down somewhat by finessing her diet. She never had another stone, but kept producing bladder sludge.

If she is eating by herself, you can control her feed intake by weighing and just offer her additional syringe feed as much as she will take. Please be aware that the poo output is lagging 1-2 days behind and is reflecting the operation and the gap in the food intake at first.
Syringe feeding is necessary in those cases where GA drugs (especially vetergesic) or the post-op antibiotic have caused loss of appetite to prevent your piggy from going into GI stasis. Otherwise you play it by ear. Ideally a piggy will not need any extra or start eating on their own quickly after the op. The first 2-3 days after the op are when a piggy is feeling sorest and can profit from painkillers once the op cocktail (which of course includes painkillers) is wearing off. After that she should be healing pretty quickly and she should be better with every passing day.

PS: You mix the contents of 1 capsule of cystease with 2 ml of water in a small medicine bottle, shake well and give a 1ml syringe full daily. Store the bottle in the fridge and shake well before using the other half. Rinse in between lots.
 
Thanks for the advice, she isn't going to the bowl to eat but eats a little veg when handed to her, so supplementing with critical care ATM. Ive noticed her poos seem to have some blood on them and this is my main concern right now :( waiting for a call back from the vet. Strangely her urine isn't pink anymore. She is a bit puffed out. I'm scared stuff for her.
 
kaja979 said:
Thanks for the advice, she isn't going to the bowl to eat but eats a little veg when handed to her, so supplementing with critical care ATM. Ive noticed her poos seem to have some blood on them and this is my main concern right now :( waiting for a call back from the vet. Strangely her urine isn't pink anymore. She is a bit puffed out. I'm scared stuff for her.
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A little blood is not uncommon in the first two days after a bladder stone op. Unless there is a lot of it, it is not worrying.
Please keep topping her up with syringe feed until she starts eating fully herself. You are doing fine!
Give a little syringe feed and then encourage her to eat something by herself; then finish of with syringe feed. You know when she is getting better as she will take more syringe feed in one go and start eating hay etc. by herself. I always place some hay on the floor nearby so my freshly operated bladder or spay doesn't jar her sore belly.
 
Wiebke, I think u might have to come and live with me :) honest, I'm a bit of a panic person where she is concerned. My entire family are ready to send for the men in white coats!

I think it is actually blood in her urine as I rolled a poop in white tissue and was clean. It was quite a lot but ive been topping her up with water. And its pinkish rather than reddish. I couldn't get the day off work tomorrow but can come home at lunch, if she's eating a little on her own do u think she will be ok waiting 5 hrs between one of her feeds?

I have started her on the cystease.
 
kaja979 said:
Wiebke, I think you might have to come and live with me :) honest, I'm a bit of a panic person where she is concerned. My entire family are ready to send for the men in white coats!

I think it is actually blood in her urine as I rolled a poop in white tissue and was clean. It was quite a lot but ive been topping her up with water. And its pinkish rather than reddish. I couldn't get the day off work tomorrow but can come home at lunch, if she's eating a little on her own do you think she will be ok waiting 5 hrs between one of her feeds?

I have started her on the cystease.
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Pink urine in the first couple of days after an operation is not at all uncommon. It should settle down again.

She should be OK waiting 5 hours between feeds. Just organise any other feeds around this. ;)
 
Thanjs agaib, She's doing ok, nibbling when we hand feed her, plenty of critical care. Vet happy with her wound but says she's not out of the woods, wasn't happy with how her bladder felt, said I needed to push more water thru her, how much is too much do u think? She's not drinking much in her own from the bottle but eating water rich veg.

She's started squeaking when she sees, the vet said this is completely normal, poor little one :( I hope she feels better soon
 
kaja979 said:
Thanjs agaib, She's doing ok, nibbling when we hand feed her, plenty of critical care. Vet happy with her wound but says she's not out of the woods, wasn't happy with how her bladder felt, said I needed to push more water thru her, how much is too much do you think? She's not drinking much in her own from the bottle but eating water rich veg.

She's started squeaking when she sees, the vet said this is completely normal, poor little one :( I hope she feels better soon
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You can offer her water by syringe, as much as she will take in one go; about 0.3-0.5 ml max in one go (one mouthful). Ideally as much as she is willing to sip from the syringe. Please do not force it down her, and always wait that the first lot has gone down to prevent water from going down her lungs or up her nose. Aim for up to 10 ml, but be aware that you may not even get close to it

It is more effective if you do this once or twice daily to help produce a larger pee that helps flush the bladder. Please do not overfeed on watery veg; that can cause diarrhea. Fluid uptake varies enormously between guinea pigs; some get all the fluid they need from their veg. Bladder stone piggies are generally amongst the piggies that drink less. You cannot make them drink more than they want to; you have to accept that.
All About Drinking And Bottles
 
Poor choice of words I am sorry, I would never force water down her! I give her water from a 1ml syringe and it takes around 3 goes. She's good at the syringing and generally tells us when she's had enough but I was worried she wasnt getting enough. I think she probably only took around 10ml yesterday. But there's water in her critical care also. Is this enough?

She will currently only eat romaine, cucumber or babycorn. She not normally picky and used to love peppers. she will nibble at hay. She's gone from 989g pre op to 969g yesterday and 959g today, so she has lost 30g in 3 days. :(
 
kaja979 said:
Poor choice of words I am sorry, I would never force water down her! I give her water from a 1ml syringe and it takes around 3 goes. She's good at the syringing and generally tells us when she's had enough but I was worried she wasnt getting enough. I think she probably only took around 10ml yesterday. But there's water in her critical care also. Is this enough?

She will currently only eat romaine, cucumber or babycorn. She not normally picky and used to love peppers. she will nibble at hay. She's gone from 989g pre op to 969g yesterday and 959g today, so she has lost 30g in 3 days. :(
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My remark about forcing down water is important as I don't know how experienced you are; it is not personal, just good general advice for anybody who has never done this. We see unfortunately far too many new members coming on here for advice about 'force feeding' a guinea pig. :(

Please start offering extra syringe feed 2-3 times daily, just as much as she will take as the weight loss is in the bracket that indicates a suppressed appetite, but not a total loss. See the chapter under 'recovery' in our syringe feeding guide. 30g is about the difference between a full tummy and bladder and an empty tummy and bladder, so it is by no means alarming. All she needs is a little nudge. Try some fresh herbs like coriander/cilantro or parsley; they often go down well with a suppressed appetite. You may syringe feed a little, then offer fresh veg and if necessary to top up with more syringe feed. The initial feed can act to perk up your piggy. You will hopefully see her perking up again in the coming days when her body is feeling less churned up and is starting to heal quite quickly. The first few days post-op are usually the most difficult ones.
0.2 ml of metatone twice daily can help to perk her up. It is a vitamin, trace elements etc. pick me syrup (UK brand) that you can get in a pharmacy and that is often effective in a situation like yours.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
 
Ive syringe fed a few piggies now and its something that does get easier with practice (my other half can't do it) but I understand your worry about force feeding.

She likes coriander, unfortunately asda were out of stock so I'm on the hunt for some! Ive been feeding her every 3 hours like clockwork day and night I'm completely exhausted as I haven't had more than 2.5 hrs sleep in one go since weds! Its worse than having a baby! Do u think feed more/less often? I realise I'm coming off as completely neurotic, I just want to give her the best chance.

Will get her some metatone tomorrow. Hopefully she will perk up. Shes such a vibrant personality normally I miss her mischief :)
 
kaja979 said:
Ive syringe fed a few piggies now and its something that does get easier with practice (my other half can't do it) but I understand your worry about force feeding.

She likes coriander, unfortunately asda were out of stock so I'm on the hunt for some! Ive been feeding her every 3 hours like clockwork day and night I'm completely exhausted as I haven't had more than 2.5 hrs sleep in one go since weds! Its worse than having a baby! Do you think feed more/less often? I realise I'm coming off as completely neurotic, I just want to give her the best chance.

Will get her some metatone tomorrow. Hopefully she will perk up. Shes such a vibrant personality normally I miss her mischief :)
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Yes, keep to 3-4 sessions a day and put in only one night session if she is losing 50g or more in a day. Our syringe feeding guide (especially the chapter I have pointed you to) discusses your situation in detail - how often/how much to feed in which situation; we have tried our best to work out a sustainable and practical feeding regime which you will hopefully find helpful. Please also take into account what your guinea pig is eating on her own. ;)
 
Thanks, ive read the guide and will follow. She has seemed a bit down today and I think she was missing her cagemate, so ive put her for some floor time on the rug with her, keeping a close eye on her but she has perked up massively and has literally just dived into a pile of hay and is munching merrily, she actually popcorned! Her and poppy are sitting side by side snuggled, poor poppy has been mega depressed without her! The vet said it would be better to keep them in separate cages to monitor food/water/poop etc and while she recuperating, what do u think?
 
Hi. I’m not really experienced enough to be sure I’m afraid but it seems like these 2 piggies might be better off spending time together especially if it’s affecting Poppy.
I hope you & your poorly piggy are ok. You’re a very dedicated piggy mummy & you’re doing a great job syringe feeding night & day. Xx
 
Thanks for the support :) she's so up and down still, I keep giving them time together and they are such good friends!
 
She is eating a lot more on her own now, veg and hay especially. She's never been a big pellet fan and since the bladder stones will need to make sure she only has a small amount. She is looking better tho, I'm am daring to hope now :) still supplementing her with the CC, she's a little fighter :) I really think the metatone has helped! I am so very grateful to you all xxxxx

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@Wiebke I am so appreciative of all the time people have taken to support and advise, is there any way I can make a donation to the group? Is there a PayPal account or anything?
 
Hi all, we are 10 days post opp now, not really sure what to say about progress she is so up and down. She stopped pooping and went down hill when I took her off the emeprid so I put her back on it, not sure if this was right but not at the vets again until weds.

She is still on Baytril, Septrim, Loxicom, cystease, metatone . she eats by herself sometimes and eats well, then she goes off it for a while. When I tried to wean her off the syringe feeds she started losing weight. Her pee is still pinknish tho she doesn't squeak so much while she's urinating. She's chomping on hay quite a lot. I just have no idea really what to do other than keep on with everything. Not sure if anyone will have any advice as I know its all very vague, but thought u might like an update x

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kaja979 said:
@Wiebke I am so appreciative of all the time people have taken to support and advise, is there any way I can make a donation to the group? Is there a PayPal account or anything?
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Hello, that is very kind of you

We have hit our fundraising for this year, but tell you what, if you'd like to make a donation to TEAS dental Sanctuary instead I will update your profile to forum donator The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary – Providing life-enhancing care for Guinea Pigs with extra needs

Lee
 
Thanks Lee, ive just donated, ive screenshot the payment i can PM u, this forum has been some a huge help. I just wish my little Harriet would get better and stay better!
Karen
 
Odd question, Harriet's rear end seems a different shape since the opp, like swollen and sticks out, I'm at the vets with her tomorrow but any ideas? She's also still a bit puffed out, I just dont think she's right :(
 
she is maybe still very sore from the op.you have done a fantastic job of looking after Harriet.I'm sure your vet will advise.try not to get to concerned unless harriet stops pooing,weeing or eating.:hug:s to you.
 
That is all positive signs.you can deal with swollen parts with the vets tomorrow.is harriet still on pain relief ? as this will help.x
 
The vet was over the moon with her bladder, said it felt great, checked out her butt and wasn't concerned, dropped her antibiotics down to just Septrim and since coming off the Baytril she has been eating and drinking for England! We've stopped the syringe feeds altogether as her weight is increasing gradually. She's perkier and almost back to her normal self. My only concern is there's still blood in her urine, the vet said this was pretty standard after her opp, hes going to xray her in a couple of weeks I just hope everything's ok, I'm so happy to have my first girl back!

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