Recurring UTIs connected to REPRODUCTIVE issues

[Guptheguineapig]

Hello all.
I read many awesome conversations on this forum and I wanted to post to ask the hive mind if anyone has anything similar happen.
Samoa is my four year old piggie who has had three UTIs from November to this week. As well as another this summer. So within a year she has had 4 infections. They ARE responding to medication clearing up each time I have had the vet take another sample the Last infection after treatment and they said she was clear.
However this time around she is hunched, squealing in pain, can’t lie down comfortable etc. After almost constant contact with the vet this week they believe the next step is to Spay her.
They think that the frequent infections, increased severity, and shorter duration between them may be related to reproductive issues. As of now I have a spay scheduled for a week and a half from today.
Has anyone ever had a similar experience?

 

[GPTV]

I had something similar with my 6yr old RB piggy Ellie, she kept getting recurring uti's & bleeding from her genitals quite heavily.

Antibiotics would clear it up, then a few days later... Bam another uti!

My vet did a conscious ultrasound on Ellie and found a walnut sized ovarian cyst

My vet wasn't confident enough to operate on Ellie due to her age & that she didn't do enough ops on guinea pigs to want to risk a spay.

I suggested HCG hormone (Chorulon) injections, which she was happy to try.

Basically Ellie had 2x injections about 7-10 days apart, this lasted about a year then she had another round of 2x injections & I lost Ellie about a year later aged 8.

Her genital bleeding stopped after the first round of injections, she only had one bad bleed afterwards & never again
Her cyst reduced in size within a few weeks & I couldn't feel it.

If your vet is confident, competent & has experience with spaying guinea pigs this might be the better option as if it is gynaecology related it won't come back.

Could your vet try an ultrasound/ x-ray before the surgery route to have a more specific diagnosis?

There are quite a few members here who have had more mature ladies spayed and they've sailed through it.

Discuss any post op care with the vet before surgery too. There are also some excellent threads on here (sorry I can't attach at the moment) to help you with that too.

Good luck with your decision & keep us updated. Big hug for you xx

 

[VickiA]

Has she had any other investigations such as an ultrasound/X-ray to rule out other causes?
Spaying (full spay) is a major surgery for a Guinea pig.

 

[PigglePuggle]

I would also in this position want an xray to check for bladder stones or sludge, and an ultrasound to look at the uterus and ovaries, before commiting to a spay operation. How does the vet know this isnt a bladder stone issue?

 

[Guptheguineapig]

Thank you all for such thorough responses. So an update about our lovely girl. She continued to get worse and be in more pain so she was hospitalized for three days and given fluids. She had another round of X-rays and an ultrasound. They said the calcium buildup in her bladder seemed to have been expedited and was nearing stone formation. She is now on a very strong antibiotic because her infection is quite resistant to most antibiotics. She is still uncomfortable and we are trying to keep her cozy until she beats the infection. We had a spay scheduled in case the problem was somehow related to the reproductive tract even though they didn’t seen anything on the images, but it was canceled until they could stabilize her with this issue.

 

[Viennese Furbabies]

I hope your girl is starting to feel better soon and the stronger antibiotic will do the trick.
But if the ultrasound didn't show anything in the reproductive tract, the spay won't help. I would cancel it all together.