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Specialist Some Update About Hoppsan

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Hoppsan

Hoppsan

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jan 31, 2015
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Location
Sweden
Hello there! It's been a while since my last post and I thought it will be easier to start a new thread. Hoppsan's whimpering issue didn't get a conclusion and I wonder if any one has encountered a similar case...

Our boy whimpers while peeing/pooping, first we thought it was his bladder (providing many guinea pigs has bladder issues), but after many visits to the vet and lots of tests (x-ray, ultrasound, urine samples..) nothing was found. We were ensured by the vet that it was not an UTI nor bladder stone. Now we suspecting it's not peeing that caused the pain but pooping... Here is an video I just took of him whimpering while doing his business:


Sorry for the messy background, I caught this right before cleaning :p
Hoppsan is currently on Metacam, any thoughts?:eek:
 
Has your vet considered Interstitial Cystitis? although this is inflammation of the bladder it can cause pain when pooing too as everything is so tightly packed together.
 
I'm so sorry to hear this. I thought we hadn't heard from you for a while. I hope our specialists can help spread some light on the situation.
I'm sending healing vibes to Hoppsan
 
helen105281 said:
Has your vet considered Interstitial Cystitis? although this is inflammation of the bladder it can cause pain when pooing too as everything is so tightly packed together.
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Hello Helen! After the ultrasound, the vet said that she really tried to look for lumps or other irregularities but found nothing... She gave us following suggestions:
1. Cystease pill (1/4 pill for Hoppsan per day)
2. keep giving him metacam if he still sounds like he's in pain
3. encouraging drinking more water
4. avoiding calcium (which we've already tried our best to avoid)
5. Find him a friend, as the stress could also be the cause of pain like it could happen to cats...

We are buying a bigger box this month and going to look for a friend for Hoppsan, hopefully also could happen in this month, but in the mean time, we still think he whimpers the most when he's passing stool...
 
helen105281 said:
Did you try the Cystease?
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Ummm...not yet, we just got the direction today and haven't got the medicine yet, I guess I'll keep you updated tomorrow when he actually gets to try it... The reason why I ask today is because it seems like he whimpers more and louder while he's passing stool, so I want to make sure he's not taking unnecessary medication...So you think this still could be the bladder issue huh? :)
 
It can still be a bladder issue. Interstitial cystitis can cause these symptoms; it is cause by an inflammation of the bladder walls rather than an acute infection and it tends to flare up every few months. It usually doesn't react to antibiotics. Unfortunately, it is something that you rather manage than cure even though it often disappears on its own after some years. I have been through it with several sows of mine.

I would back you up on the cystease, which is a bladder wall coating food supplement and not a medication. Metacam, which is both an anti-inflammatory and a painkiller will help to manage the acute symptoms.

We can recommend keeping Hoppsan on this restricted but balanced low calcium diet here. Please also filter the water and see whether you can get some low calcium pellets; a couple of German brands seem best, if not cheap. @helen105281 has researched this issue and may help you on that score.
Veg and fresh herbs that can be fed daily:
1 slice of bell or sweet pepper/capsicum of any colour; 1 slice of cucumber; 1-2 chunks of celery; 1 French bean; 1 sprig of coriander/cilantro; 1 one inch strip of spring greens (lower calcium cabbage, important source of magnesium)
 
Wiebke said:
It can still be a bladder issue. Interstitial cystitis can cause these symptoms; it is cause by an inflammation of the bladder walls rather than an acute infection and it tends to flare up every few months. It usually doesn't react to antibiotics. Unfortunately, it is something that you rather manage than cure even though it often disappears on its own after some years. I have been through it with several sows of mine.

I would back you up on the cystease, which is a bladder wall coating food supplement and not a medication. Metacam, which is both an anti-inflammatory and a painkiller will help to manage the acute symptoms.

We can recommend keeping Hoppsan on this restricted but balanced low calcium diet here. Please also filter the water and see whether you can get some low calcium pellets; a couple of German brands seem best, if not cheap. @helen105281 has researched this issue and may help you on that score.
Veg and fresh herbs that can be fed daily:
1 slice of bell or sweet pepper/capsicum of any colour; 1 slice of cucumber; 1-2 chunks of celery; 1 French bean; 1 sprig of coriander/cilantro; 1 one inch strip of spring greens (lower calcium cabbage, important source of magnesium)
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Thank you very much for your kind explanation Wiebke! Now that I've learnt that Cystease is just a food supplement, I would gladly let Hoppsan try it. I'll follow the suggested veg and herb list and keep you and @helen105281 updated, thank you again! :)
 
It could also be a gut sensitivity issue - I have one piggie who had terrible whimpers/sqwauks on pooing 4 years ago........we changed his diet to one of "no leafy green veggies". He is only allowed baby corn, peppers, celery, parsley, apple, carrots, fresh grass and dandelions. NO further problems....Repeated Xrays/scans/bloods over the next 4 years have never shown any developing urinary issues.
In his case it was "veggie sensitivity"
HTH
x
 
Pebble said:
It could also be a gut sensitivity issue - I have one piggie who had terrible whimpers/sqwauks on pooing 4 years ago........we changed his diet to one of "no leafy green veggies". He is only allowed baby corn, peppers, celery, parsley, apple, carrots, fresh grass and dandelions. NO further problems....Repeated Xrays/scans/bloods over the next 4 years have never shown any developing urinary issues.
In his case it was "veggie sensitivity"
HTH
x
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Thank you Pebble! Nice to know another possibility! Maybe it's a good thing to record what he eats everyday and see on which day he whimpers less! :D
 
Good idea - once we withdrew everthing for 2 weeks...and then started re-introducing very slowly..it did become pretty obvious
x
 
helen105281 said:
The pellets I recommend are available from Zooplus (if they ship to you?) and are these ones:

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/food/guinea_pig/bunny/195679

These are also good, though not ideal for pigs with Interstitial Cystitis due to the fruit content (though better still than a lot of others):

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/food/guinea_pig/vitakraft/262148

Both pellets are very big in comparisson to what you may be used to, and I only feed about 5 per day to each pig.
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Thank you very much Helen! Hoppsan's now on timothy based pellets with added vitamin C, the pellets you recommended looks interesting but zooplus seems don't ship to Sweden...We'll look for it on ebay or amazon, thanks again! :)
 
Hello! Just a quick update :) After giving Hoppsan Cystease, the whimper has been significantly reduced and shortened! (The whimper only occurs after the pill has been worn off) We've also found the recommended pallets from zooplus.se, it is a huge bag but Hoppsan seems to enjoy it :D We'll keep making sure he has the right food and right medication, hope the pain will go away soon! Thank you @helen105281 and @Wiebke and all who cared about Hoppsan!

2015-06-24 11.30.58.webp 2015-05-15 18.32.02.webp
 
That is great news!

Now that you know that cystease is working, you can play around a bit to get it perfect for Hoppsan. Perhaps split it into two and give it twice daily? Or up the dose a little bit?
 
@PiggyOwner Thank you very much for the love :D
@Wiebke Split the dose into 2 sounds like a good idea, but I wonder if I can give him more than the dose recommended by the vet, we'll check with the vet later :)
 
I found with my Nerys that I needed to have her on a double dose at first, but could eventually reduce it to half the recommended dosage as the bladder healed, but she needed that for three years before the cystitis went away on its own. I tried once every year to see if she could do without the cystease as she was completely symptom-free while on it, but the cystitis came back twice as soon as I stopped the cystease. She's been free of it for nearly three years now.
 
Wiebke said:
I found with my Nerys that I need to have her on a double dose at first, but could eventually reduce it to half the recommended dosage as the bladder healed, but she needed that for three years before the cystitis went away on its own. I tried once every year to see if she could do without the cystease as she was completely symptom-free while on it, but the cystitis came back twice as soon as I stopped the cystease. She's been free of it for nearly three years now.
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Thanks! It's always good to know what else can we do if this dosage doesn't work, and it's also good to know that it's a long time battle. We'd like to observe a little bit more though before we increase the dosage, maybe his bladder would have more time to heal now that it's not irritated all day long, but we'll see :D
 
I have a guinea pig with interstitial cystitis, which tends to flare up from time to time. I have him on Cystophan, similar to Cystease and I find that as soon as he has had a week's course or more, it all starts to settle again. I give him a 2 week course and see how it goes. If it goes away, I stop the Cystophan and he is OK until the next time. This last time he has managed for about 3 months without a problem, but it has come back again. We have been managing this for the the last 9 months. He has half a capsule of powder on some cucumber at night and he eats it without a problem. From my experience, this is a long term condition which needs to be managed. The vet has given me Metacam to give him when I think he is in pain, but he seems to manage mainly on the Cystophan which clears it up quickly.

That is my experience so I am sure you will be OK with the Cystease and it will help him to get better, but once it clears up, I would consider your treatment strategy. My vet told me that I could administer it for life or stop it and see how he goes, once he is well. I prefer the latter option, as I do not want to give him long term treatment if he can manage without it. I just keep a close eye on him and make sure he is OK and any signs are treated and dealt with straight away. It seem to work for us.
 
JackJack1 said:
I have a guinea pig with interstitial cystitis, which tends to flare up from time to time. I have him on Cystophan, similar to Cystease and I find that as soon as he has had a week's course or more, it all starts to settle again. I give him a 2 week course and see how it goes. If it goes away, I stop the Cystophan and he is OK until the next time. This last time he has managed for about 3 months without a problem, but it has come back again. We have been managing this for the the last 9 months. He has half a capsule of powder on some cucumber at night and he eats it without a problem. From my experience, this is a long term condition which needs to be managed. The vet has given me Metacam to give him when I think he is in pain, but he seems to manage mainly on the Cystophan which clears it up quickly.

That is my experience so I am sure you will be OK with the Cystease and it will help him to get better, but once it clears up, I would consider your treatment strategy. My vet told me that I could administer it for life or stop it and see how he goes, once he is well. I prefer the latter option, as I do not want to give him long term treatment if he can manage without it. I just keep a close eye on him and make sure he is OK and any signs are treated and dealt with straight away. It seem to work for us.
Click to expand...

Thank you for sharing your experience with us! We did find Cystease helped a lot and we've now noticed that he can manage a whole day without whimpering at all! What a thrill! We are fully prepared to give him this food supply long term and hope that his bladder will get better now that it's not irritated all the time. Hoppsan take the syringe feed with no problem, lots of Metacam before Cystease has trained him well :D This is the first week that he's on Cystease, we'll observe a bit longer and try to reduce or stop it and see what happens.(We do totally agree with the latter option too!) :)
 
Hoppsan said:
Thank you for sharing your experience with us! We did find Cystease helped a lot and we've now noticed that he can manage a whole day without whimpering at all! What a thrill! We are fully prepared to give him this food supply long term and hope that his bladder will get better now that it's not irritated all the time. Hoppsan take the syringe feed with no problem, lots of Metacam before Cystease has trained him well :D This is the first week that he's on Cystease, we'll observe a bit longer and try to reduce or stop it and see what happens.(We do totally agree with the latter option too!) :)
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Hi - It is great that Hoppsan is recovering. It takes a while. When my Joe first had his trouble, he was on Cystophan for 6 weeks, with Metacam to help him with the pain, so be prepared for a bit of a long haul at the start, but it really helps. Now he gets a course of treatment when he needs it and he tends to get better after 1 or 2 weeks. Joe doesn't mind taking Metacam when he needs it, he is very good. Best wishes to both of you and let us know how he gets on in his recovery.
 
JackJack1 said:
Hi - It is great that Hoppsan is recovering. It takes a while. When my Joe first had his trouble, he was on Cystophan for 6 weeks, with Metacam to help him with the pain, so be prepared for a bit of a long haul at the start, but it really helps. Now he gets a course of treatment when he needs it and he tends to get better after 1 or 2 weeks. Joe doesn't mind taking Metacam when he needs it, he is very good. Best wishes to both of you and let us know how he gets on in his recovery.
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We sure will! And we also wish Joe a speedy recovery! :D
 
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