I’m back off to the vets for the third time as my female guinea has bloody urine and started bleeding again, despite the antibiotics initially clearing it up once again.
Last visit I was told to try 4 weeks of Sulfatrim, Loxicom and Nutracyst, and I’m so far on week 3. My guinea was doing well, but today started to bleed again.
She’s fine in herself and eating. Previously I paid extra to have her wee tested and was told after that the bacteria didn’t show because she was on antibiotics.
my question is, assuming they’ll want another urine sample, should I stop the antibiotics beforehand, and if so for how long before a test?
Ideally, I’d liked to have finished the 4 week course before stopping them, but don’t want to feel like I’ve had yet another wasted trip to the vets. I can’t see the best way to tackle this and it’s been ongoing for several months. Can anyone offer some advice please? I’ve kept guineas on and off all my life but never come across bleeding.
thanks in advance
Hi!
Have you or your vet ever heard of sterile (i.e. non-bacterial) interstitial (i.e. recurring) cystitis? This condition has become a lot more common over the last decade but is not much known outside vet circles that see plenty of guinea pigs.
Sterile IC cannot be healed (your experience with antibiotics is pretty common, as it the urine testing free or very low on bacteria) and only managed until it goes away on its own eventually. It seems to affect especially the natural glucosamine coating of the walls of the urinary tract that prevents the corrosive urine from coming into contact with raw tissue. The red urine, which characterises the onset of a new flare, may or may not test for the presence of blood because it is actually porphyrine (a natural colouring that throws most people). Seemingly clear urine can actually test very high for blood without it showing. In most cases, sterile IC is only diagnosed by default after all other potential urinary tract problems have been excluded. We see a lot of it on here; in fact, these days a lot more than the standard bacterial urinary tract infection (UTI), which is caused by anal bacteria getting into the urinary tract during scent marking and then pouncing when the immune system is lowered for some reason.
Treatment for sterile IC is mainly with glucosamine (which is classed as a food supplement and not as a medication) and with metacam, which is increased during acute flare-ups. Depending on the severity, oral glucamine is enough while in severe cases, cartofen injections have shown to work for sterile IC piggies not very long ago; cartrofen is only just being used ad hoc by vets looking into the research but a common approach has not yet been worked out.
Cavy sterile interstitial cystitis seems to resemble FSC (feline sterile cystitis) and the treatment approach does increasingly follow it.
We recommend to mix the contents of a Feliway cat cystease capsule with 2 ml of water until it is fully absorbed, shake and either give 1 ml of the mix every 12 hours or 2 ml every 24 hours in milder cases; the capsules are the easiest and most convenient way to make it up without a lot of maths and measuring out. Your vet may prefer another suitable product.
Please be aware that will take several weeks for the glucosamine to build up and that you are stuck with IC usually more for a matter of several years than just months. Every few weeks you will see a flare up once you have got on top of it; you will learn just how to up the metacam and glucosamine to get on top of the flare symptoms as quickly as possible.
Here is a bit more information on sterile interstitial cystitis (there is unfortunately not a lot around):
Links - Interstitial Cystitis - Guinea Lynx Records
Here are our diet recommendations (see special diets chapter):
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
I hope that this helps you in which direction to proceed?
