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What Do I Do?

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lynneprice

lynneprice

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Hi Was wondering can somebody help with what could be difficult decision . Just dropped my 6 year old piggie off at vets.She is displaying all the signs of ovarian cysts,and they are causing her considerable pain:(,so the vet is giving her a scan and xray. I am pretty sure it is cysts and am concerned because if surgery is the only option do I put her through that at her age,Has anybody had their piggie spade at such an age .Please help dont know what to do for the best
 
I've never had personal experience with a piggy with ovarian cysts but I've read that a lot of members have had success with hormone therapy/injections- this would be ideal treatment for your girl due to her age (and the risks with surgery). I would ask your vet about the injections as an alternative treatment route to surgery, they've proven effective for a number of members and they're safer for your girl :)
 
Surgery is not the only option, Chorulon injections would be my first choice which are supposed to shrink the cysts. Ovarian cysts can also be drained though there is a chance they could refill. You could always opt for draining with injections too. The only thing I would say is that if the cysts are encroaching on other organs then surgery may be the only option. We had a pig at clinic that had such big cysts that she had started to suffer from bloat and so spaying was the only choice. I appreciate that it is risky at her age though.

Is she on any pain relief?
 
thanks for advice. yes hormone injections might be the answer,she is still at the vets ,they have just rung me and said xray showed a mass on right hand side and they are currently doing needle aspiration to give them more of an idea,so obviously the scan and x ray were not 100 per cent clear .Hope this will confirm what this is,but they also said there was some blood around the vulva ? so does not sound too good to me.
 
My old girl used to be on Chorulon. Because of ongoing and numerous health problems, having her spayed was not an option but also ignoring it was also not an option as not only was she in pain but she used to lose all her hair on her belly (which she found mortifyingly embarrassing!).

She had a course of Chorulon every 8-9 months as they did keep coming back but it kept things at bay and her quality of life was much better as result. She went on until she was just over 7 when she grew a massive tumour and sadly she had to leave us. but thats the option I would go for at that age.
 
I don't have any advice than has been said above, just wanted to send best wishes for your girl, hope you can get some more answers and they can help her out. Please keep us updated, love to your girl
 
It definitely looks like something is going on then. If the diagnosis is a tumour, my Terk had an ovarian tumour and we opted for the injections as she was over 5 at the time. She also had blood from her vulva. Blood can also be a sign of an infection though too.
 
hi guys just to update you ,got my gizzy home after aspiration it was found to be gas ? but the vet also said she found gizzy to be getting pain whilst she was palpating her bladder .so the conclusion she has come to is most probably a bladder infection which would explain the blood.she has given me baytril and metacam.so will be buying a probiotic today as am aware baytril can have adverse affects on piggys.she is quiet but does not seem to be in pain and is still eating well., so relieved :)
 
Regarding probiotics, I have used Bio Lapis Sachet for Rabbits and Rodents with Minky in the past. I mix 1/3 of a sachet with 16ml of water & syringe feed half on the morning & the other half in the evening. The trouble with a sachet is that it makes up 50ml of solution which has to be used in 24 hours & far too much for one piggy. You can also get Avipro Plus which is loose powder in a plastic container & again just mix 15 to 20 ml per day. In conjunction with this I also gave Minky 1ml eg 1 notch of Fibreplex per day. All of these are non-prescription & can be bought from Vet UK.
 
cystitis and cysts have just gone hand in hand with maisie. so if you find the infection isn't clearing, or keeps coming back, then treating the cysts aswell with injections could be the way forward. it has been for maisie. good luck :)
 
So am I right in thinking no cysts were found?

Gas can be painful, so am glad she has Metacam. I also found that Gripe water helped when my pig had gas.
 
Have you got an old electric toothbrush, the type that vibrate. I used one of these on Minky just gently massaging her tummy with the shaft rather than the brush & it really helped. I've now got a massage pad which has a much more severe massage but helps tremendously.
 
Massage is a great idea (I forgot to mention this earlier - sorry). Dioralyte is also very effective when they have gas, I used this with Maddie. They can have either flavoured or unflavoured. Also getting plenty of fluids into her will help with the UTI.
 
My girl BonBon has been found to have cystitis, but no mention of cysts, the vet did a proper check though.
 
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