What do i do?

[piggl]

Last march my boar Digby fell ill. We took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with gut stasis, we medicated with all sorts for a month (with no avail) until we eventually decided to put him under anaesthetic and check his teeth and take an x-ray. We found his molars were all growing in different directions so they were not grinding at all. They were cut down and he came out well from the anaesthetic.

He was great for around 2-3 weeks before he started to become ill again. Showing signs of pain and gut stasis, I knew his teeth were causing issues again. I spent ages going back and forth with myself and my vet about what to do, because I knew I couldn't put him under anaesthetic every 2-4 weeks to do his teeth. I eventually made the decision to put him down as at just a month after his initial dental he was on constant painkiller, syringe feeding atleast 40ml and on multiple gut stimulants. He was only 5 and he was acting like his completely normal self which hurt me so much, but I knew deep down he was only surviving on medicine and that I was doing it for his own sake.

Well just a couple weeks ago I thought my 5 year old boar Winston was going to pass away as he was extremely lethargic and had on and off pooping the past couple days. He didn't pass so I booked him an appointment the next day. We began treating him for gut stasis, Emeprid, syringe feeding and Fibreplex. After a couple days I was running out so I ordered more and picked it up. A couple days ago we began running out of medication (and I was at my grandmothers anyway) but he was getting better so I just continued with the syringe feeding and his arthritis painkillers. His weight was still good this morning but I have just noticed tonight he hasn't eaten any of his food and his poops are going funny again.

He also sometimes grinds his teeth and acts a bit weird when eating, so I am somewhat worried he is having dental issues.
The issue is, my mum clearly stated that she would not pay for any surgery like what Digby had because of the outcome of the last one. I think this is what Winston needs, but I do not know what to do without the funding. I don't have a job right now and no means to pay for it on my own. I have no idea what to do.

 

[weepweeps]

I would take Winston for a check up at the vets as it might be something different. Every pig is different and Winston shouldn’t be deprived of a positive outcome just because of what happened to Digby. See what the vet says. Good luck.

 

[piggieminder]

I agree, try not to worry until you know what treatment he needs. When you've had one sick piggy it's easy to worry they have the same problem when it could be something far more simple. Sending Winston healing vibes.

 

[VickiA]

He really needs to see the vet to find out what the problem is. Once you’ve got the diagnosis you can then have a sensible conversation with the vet about the way forward taking into account all your concerns. Try not to second guess what the problem might be. Sending you & Winston healing vibes.

 

[piggl]

Thank you for all your replies.

I have asked for more medication for winston but due to the fact it’s been 3 weeks the vet needs to atleast talk to me before dispensing any medicine, so I will see how that goes tomorrow.

What I am wondering is can you get through the better side of stasis with just painkillers and critical care (by better side I mean eating and moving around normally, atleast for today although he will probably go back to being really bad again now that i’ve said that).
Money is tight-ish, and he has been off his gut medicine for about 5 days now (due to me running out but thinking he didn’t need it anymore). He had a bit of a regression the last few days which showed yesterday with some smaller poops and not wanting to eat but I upped his support feeding last night and today and he seems to be in much better spirits.
I will need to wait until tomorrow weigh in to see if there’s been any actual improvement though but his demeanour and his eating is much better than yesterday.

I also sometimes hear gurgling of the stomach, it’s so loud i can hear a bit away from him (maybe a couple hands length). I assume that isn’t normal as I don’t hear it in my other healthy pigs, but is it a bad or good sign? It’s not constant but happens frequent enough the past two days for me to notice it.

Thanks again x

 

[piggl]

Bump