Advice on TMJ

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Phantomhorse

Post   » Fri Nov 24, 2017 7:23 pm


Hello again. One of my boys was diagnosed with TMJ about six months ago. He was doing well before but now he is unable to eat solids at all. He is on Metacam (Meloxicam) and Hydromet but he is barely 600 grams right now and he hasnt been over 750 since he was diagnosed. He has spirit and he is trying to fight, but he cant eat any solids. He is living off of critical care and he is eating solids occasionally but when he does eat them it takes him a long time and physically exhausts him. I am ordering a chin sling right away for him, but I don't know what to do. He is only a year and a half... both of his brothers passed away over the past three weeks and I don't want to lose him. My vet is treating him as he presents, but seeing the pattern and how he is just decreasing and hasn't gotten "better" since he was ten months old we think he isn't going to make it for another year. At this rate he is really struggling and I am going to have to euthanize him soon. Does anyone have any ideas or thoughts? He is trying to eat and he has a massive appetite, but he gets so exhausted chewing that he just gives up after a small amount of time.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Nov 24, 2017 11:31 pm


I am sorry about your guinea pig. The designer of the chin sling will provide valuable information on using it.

That is very little weight. You have read www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html ? If you lost a couple other guinea pigs there may be something else going on. Do you have another good vet available for a second opinion?

I am worried about him too. From your description, it sounds like he is doing poorly.

Phantomhorse

Post   » Sat Nov 25, 2017 9:34 am


Lynx - he went in for a visit yesterday. He is still bright but we did a blood draw because of his brothers. There are three vets there, one being Dr. Kelleher that have all agreed. I know it is very little weight, his best weight was about 1.1 kg when he was 11 months old. He has just been dropping since. I have done handfeeding, he is literally living off of liquid food. He has solids as an option, but even with the option he doesn’t eat much of it because it exhausts him. He is excited for the critical care... he wanted more than 45 mL in ONE sitting. But he can only live off of critical care for so long. He is eating maybe two leaves of romaine and ten pieces of hat a day tops.
Even with the pain meds it is so hard for him! We used to have him on Tramadol, but he hated it and it wasn’t working very well so we switched to Hydromet. I am spending hours with him every day, watching appetite and feces and water intake etc. His poops are usually really small because he barely eats, but since the critical care they are the best I have ever seen them! He is drinking plenty (I am making sure because the critical care absorbs so much) but if his weight drops down to the 500’s I don’t know if I will be able to pull him out of it.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sat Nov 25, 2017 10:09 am


Actually, I think daisymae (daisymay?) had a pig that lived for several years on Critical Care or pellet slurry.

Phantomhorse

Post   » Sat Nov 25, 2017 12:04 pm


Bpatters - I don’t doubt that they made the right choice... but how fair is it to keep him alive when he has been underweight for half a year and is on pain meds twice a day and can barely eat a solid? I have heard it do well when they have teeth problems, but he literally hurts to chew :(

Phantomhorse

Post   » Sun Nov 26, 2017 10:50 am


He has dropped another 20 grams today. He is almost 500 grams now. This is really serious. He is being handfed multiple times a day and he is eating on his own and drinking a lot. But he is still losing. I dont know what to do.

Phantomhorse

Post   » Wed Nov 29, 2017 2:20 pm


Well, we finally got his blood results back yesterday. He is severely anemic and he has almost no white blood cells. Still losing weight and appetite is starting to trail off. Today he is going in to get a bone marrow aspirate to test for leukemia. It is either leukemia or IMHA. I already have an animal with IMHA, so we know how to handle it, but GP's are much more fragile. He has to go under anesthesia for ten minutes for this procedure, which I am worried he will not survive because he is weaker, but if it is not done then we will lose him within a week. If it is leukemia then all we can do is try to reverse the anemia and make him comfortable. IMHA is more manageable, but there is still no guarantee that he will respond to the meds or that we will be able to start them in time. He is in for the aspirate now, I will let you guys know how it goes. I was already watching him closely, knowing that as of right now I am going to have to euthanize him very soon if nothing changes. I haven't yet because he is still running around the house, bothering the other animals, and squealing happily. If he loses his energy or his will to fight I will let him go. I am aware that there are environmental factors to IMHA like food, but my animal have been on this food and we have not had this ever happen, nor has anyone else. They have no grain, no soy, and they are overall healthy. My other animal with IMHA (a rabbit) is inbred because his father was a show champion (makes me so mad that people think this is ok) and so he has many many issues. This pig is also inbred, his mother and father came to me from the same place and his mother was already pregnant when I rescued them. Both of his brothers passed from genetic issues (brain aneurism, etc). I am looking for some advice on here about anyone who has heard of this situation in guinea pigs? Lynx, bpatters, anyone?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Nov 29, 2017 10:18 pm


I had to look up IMHA. Apparently it is Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia. Still unfamiliar with it. I don't recall this coming up on the board.

Hoping for the best.

Phantomhorse

Post   » Thu Nov 30, 2017 8:28 am


Lynx, we believe this may be an infectious disease. Another of the pigs got sick last night, he made it through the night in hospitalization, but he is borderline hypoglycemic and his blood protein levels are low and he was unable to hold in water (he was nonstop drinking but he was so dehydrated that his eyes were sunken into his head, he was wobbly and standing with his feet twisted or bent and not even noticing. Also, can we change the thread name? This isn't about TMJ anymore, but I know you don't like separate posts for the same animal.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:23 am


Do not worry about the title to the thread. You can put everything on this one.

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