Kaitlyn- enlarged lymph nodes
I’m kind of at a loss for what to write here, but hopefully someone else has had experience with this situation and can provide some advice or suggestions. Sorry this is so long.
Kaitlyn is our little black 4.5yo sow, one of a herd of three. I noticed she had developed symptoms of cherry eye last Saturday night (fit the description on the GL medical reference page perfectly, will send Lynx pictures if anyone is curious). She was acting normal otherwise and has had eye problems such as cataracts since she was a few months old, so we gave her some eyedrops (Tobramycin) and didn’t worry too much.
Then on Monday afternoon, she became really lethargic. She was still eating and drinking, so my husband scheduled a vet appointment for the next evening. I moved her to the sick bin (underbed storage bin lined with clean white towels and a water bottle attached) during the day to keep an eye on her. Her breathing was labored and crackly and she wasn’t pooping as much as normal. Still eating and drinking when I offered it to her, but not much, and all she wanted to do was lie down.
The vet examined Kaitlyn and noted that all of her lymph nodes were enlarged, and immediately started talking about lymphoma. She explained that if just one of the nodes had been swollen it could have been an infection, but *all* of them were swollen.
She took X-rays to check everything, and found some weird spots on Kaitlyn’s lungs that didn’t look like disease progression, which raised the possibility of pneumonia. She sent us home with Baytril, meloxicam, Flurbiprofin, and Ciproflox, and we have a follow up appointment in a week.
We let Kaitlyn stay in the pig pen during the day yesterday and today, keeping her next to us in the bin for a few hours during the evenings while we can monitor her and keep feeding her as much as she’ll eat. She’s now strong enough to fight the pig burrito my husband wraps her in to give her meds, when she didn’t even bother on Tuesday. Her breathing is a lot better and she’s eating and drinking some on her own, and she’s still acting like herself, but she’s so lethargic.
She’s currently alternating between yanking on a towel tag and lying down in a pile of hay and lettuce. We’ll play her some Rick Astley videos on YouTube as soon as I finish this post (she likes deep voices).
The vet we saw is one of the owners of Midwest Bird and Exotic in Elmwood Park, Illinois (which provided our other guinea pig Mara with outstanding care when she developed an orange-sized ovarian tumor and needed a hysterectomy), so I’m inclined to trust her judgment even if I desperately want her to be wrong.
That being said, has anyone here had experience with a pig who’s had these symptoms? How did you treat them? Any tips about keeping Kaitlyn comfortable?
...any chance the vet *might* be wrong about the lymphoma after all? Should we keep her isolated from the other girls in case it’s an infection and she’s contagious? We put her back in the pen because she’s never been away from her sister Johnnie for long, but we can keep her in the sick bin until she’s recovered if recovery is possible.
Kaitlyn is our little black 4.5yo sow, one of a herd of three. I noticed she had developed symptoms of cherry eye last Saturday night (fit the description on the GL medical reference page perfectly, will send Lynx pictures if anyone is curious). She was acting normal otherwise and has had eye problems such as cataracts since she was a few months old, so we gave her some eyedrops (Tobramycin) and didn’t worry too much.
Then on Monday afternoon, she became really lethargic. She was still eating and drinking, so my husband scheduled a vet appointment for the next evening. I moved her to the sick bin (underbed storage bin lined with clean white towels and a water bottle attached) during the day to keep an eye on her. Her breathing was labored and crackly and she wasn’t pooping as much as normal. Still eating and drinking when I offered it to her, but not much, and all she wanted to do was lie down.
The vet examined Kaitlyn and noted that all of her lymph nodes were enlarged, and immediately started talking about lymphoma. She explained that if just one of the nodes had been swollen it could have been an infection, but *all* of them were swollen.
She took X-rays to check everything, and found some weird spots on Kaitlyn’s lungs that didn’t look like disease progression, which raised the possibility of pneumonia. She sent us home with Baytril, meloxicam, Flurbiprofin, and Ciproflox, and we have a follow up appointment in a week.
We let Kaitlyn stay in the pig pen during the day yesterday and today, keeping her next to us in the bin for a few hours during the evenings while we can monitor her and keep feeding her as much as she’ll eat. She’s now strong enough to fight the pig burrito my husband wraps her in to give her meds, when she didn’t even bother on Tuesday. Her breathing is a lot better and she’s eating and drinking some on her own, and she’s still acting like herself, but she’s so lethargic.
She’s currently alternating between yanking on a towel tag and lying down in a pile of hay and lettuce. We’ll play her some Rick Astley videos on YouTube as soon as I finish this post (she likes deep voices).
The vet we saw is one of the owners of Midwest Bird and Exotic in Elmwood Park, Illinois (which provided our other guinea pig Mara with outstanding care when she developed an orange-sized ovarian tumor and needed a hysterectomy), so I’m inclined to trust her judgment even if I desperately want her to be wrong.
That being said, has anyone here had experience with a pig who’s had these symptoms? How did you treat them? Any tips about keeping Kaitlyn comfortable?
...any chance the vet *might* be wrong about the lymphoma after all? Should we keep her isolated from the other girls in case it’s an infection and she’s contagious? We put her back in the pen because she’s never been away from her sister Johnnie for long, but we can keep her in the sick bin until she’s recovered if recovery is possible.
Picture sent, and thank you for the well wishes. As for heart issues, the vet checked Kaitlyn’s heart and lungs with a stethoscope and her heart sounded great. No hooting or any other symptoms, either.
I should send you the picture of her wearing the little pussyhat I knit her for the Women’s March. Resist, indeed!
I should send you the picture of her wearing the little pussyhat I knit her for the Women’s March. Resist, indeed!
She left us an hour ago. I will post more about her symptoms once I can think straight.