Should I worry? Lazy "rag doll" pig

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poppypiggy

Post   » Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:41 am


Thanks, Lynx!

Mum - I have tried, and the vet is not convinced, but I can try again. But than I also wonder: If she has a kidney problem, couldn't that be significantly worse if we put her on heart meds? I got that impression from the vet, but might be wrong. Or she might be wrong.

Is Benazepril supposed to be so kind on the kidneys that it doesn't matter?

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:21 am


Email Pinta and check with her. I believe that benazepril is supposed to protect the kidneys, but you should check with Pinta as she's dealt with Cushings before.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Mar 27, 2007 1:35 pm


Look over this page I'm working on to see if the article or veterinary comments can help persuade your vet to give your vet more info:

www.guinealynx.info/heart.html

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poppypiggy

Post   » Wed Mar 28, 2007 6:35 am


Thaks, Mum, I wil contact her!

Lynx - you are just invaluable! That page is VERY helpful! I will send the link to my vet, and also print it out and send her by snail. Thank you so much!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:03 am


It's still a work in progress but does include some valuable info. You can thank Mum for getting advice from her vets and putting up her own info and Talishan for sending me a copy of the article to summarize.

I think Lotensin is more benign and is a better choice than enalapril.

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poppypiggy

Post   » Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:26 am


Then I say "Thank you so much, Mum and Talishan as well!"

Thanks for the tip on Lotensin!

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poppypiggy

Post   » Wed Apr 18, 2007 9:08 am


I finally got a call back from the vet yesterday!

The testresults are back, and Poppy's albumine values are very high, indicating a renal failure. And guess what? My vet suggested to put her on Fortekor for that!

I will start her on the medicine tomorrow (the pharmasy had to order it) - 0.75 mg/day. That is perhaps a bit low, but has a practical reason, as we can only get hold of 2.5 mg pills.

But now when thinking about it the vet can't be that good in math, because 2.5 / 4 is not 0.75, but 0.625! Isn't that too little? I think the usual dose is 1 mg /kg, and she is about 1.2 - 1.3 kg, so maybe half a pill is more right?

I am very excited to see if there will be any change in her behaviour - she has been very sedate lately.

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Wed Apr 18, 2007 9:13 am


You might get your pharmacy to compound it into a liquid.

I have mine compounded at 2mg/ml and give my pigs 1mg twice daily (which is 0.5cc if it's compounded this way).

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poppypiggy

Post   » Wed Apr 18, 2007 9:21 am


Since I have seen you have suggested that for others I have asked about that, but there are some strange rules preventing the local pharmacy from compounding medicines like yours do. It could be done by a big laboratory in Oslo, but I was told that would be very expensive. (In fact the lady said it was so expensive I should rather get an other guinea pig! - I managed to be polite - barely!)

Do you think it is possible to just dissolve a pill in some liquid and use that in stead?

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Wed Apr 18, 2007 9:26 am


You can compound it yourself if you're extremely careful to disolve the tablets properly.

https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18899

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poppypiggy

Post   » Wed Apr 18, 2007 9:51 am


Thank you - I will read the information carefully!

Edit to say: What exactly is Ora-plus and Ora-sweet? Will any liquid do?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Apr 18, 2007 10:08 am


It's a special compounding liquid. Perhaps you could contact a human pharmacy to see if there is anything you can purchase. Must be refrigerated after compounding (I think).

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