Thank you, tracis! And thanks for the links! In fact I showed the link about building your own oxygen unit to my vet, and she thought it looked very cool, but the problem is to get the oxygen. Hopefully she will find out more, and we can treat Poppy at home later on. But the best is of course if we can get the medicines to work so well that she can do without any oxygen at all.
I will read over the subcue thread, and hopefully get some good tips there - so far I have not tried giving any more to Poppy, but I want to learn it for when it becomes necessary
I have now talked with the vet by phone, and Poppy and I have an appointment at the clinic in the morning. Poppy will probably get some oxygen treatment then, and stay there most of the day.
The vet also agreed on giving Poppy another dose of Fortekor tonight, so for the time being she will be on 1.25 mg twice daily, and 5 mg Lasix twice daily. Hopefully that will make her feel better, and turn her cute little ears light pink again!
Should I worry? Lazy "rag doll" pig
Doesn't hurt to ask. The top dose one of our pigs is on is 0.75ml twice a day but you'd have to do a search to find out what the mg/ml is. The info rubbed off the bottle but I know I've posted it before.
We have a portable oxygen cannister old people use when going out and about. Medical supply places should have them. I don't think you can use the same stuff as divers.
We have a portable oxygen cannister old people use when going out and about. Medical supply places should have them. I don't think you can use the same stuff as divers.
For what it may be worth to you my little one weighs a little over 2lbs 2ozs and gets 2.4ml Benazapril 2mg/ml per day. She is also on 1ml Furosemide (10mg/ml) per day as well as 1/2 a tablet of Pimobendan per day.
She has been on these doses for awhile now so apparently GP's can tolerate high doses of these meds. Needless to say though mine is at the max dose of all this stuff.
She has been on these doses for awhile now so apparently GP's can tolerate high doses of these meds. Needless to say though mine is at the max dose of all this stuff.
Thanks, pinta and Bugs Mom! This morning Poppy was better than yesterday, but I took her to the vet anyway. She (new one; Kirsti was busy elsewhere) decided that oxygen was unnecesseary, and I agreed, so I brought Poppy home with me after the check up. She will be on the 1.25 mg Fortekor and 5 mg furosemide twice daily for the rest of the week, and then I will bring her in again Friday or Monday, depending on how well she is doing. I am aware that it might take up to about 2 weeks before heart meds kick in, but hopefully it will be possible to see some improvement by the end of the week.
I think the Bug has about the same weight as Poppy, so I am glad to see that she gets about the same amount of medicine, except that Poppy doesn't get Pimobendan. What is Pimobendan doing for Bug's heart?
I think the Bug has about the same weight as Poppy, so I am glad to see that she gets about the same amount of medicine, except that Poppy doesn't get Pimobendan. What is Pimobendan doing for Bug's heart?
It works in conjunction with the Benazapril to keep Lady Bug's heart working efficiently. I started using it because of Pinta's experience. Pinta is the one who can explain it better.
Just a question here-do you mean that Poppy is on .5ml Furosemide not 5. ml per day? 5ml is an awfull lot of diuretic. : )
Just a question here-do you mean that Poppy is on .5ml Furosemide not 5. ml per day? 5ml is an awfull lot of diuretic. : )
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Tracis
- Let Sleeping Pigs Lie
Sorry I haven't responded sooner, but I have been away for two days. My daughter and husband took good care of Poppy. She has put on a few grams, and I think she wants to be with the other pigs rather than in her own little enclosure.
Bugs Mom, thank you for your concern! Poppy is on 5 mg, or rather one part of a 20 mg pill split in four, morning and evening. My vet checked and rechecked that the dose was right, but your comment made me a bit nervous, so I just looked it up myself. And I found that Dr. Ridgeway use to dose furosemide at 2 – 5 mg/kg orally every 12 hours https://www.guinealynx.info/heart.html#ridgeway so I think 5 mg is within the safe limit, even if it is much. By the way - I have not been able to find a way to compound these medicines, so I just grind the furosemide and Fortekor pills in a little glass, dilute in some water and give that to Poppy.
I asked my vet if she knew anything about pimobendan, and she had, but not for piggies, so she promised to look it up before the check up next week.
Thanks for the references, pinta and tracis. I will read the information carefully, and also print it out for my vet.
Bugs Mom, thank you for your concern! Poppy is on 5 mg, or rather one part of a 20 mg pill split in four, morning and evening. My vet checked and rechecked that the dose was right, but your comment made me a bit nervous, so I just looked it up myself. And I found that Dr. Ridgeway use to dose furosemide at 2 – 5 mg/kg orally every 12 hours https://www.guinealynx.info/heart.html#ridgeway so I think 5 mg is within the safe limit, even if it is much. By the way - I have not been able to find a way to compound these medicines, so I just grind the furosemide and Fortekor pills in a little glass, dilute in some water and give that to Poppy.
I asked my vet if she knew anything about pimobendan, and she had, but not for piggies, so she promised to look it up before the check up next week.
Thanks for the references, pinta and tracis. I will read the information carefully, and also print it out for my vet.
If you can get the pill to the right size it's easier to pill them than to give liquids. You can just shove the pill in from the side to the molars or use a tweezer/hemostat. Clean and easy.
For pills that can't be divided into doses easily we use a suspension agent for mixing. Vetmedin mixes best with water.
For pills that can't be divided into doses easily we use a suspension agent for mixing. Vetmedin mixes best with water.
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Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
One of our members used to compound heart meds in a solution called Orasweet (I think). She would put it in the refrigerator. I think there's a link to the post in this one:
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4444
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4444
Sorry I'm late with an update again, but Poppy has been doing very well. She is now on 1,25 mg Fortekor twice daily, and per pinta’s advice (thank you!) I split a pill in two, and just pop one part in her mouth in the morning, the other part in the evening, telling her they are treats. Poppy munch them every time; so pleased to get something the others don’t!
She also gets Furosemide pills diluted in water, as I can’t find anything similar to Orasweet here. After the last vet visit we are now gradually decreasing the dose, though. At the moment she gets 2 mg every morning, and seems to cope well with that. Next week she will not get any Furosemide, as her heart seems to be working very well on the Fortekor alone. I have to monitor her closely to make sure there is no new build up of fluids, though.
But even if Poppy’s heart is doing it's job, everything still isn't sunshine with her, as she now has started to loose hair on both sides of her belly, and also along her back, and she often sits at the back of the cage and looks uncomfortable. I have treated her for mites, but that didn't help, so at the last vet visit she had an x-ray and an ultra sound examination. Unfortunately it is obvious that she has at least one ovarian cyst that bothers her.
I think we have to do something about this very soon, but I am a bit unsure about what will be the best option. My vet is not very experienced with spaying sows. She has done it before, though, and done other types of surgery on pigs, too. And only lost one; he came fine out of the sedation, but died at home later on, probably because of over heating, she thinks. She tells me she feels confident that she will manage Poppy's spay just fine. She also says she spays cats all the time, and don't thinks the difference between cats and sows are that large when it comes to spaying. I have no way of knowing if this is true or not, but would like to hear others opinions on this. Does it sound like she is realistic, or is she over confident?
I have also discussed the possibility of giving Poppy hormone injections in stead of spaying her. Vet was not familiar with that, but said she would investigate and come back to me when she knew more. I have found this link https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10197 , but it is from 2004, so I am sure there is more info about this treatment somewhere. Can anyone point me to it? Or has anybody first hand experience to share?
She also gets Furosemide pills diluted in water, as I can’t find anything similar to Orasweet here. After the last vet visit we are now gradually decreasing the dose, though. At the moment she gets 2 mg every morning, and seems to cope well with that. Next week she will not get any Furosemide, as her heart seems to be working very well on the Fortekor alone. I have to monitor her closely to make sure there is no new build up of fluids, though.
But even if Poppy’s heart is doing it's job, everything still isn't sunshine with her, as she now has started to loose hair on both sides of her belly, and also along her back, and she often sits at the back of the cage and looks uncomfortable. I have treated her for mites, but that didn't help, so at the last vet visit she had an x-ray and an ultra sound examination. Unfortunately it is obvious that she has at least one ovarian cyst that bothers her.
I think we have to do something about this very soon, but I am a bit unsure about what will be the best option. My vet is not very experienced with spaying sows. She has done it before, though, and done other types of surgery on pigs, too. And only lost one; he came fine out of the sedation, but died at home later on, probably because of over heating, she thinks. She tells me she feels confident that she will manage Poppy's spay just fine. She also says she spays cats all the time, and don't thinks the difference between cats and sows are that large when it comes to spaying. I have no way of knowing if this is true or not, but would like to hear others opinions on this. Does it sound like she is realistic, or is she over confident?
I have also discussed the possibility of giving Poppy hormone injections in stead of spaying her. Vet was not familiar with that, but said she would investigate and come back to me when she knew more. I have found this link https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10197 , but it is from 2004, so I am sure there is more info about this treatment somewhere. Can anyone point me to it? Or has anybody first hand experience to share?
SHOP AMAZON