Abbey's Medical Thread

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Delaine
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Post   » Sat Aug 30, 2014 12:08 am


Ever since Abbey's surgery she has been a little different, nothing big, just subtle things I have noticed. I will phone her vet tomorrow and make an appointment but I am not sure I have anything concrete for her to check.

First of all after her surgery it took her 30 hours before she could get up and walk. Her back legs wouldn't work and she would sort of drag herself around. I thought that was pretty unusual but she finally got up and I figured all was well.

She has been zoning out and at times just stares into space. A couple of days ago she was sleeping with her eyes closed and didn't move even after I spoke. I had to touch her. She also isn't responding to voice cues. She has always known so many words and would get excited when I would say things like, "Are you hungry, want your supper?". Her sister Zoe is still responding as usual.

She is also spooking easier and when I come into the room, even though I have spoken first, she will sometimes run for cover but not always. Yesterday it was a dull day and I turned on some different lights which made her go and hide.

She is eating, drinking and her weight is stable. I am weighing every other day.

I have noticed more urine smell and tested her urine last night. The test strip was normal except for the protein square which showed high levels of protein. I have asked the vet about this before and she said that can happen unless you get a sterile sample. I will check Zoe's urine just in case and I will take a sample in when we go to the vets.

It is almost like she has gone deaf or is having small strokes. It is hard to pinpoint because most of the time she seems normal.

Could something have happened during surgery to cause these symptoms? Any thoughts?

Talishan
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Post   » Sat Aug 30, 2014 1:19 am


Without reading back, 1) how old is she and 2) has heart compromise/enlargement been considered?

Protein in the urine means something (not just not sterile), but I can't remember what it is. Bpatters, do you know?

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Lynx
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Post   » Sat Aug 30, 2014 9:23 am


Diabetes?

If you look carefully into the ears, is there any buildup of debris?

bpatters
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Post   » Sat Aug 30, 2014 11:21 am


Protein in the urine can be a result of something like stress or exposure to extremes of heat or cold, or a fever. Those are pretty benign causes.

Other possibilities include several kinds of kidney disease, diabetes, several heart conditions, high blood pressure, cancer -- you name it, it's probably in the list. Stroke, however, is not.

Given that she's just been through surgery and is having a slow time recovering, maybe it's just a temporary condition.

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Delaine
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Post   » Sat Aug 30, 2014 11:45 am


Thanks for the replies. Abbey is a 3 1/2 years old American sow. Her surgery was June 10th. She has presented with blood in her urine for most of her life.

I did a visual of her ears but I need her vet to look deeper.

I will definitely talk to her vet about heart disease.

Protein in the urine is usually due to kidney disease. This makes the most sense for Abbey. She has had blood on and off in her urine for most of her life. The little bit of research I have done seems to link deafness to kidney disease.

There is a genetic condition in humans called Alport syndrome. It presents with blood and protein in the urine, deafness and eye abnormalities. About a year ago Abbey's vet said she noticed cataracts starting when she looked into her eyes. Is it possible that there could be a similar disease in guinea pigs?

Also Abbey has had the one eye that fills with cleaning fluid. This has been going on for a year.

I am beginning to think all her issues may not be random but all linked to one issue.

bpatters
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Post   » Sat Aug 30, 2014 12:09 pm


Alport syndrome occurs in dogs. They've been unable to find/develop it in mice, which they'd like to do because it's so much less expensive to do medical testing on mice.

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Lynx
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Post   » Sat Aug 30, 2014 3:30 pm


"She has had blood on and off in her urine for most of her life." On a daily basis? A couple days on, weeks off, on again? Could it be related to her cycle? (rare but possiblel).

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Delaine
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Post   » Sat Aug 30, 2014 6:38 pm


I did find one article on Alport syndrome in mice. Article attached.

http://www.alportsyndrome.org/what-is-a ... -syndrome/

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Delaine
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Post   » Sun Aug 31, 2014 12:21 am


I first noticed some blood in 2011 when the girls were less than 5 months old.

Since then I have seen darker urine which I don't know for sure contains blood and some blood on the fleece. I would say now I am seeing it maybe 4 days out of 7. I am noticing it more now because I have light colored fleece pads for the houses. If I use dark fleece I don't notice it.

I am better able to monitor her urine now because I have the urinalysis strips. Before I was just guessing on whether her urine color was normal or not.

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Lynx
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Post   » Sun Aug 31, 2014 6:53 am


So you've pretty much confirmed with the strips that this is all blood then? Not porphirins? (rusty color urine)

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Sun Aug 31, 2014 1:29 pm


"Also Abbey has had the one eye that fills with cleaning fluid. This has been going on for a year."

In our house, blocked tear ducts/malfunctioning tear ducts (actually, I should say duct; it's most often only on one side) have been very closely linked to heart compromise. The vast majority of pigs we've had with tear duct drainage problems have also been heart pigs, and vice versa.

Also, has the vet considered interstitial cystitis?

Start here:

viewtopic.php?t=16331

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Delaine
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Post   » Sun Aug 31, 2014 3:13 pm


Lynx: In the beginning when they were under a year I wasn't sure if it was blood or porphirins. I had read young guinea pigs urine sometimes has an orange tinge to it.

Now I can test the urine so I know for sure many of the urine samples do contain blood. Sometimes testing at the vet's confirm blood other times it doesn't. I quite often see small red smudges where she has dragged her bottom on the fleece. Any sort of blood clots are extremely rare.

Talishan: Heart problems could be a possibility. She has always been a very active pig so up until now I didn't think about heart issues. There seems to be some connection between kidney and heart problems. I need to do some more research yet.

Thanks for the link. I printed out that thread a awhile ago because it seemed to relate to Abbey. My mother-in-law had interstitial cystitis so I have done much research on that topic in the past. Abbey has no pain when urinating or pooping and there should be pain with interstitial cystitis. My mother-in-law had terrible pain but no blood.

It is the hearing loss that has me baffled. In the past if I said the word "treat" she was out, eager and waiting. If Abbey is sleeping in her house I have to wave the treat in front of her face before she figures out food is waiting.

I have a vet appointment for Thursday September 4th. I will take a urine sample with me. I want to see if they get a high protein reading on their test.

I am still leaning toward some sort of inflammation of the kidney. What are the best tests to show kidney disease besides an urinalysis?

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