Wedgwood - let's start with bloat/torsion
Pooksied, I quickly asked two exotics vets (in MA) about torsion in GPs... as well as asking one if she had access to that article by Dr. Alex Kilgore from the conference (I found a link for vets only). They are friends of mine. One said "usually an emergency situation," and the other said "yes, GDV is a thing in piggies" (at which point I searched for that acronym and posted some links here).
Conversations were quite brief since I don't like asking for their expertise without paying -- it's their livelihood, after all (and of course they cannot diagnose or recommend anything without seeing the patient). Both are quite busy, so maybe someone misunderstood I was just trying to learn more about stomach surgeries. If somehow that caused the conversations with your vet, I apologize.
I totally understood you're confident in your vet. Again, if somehow I'm the source of this confusion, I apologize... and hope your good relationship with your vet has not been jeopardized. I know you've got things under control and will do what's best for Wedgie, so I'll just send good vibes and read for updates.
Conversations were quite brief since I don't like asking for their expertise without paying -- it's their livelihood, after all (and of course they cannot diagnose or recommend anything without seeing the patient). Both are quite busy, so maybe someone misunderstood I was just trying to learn more about stomach surgeries. If somehow that caused the conversations with your vet, I apologize.
I totally understood you're confident in your vet. Again, if somehow I'm the source of this confusion, I apologize... and hope your good relationship with your vet has not been jeopardized. I know you've got things under control and will do what's best for Wedgie, so I'll just send good vibes and read for updates.
- PooksiedAnimals
- Supporting my GL Habit
Tracy, I do not believe you were the source of the confusion. Yes, it was someone who sees the other vet asked about Wedgwood's condition, and I guess asked if she would do the surgery? I realize their heart was in the right place, but it was awful that my vet thought I didn't want her doing the surgery.
And Wedgwood is bloating again tonight. <sigh> I'm sure she'll get over it like the other times, but the increased frequency is worrisome. Come on, piggy. Pull yourself together for one more week.
And Wedgwood is bloating again tonight. <sigh> I'm sure she'll get over it like the other times, but the increased frequency is worrisome. Come on, piggy. Pull yourself together for one more week.
- PooksiedAnimals
- Supporting my GL Habit
She got through it and was gaining weight on Friday (I'm away for the weekend - will be back home this evening). Each time she gains back her weight, she still feels so thin in the shoulders. So I'm really wondering what else is going on in her. Surgery is Tuesday. Fingers crossed.
Does her bloat seem to correlate with anything -- time frame after eating? activity? some pattern about recurrences?
And how are Wedgie's poops? Does she strain? Are they normal-looking?
Also, what does your vet think about Reglan and/or pain med? Reglan maybe can keep things moving through, so food doesn't sit (stuck) and then ferment to cause gas/bloat. And both may help during bloat episodes.
As scary as surgery is, hope it helps -- at least vet can see (maybe) what's causing the problem and hopefully can alleviate the circumstances. Good thoughts continuing here!
And how are Wedgie's poops? Does she strain? Are they normal-looking?
Also, what does your vet think about Reglan and/or pain med? Reglan maybe can keep things moving through, so food doesn't sit (stuck) and then ferment to cause gas/bloat. And both may help during bloat episodes.
As scary as surgery is, hope it helps -- at least vet can see (maybe) what's causing the problem and hopefully can alleviate the circumstances. Good thoughts continuing here!
- PooksiedAnimals
- Supporting my GL Habit
Vet really thought it was ovarian cysts to begin with, but found absolutely no evidence with an xray and ultrasound.
Wedgwood gets poo-foot when she goes through the bouts of bloat. No straining from what I can see. But she is somewhat uncomfortable when she poos. They're soft and misshapen (and somewhat small, which goes with the drop in weight). We didn't try Reglan at first because of fear of blockage, then later because everything seems to be moving on it's own. We weren't sure what a motility drug would do with the partial torsion, so because she was pooping, we left her alone with that.
A 4.5 year old should not just start losing weight without an underlying cause. No pig I've heard of, nor of any that I've owned, drops nearly 200g "just because".
The longer we go through this, the more I see she's deteriorating. Bloat is a symptom, not a cause of it's own. I don't think it's because her system is slowing down, because of how she eats and poops all through an episode of bloat. Each time she gets it, it's worse. Her shoulders continue to thin, even as she's keeping her weight around 900g. That would make me think it's ovarian cysts even more, if we hadn't ruled it out. At this point, I am fully expecting the vet to find some kind of mass in Wedg's abdomen. I think there's a growth or tumor or something that's pressing on the stomach and intestines that's throwing everything out of whack. But nothing stood out in xrays nor the ultrasound. I am less hopeful that this surgery will really fix anything more than I hope it can point out what's really going on. I would like to know if I can really do anything to help or if I am stuck making her comfortable with the time we have.
Wedgwood gets poo-foot when she goes through the bouts of bloat. No straining from what I can see. But she is somewhat uncomfortable when she poos. They're soft and misshapen (and somewhat small, which goes with the drop in weight). We didn't try Reglan at first because of fear of blockage, then later because everything seems to be moving on it's own. We weren't sure what a motility drug would do with the partial torsion, so because she was pooping, we left her alone with that.
A 4.5 year old should not just start losing weight without an underlying cause. No pig I've heard of, nor of any that I've owned, drops nearly 200g "just because".
The longer we go through this, the more I see she's deteriorating. Bloat is a symptom, not a cause of it's own. I don't think it's because her system is slowing down, because of how she eats and poops all through an episode of bloat. Each time she gets it, it's worse. Her shoulders continue to thin, even as she's keeping her weight around 900g. That would make me think it's ovarian cysts even more, if we hadn't ruled it out. At this point, I am fully expecting the vet to find some kind of mass in Wedg's abdomen. I think there's a growth or tumor or something that's pressing on the stomach and intestines that's throwing everything out of whack. But nothing stood out in xrays nor the ultrasound. I am less hopeful that this surgery will really fix anything more than I hope it can point out what's really going on. I would like to know if I can really do anything to help or if I am stuck making her comfortable with the time we have.
- Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
A tumor could indeed be the issue. One of my guinea pigs had a spleen tumor that had spread to several other organs. In retrospect, her coat started looking rough. She did not lose a lot of weight. I did not realize all this until she started failing (diagnosed via necropsy).
This is tough on you both.
This is tough on you both.
- PooksiedAnimals
- Supporting my GL Habit
ARGH!! Some kind of miscommunication - surgery is not tomorrow. I need to schedule another recheck first. FML. This whole thing has been a comedy of errors.