Wedgwood - let's start with bloat/torsion

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Tracy

Post   » Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:12 pm


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.

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PooksiedAnimals
Supporting my GL Habit

Post   » Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:34 pm


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.

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:36 am


Sending warm and hopeful thoughts in your direction.

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Tracy

Post   » Sat Aug 18, 2018 9:22 pm


Hope Wedg did OK with that latest bloat... sending good thoughts. It's so stressful just as an empathic spectator reading along; can't imagine how difficult for you, Pooksied.

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PooksiedAnimals
Supporting my GL Habit

Post   » Sun Aug 19, 2018 6:17 am


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.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Aug 19, 2018 8:09 am


In a "normal" guinea pig, I would guess ovarian cysts but that doesn't seem to be the case. Sending good thoughts your way.

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Tracy

Post   » Sun Aug 19, 2018 10:11 am


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!

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Sun Aug 19, 2018 10:26 am


My 4.5 yr old pig is also loosing weight, as did my about 7 yr old pig. It could just be her age causing weight loss.

Sending good thoughts and I hope she continues a good recovery.

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PooksiedAnimals
Supporting my GL Habit

Post   » Mon Aug 20, 2018 9:21 am


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.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Aug 20, 2018 10:05 am


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.

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Tracy

Post   » Mon Aug 20, 2018 1:59 pm


So it's exploratory surgery then? If your vet sees torsion, she will try to untwist... if she sees a mass she'll assess and determine whether it can be removed... if (undetected) cystic ovaries maybe a spay? I do hope you get some answers and hopefully strategies for keeping Wedg comfy.

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PooksiedAnimals
Supporting my GL Habit

Post   » Mon Aug 20, 2018 7:58 pm


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.

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