SEEKING ADVICE ON DIARRHEA

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Alison

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 12:47 am


Thanks everyone.

The two piggies are not related. It´s hard to get the two together for a photo.

BB is silly but Fatty is very smart. Because BB is very sick, I pay almost full attention to her recently. Fatty is very jeaous of BB.

Sweet, yes, as long as you provide them with their favourite treats. Otherwise, they will come out of the cage and scream.

I will keep posting the latest news of BB. I hope the next post is a good one.

pinta

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 2:07 am


As Evangeline said it doesn´t sound like your pig has been on Baytril for longer than a week at a time. By taking her off Baytril too soon, the bacteria may have a chance to get resistant. Before taking her off the baytril, talk to your vet and come up with a plan of action.

Has she been on the baytril for a full 2 weeks? It may even take 3 weeks. Or maybe she needs to be switched to a different drug, like Flagyl. For a proper culture to be done though, she needs to be off meds for approx. 3 days.

I think you need to discuss a plan of action with your vet. You have 3 choices that I can see:

1) Take her off all meds for 3 days so a clean culture can be done.

2) Keep her on Baytril for at least 2 weeks, maybe 3 weeks.

3) Switch meds.

The main benefit of #1 option is that you will be able to identify the bacteria present and find out exactly which drugs will be effective. The downside is that BB will be unmedicated and her diarrhea may return weakening her even further.

The downside of #2 is that she may lose appetite on Baytril - some do. The upside is that she has shown improvement on baytril so you know it is having some effect.

The downside of #3 is that you have no way of knowing without a culture if the drug you switch to will be the right one. The upside is that if it is - the problem is solved without delay.


You should continue feeding a poop a day as long as she is on meds. Choose the lighter, softer poops. Just mash the poop in about 1cc of water and syringe it down. Half a poop a day should do the trick if you can´t get a whole poop in her.

Make sure you keep her hydrated. Check with the vet to see if a hydration subcue treatment is in order.

User avatar
Alison

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 6:23 am


Thanks, Pinta.

I will take option # 1 in order to identify the bacteria present and find out exactly which drugs will be effective.

I hope everything will be Okay (I will stop the Baytril tomorrow). If Diarrhea starts again, I will bring her immediately to the vet for culture.

Good luck is what I need at the moment!

pinta

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 7:06 am


Before you stop the baytril, I think it would be wise to call your vet and discuss it with him first so he is in the loop. It is a lot easier to work "with" your vet than "against" him.

You could outline the options, and see if he agrees with your choice. If he doesn´t, he might have a valid reason why or even another option to suggest.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 7:18 am


I whole heartedly agree with Pinta. The thing is, knowledge can help us a great deal but if you take things in your own hands, your vet may fight you -- not to mention you may have a good one who knows what he is doing and has reasons for doing so.

Definitely contact your vet. They don´t like to be second guessed. But this advice is sound and reasonable and he ought to agree with it.

User avatar
Alison

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 8:45 am


In fact, I have brought BB to the vet last night. I let him have a look on her droppings. I confirm him one more time if the Baytril is to be stopped on Friday. Actually, a week on Baytril is the vet´s instruction.

I will phone him to discuss the advice of Lynx and see what will be the best to BB.

Thanks everyone.

pinta

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 9:06 am


You might want to print out this thread for him to see. I currently have a pig who´s been on Baytril for 2 weeks and we might go 3. She has a stubborn URI that has already required a course of doxycycline. We believe two different bacteria are involved and since she is a heart patient, she is probably having a harder time throwing off the URI than a normal pig. And because she is a heart patient we have to make sure the URI is totally gone. Her immune system is such that if she relapses, it could be fatal.
Last edited by pinta on Thu Jan 10, 2002 9:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Seansfamily

Post   » Fri Jan 11, 2002 9:28 pm


Oh, my goodness what adorable pigs!

Did you take the photo?

I hope that BB is feeling better soon.

It can´t be much fun for you either. Besides trying to feed poop to a struggling pig, dealing with diarrhea-type excrement on a pig with such beautiful, long fur must be no picnic at all.

User avatar
Alison

Post   » Fri Jan 11, 2002 10:16 pm


Thanks, Seansfamily. Yes, I took the photo. The photo is also the wallpaper of my PC.

After discussion with the vet, we stopped the anti-biotics on Friday. Her droppings are a bit soft. However, BB keeps on eating a lot of Timothy Hay and drinking a lot of water.

I just got back from the vet. Confirmed no Giadia. My vet concluded that BB suffers from an imbalance intestinal baterial inside. My vet recommends to stop the anti-biotics and also not to change to other medicine. Instead, he gives BB the Kaopec Susp. Dosage: 1 ml twice a day. My vet said BB is already on too much and too long anti-biotics. He said BB should re-build her own intestinal baterial system. On top of the Kaopec Susp., my vet told me to feed her continuously with Critical Care. The friendly baterial of Critical Care should help BB.

I will keep an eye on BB and keep posted of her latest situation.

pinta

Post   » Sat Jan 12, 2002 12:54 am


Keep feeding poops from the healthy pig for a few more days.

Evangeline

Post   » Sat Jan 12, 2002 6:17 pm


Wouldn´t Baytril by injections be easier on her gut? Just an idea if, for some reason, she needs to be put back on antibiotics.

User avatar
Alison

Post   » Sat Jan 12, 2002 9:14 pm


We also try the Baytril injection before but that doesn´t help.

When I writing this message, she is eating the Timothy Hay. She seems fine with the KP medicine. The stools are ´in shape´. My vet told me the medicine slows down the food down her intestine. This provide an opportunity for the bacteria (from the Critical Care) to digest the grass. As a result, to rebuild the balance.

I have stopped the ´poop´. BB struggles a lot. I don´t want to hurt her. Thus, I give her the acidophilus instead. I have finished the acidophilus tablet before. The new acidophilus (brand : 21st Century) I can get in my area is in capsule form. Each capsule contains 115mg Lactobacillus Acidophilus. Any idea on portion that I have to give BB? I am thinking whether it is okay to add capsule into water and syringe down. 1/2 tablet twice a day? Is that Okay?

Since her diarrhea, BB has lost around 100 g. Hope she will get over the diarrhea and regain the loss.

I also read some other articles on ´antibiotic intolerance´ in this site. Not to the extent of ´intolerance´, however, BB seems to be controlled by anti-biotics. Yesterday, the vet said BB seems to be in better condition when on anti-biotics in my eyes only. The most important thing we have to do at the moment is to re-build the intestinal balance. Change of medicine is not recommended because no evidence on parasites, other serious bateria found. BB has to go through this difficult time. I will keep posting the news of BB.

Thanks.

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