Candy - weightloss

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Jan 26, 2007 8:56 am


I am betting you might be able to use fish water testing kits to determine the ph.

Would be great if we had some scientifically minded people who could do some tests on their pigs to get some sort of idea of the actual ranges (and if it is different for pigs with some sorts of problems or on different medications).

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rshevin

Post   » Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:12 am


The strips I have are manufactured by a scientific supply company, Whatman. They're left over from my hands on science kit from way back when. A possibly more accurate deterimination may be made with red cabbage juice. I've always found it easier to read than these durn strips. Any non-digital method I've ever heard of isn't going to get you a value more accurate than 1 pH unit though. That's just the nature of the beast.

One variable could be that my pigs had just finished eating when I tested them. This week's diet is green leaf and green beans.

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Becky

Post   » Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:49 pm


I asked my vet today what the normal urine ph was for guinea pigs. He said between 8.5 and 10, so it looks like Candy's ph is spot on.

He also said struvite crystals are so rare that without knowing the composition of the stones, he'd never try to lower the urine ph.

Hope this helps.

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:16 pm


Thanks, Becky - that's very helpful.

One of the things it says in the info slip that came with the Polycitra-K I picked up today is that it lowers ph, making the urine more acidic.

So, my thought is this: does this stuff really help guinea pigs? Since somewhere recently there was a mention about acidic urine being not good, is this stuff actually helpful for guinea pigs?

I haven't used it yet.

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Becky

Post   » Sun Jan 28, 2007 12:16 am


It does? That's not the information I have. Here's a link to the Mar Vista site. It explains polycitra quite well, including the fact that it makes the urine more alkaline.

www.marvistavet.com/html/canine_oxalate ... tones.html

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Becky

Post   » Sun Jan 28, 2007 12:20 am


Here's another link from a drug site.

http://www.drugs.com/cdi/polycitra_k_solution.html

Polycitra-K Solution is a urinary alkalinizing agent. It neutralizes some of the acid in your urine, which reduces the formation of crystals in your urine that could become kidney stones or aggravate gout.

The information you received is incorrect. Did you get it from the vet or a human pharmacy?

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Sun Jan 28, 2007 12:49 am


Ok, I must not have had my glasses on, because now that I re-read it I wonder where on earth I read what I read before :-p

From the Patient Information Leaflet (human pharmacy):

"The medication makes the urine less acidic. It is used to treat and prevent the formation of kidney stones and gout."

It also says, which is interesting:

"While taking this medication, it may be necessary for you to test the pH (acidity) of your urine using special paper. The pH will help determine the proper dose.'

So, this makes me think that if a guinea pig has a pH of 9, then it would be wrong to give Polycitra - no?

I have absolutely no idea what I was reading before - apologies!

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Sun Jan 28, 2007 2:22 am


I read back on all the old threads about Polycitra. It looks as if it has an effect on calcium carbonate stones, none on struvite - but most importantly it does no harm even if it's not effective. Also that it doesn't change the pH of gp urine.

With that in mind I started Candy on it tonight. I gave her 0.15cc in 1.5ccs of water - she seemed to like it! I gave her a little piece of red pepper first so her stomach was full.

HollyT
Get on your bike.

Post   » Sun Jan 28, 2007 2:41 am


It would be harmful if the stones were struvite. Where did you read that it didn't change the PH of gp urine? Were there crystals in the urine?

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Becky

Post   » Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:42 am


It probably won't have much of an effect on the urine ph since their urine already is alkaline, however, UTI's, using antibiotics and other illnesses can lower urine ph, so for people that don't know their pig's ph, it actually could raise it.

Did you read the Mar Vista link? It gives a nice explanation of how polycitra introduces more citrates into the bladder. These bind with the calcium and help it be safely eliminated. That, more than raising the ph, is the theory behind using it for guinea pigs.

And yes, you wouldn't want to use it for struvite, but struvite crystals and stones are extremely uncommon in guinea pigs.

Holly, since there are lots of small stones in the bladder, it's probably safe to assume there are crystals as well.

HollyT
Get on your bike.

Post   » Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:46 am


Becky, so pigs stones can possibly shrink using polycitra (assuming it's carbonate) or is it just a preventative? God I hope this pig doesn't need surgery.

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Becky

Post   » Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:52 am


There's no evidence it will shrink stones once they've formed. What it hopefully will do is prevent existing stones from getting larger and new stones from forming.

I think it might be pretty effective with sludge. Certainly, with Chippy, her sludge problem never progressed to stones.

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