Chronic cystitis/blood in urine

Desert

Post   » Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:53 pm


My 2 1/2 year old female guinea pig, Patches, has been having bladder problems for over six months. She's been to three different vets and has been on rounds of vibramycin, baytril, and now trimethsulfa. She had a second set of x-rays done at the beginning of January and no stones were seen on the x-rays. The sulfa has alleviated her pain but I still hear her squealing once in a while when she passes fecal pellets. The vet is concerned because she still has blood in her urine and sent some urine off to be cultured. I've switched her pellets from Nutriphase to Cavy Cuisine and cut way back on high calcium foods in her diet, although the vet thought it was okay to give her things like kale since she doesn't have stones. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Is it safe for her to be on antibiotics for so long? (I am administering a dose of Benebac every day.)

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:56 pm


Bactrim is usually given for UTIs. How long has she been on this last dose for?

Some pigs suffer from interstitial cystitis, which you can read about here:

https://www.guinealynx.info/stones.html#shilintong

Josephine
Little Jo Wheek

Post   » Tue Jan 30, 2007 9:00 pm


Have any urine cultures been done to find the best antibiotic for the job?

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Tue Jan 30, 2007 9:03 pm


The vet is concerned because she still has blood in her urine and sent some urine off to be cultured.
Presumably they're waiting for the results.

Josephine
Little Jo Wheek

Post   » Tue Jan 30, 2007 9:11 pm


Gosh, I totally missed that due to the lack of paragraphs. Totally went past that one sentence, but read the rest!

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Tue Jan 30, 2007 9:11 pm


I did the same thing - I had to read it several times.

Desert

Post   » Sat Feb 03, 2007 7:34 pm


Yes, the vet did a urine culture on January 23rd. I'm still waiting to hear the results. Initially, it was thought that staphyllcoccus (sp?) was the culprit but the trimethsulfa doesn't seem to be knocking the problem out and that is why the vet recommended the urine culture.

Patches has been taking 0.7ml of trimethsulfa since January 3rd. Unfortunately, she has started squealing again while going to the bathroom, even though she is still taking the antibiotic.

I will ask about the Interstitial Cystitis. It looks like the treatment for that is the same diet as is recommended for stones. Can I just divide the sample diet for five pigs by five and get calculations for one pig? Where do you find greens like chard and escarole? I looked in the grocery store today and couldn't find these greens.

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm very worried about Patches. She has been through so much and I hate hearing her squealing in pain.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Feb 03, 2007 7:47 pm


I forget, is your pig on meloxicam? A pain medication can help quite a bit if it is interstitial cystitis.

Desert

Post   » Sun Feb 04, 2007 9:39 pm


I asked about pain medication at the beginning of January but the vet didn't think it was necessary unless the pain started affecting her appetite. I will ask about it again when I talk to the vet (hopefully this week) about the results of the urine culture.

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Becky

Post   » Sun Feb 04, 2007 10:14 pm


You might want to look here at Chippy's history.

I agree. Metacam/meloxicam is extremely important to control the inflammation. You might also talk to your vet about peroxicam.

And don't cut out the calicum. Just make sure the calcium and phosphorus are in the correct ratio. Cutting out/down on calcium can make matters worse.

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Becky

Post   » Sun Feb 04, 2007 10:17 pm


Oops! Double post!

Desert

Post   » Tue Feb 06, 2007 8:24 pm


Thanks for directing me to Chippy's story. Some of the symptoms described in that thread are very similar to what Patches has been experiencing. It was helpful to read about all of the different treatments that were tried. She, too, seems to have a chronic inflammation of the bladder that hasn't responded much to antibiotic treatment.

I will ask about the piroxicam. Patches has never been on any pain medicine and the poor little girl squeals loudly at times. The second vet I saw seemed uncomfortable with the idea of putting a guinea pig on a NSAID. I guess he just had limited knowledge of treatment options.

My vet called back about the urine culture results. If I understood her correctly, they were inconclusive. There was some strep bacteria but it wasn't responsive to the TMS. I'm scheduled to go see her again on Saturday and have another culture done and possibly another x-ray.

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