Henry - crusty eyes, lethargic

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somechick

Post   » Wed Oct 17, 2007 3:11 pm


I've not gone back to the Shilintong, since it didn't seem to do anything for her except make her angry. That stuff smells like bullion cubes grandma would use for gravy-making! Homeopathic doc thought it would help her but since I said it did not, that's when she gave me the magical bottles. I wish I knew if A) either of these things are working or if I'm making it all up, and B) if it's one or the other, the Bactrim or the homeopathic stuff. Curses!

I'm going to go back to see homeopathic doc next week for a follow up, but will probably drop it after that. I'd like to at least have another set of ears to hear Nug's current crying volume and length.

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Zoe

Post   » Wed Oct 17, 2007 3:12 pm


I thought it was cute how my huge girl Serena would run full speed around her cage a lot. Now I realized she does it more when she is in pain. She's has stone and sludge problems. She get's mighty irritable when she's not feeling good. But I don't know if this is the case with Henry or not. That's only my experience with Serena.

Definitely don't use sweetened cranberry juice.

I'm just catching up with this thread. Hang in there Henry!

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somechick

Post   » Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:11 am


I thought about the pain or panicking thing too, but she does seem to be in less pain now. And her condo-buddy Dudley zooms all the time making burble sounds and bopping. I do watch her to see if she's in distress and she doesn't seem to be. After a lap or two around the place she rests in her potty. She's also taking the critical care willingly. Sanford eats it right off the spoon and begs for more - Henry's not *that* good but it is less of a hassle.

Obviously I'll continue to monitor her and see where it goes. Less crying is better than loud and long wheeks every minute. Could it have been the E. Coli wreaking havoc? Does anyone think it's the Bactrim helping vs. the homeopathic stuff?

She's been on Bactrim a few times throughout this whole thing so I don't know why it wouldn't have helped ease the pain before.

User avatar
Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:25 am


Have you had a culture to ensure that the e.coli is gone?

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somechick

Post   » Fri Oct 19, 2007 11:49 am


The culture was done on the bladder, it's not showing up in the urine. So we're thinking we're not going to be able to tell if the E. Coli is ever gone; it would mean another incision. Yeah, sigh.

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somechick

Post   » Mon Oct 22, 2007 7:31 pm


So I think I've given up on the homeopathic vet. Tonight was the follow up visit. Not sure why I even went. We get there and she mentions acupuncture. Look, I don't know, I just don't buy the whole acupuncture thing. I don't think that it's going to fix the problem. But I humor her. Do you think for one second Henry is going to let her do this? No. Henry was all over the place, not cooperative and wriggling like nuts. I think she got, like, one teensy needle in. And it was over.

Then she goes on about supplements and prints out a list of Oxbow products and talks about Critterberries. I sigh and pay and leave.

Henry was crying more today. But she's been really good the past two weeks. I'm going to start monitoring what she eats when she cries. I've tried different veggies here and there but I'm going to start with just lettuce, and add one thing a week maybe, see what triggers it. Or maybe she's just having an off day. She's still on the Bactrim.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Mon Oct 22, 2007 8:03 pm


Ugh. Reminds me of an episode of Seinfeld where George and Jerry go to a holistic dude who asks Geoge if he eats dairy, and makes one or the other of them sit under a pyramid hat.

I think you're better off doing a food diary, like you said. Took me a while to notice that romaine was making Zachary bleed every single time I fed it. That, and apple.

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somechick

Post   » Mon Oct 29, 2007 7:54 pm


I think I'm at the point where I don't know when to be satisfied. Henry has gained a few ounces. Her all time low was 1.12, today she's hovering around 1.15 / 2 pounds. I tend to think this is wonderful news. But then begin to panic that she's got poop back-up or something else is going on. She is pooping, and eating. I haven't fed her critical care in 2 days, but am weighing her 2 times a day. I know I'm going nuts, but this is a good thing right?

Her crying is still there, but it's softer. She got worse with cilantro, so we've taken that out for now. She seems okay with peppers, carrots, and tomato (along with lettuces of course).

Tracis
Let Sleeping Pigs Lie

Post   » Mon Oct 29, 2007 9:29 pm


I'm so glad Henry gained a little weight.

"But then begin to panic that she's got poop back-up or something else is going on."

It must be so hard to relax, after you've been through so much with her. I'm sending optimistically good thoughts your way!

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:52 pm


Maybe you're like me, and you're just burned out. It's incredibly stressful always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Hard to appreciate the small victories when it seems there is always some new crisis waiting just around the corner.

As I type this, I have a sick hamster, Toby going to the vet on Thursday for unexplained weight loss, and Zachary gassy and passing tiny poops for no apparent reason. And I'm supposed to take a urine sample from Bassy to the vet this week, too, but am almost afraid to. Sometimes I think breeding pandas in captivity would be easier than trying to keep all 6 of these guys healthy at the same time.

As tracis said, you've been through so much to H-nug. It's natural to be cautiously optimistic about any improvement. Here's hoping the weight gain is just the beginning of more good things to come for you both. :)

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Tue Oct 30, 2007 4:42 pm


"Sometimes I think breeding pandas in captivity would be easier than trying to keep all 6 of these guys healthy at the same time."

*sprlft* LOL. How many of us can relate to that!!

This has happened with some of ours. My advice is just ... breathe. Don't feel good, or bad. Don't feel optimistic, or pessimistic. Just ... accept the improvement, and watch H-nug ... for continued improvement, for anything going downhill. Just accept it, and process it, for what it is. An improvement, and some stability. We like stability in our house. :-)

pinta

Post   » Mon Nov 05, 2007 5:10 pm


I have had acupuncture done on the skinnies to help with their roached backs. The only difficulty was holding the pigs ion one position long enough for the needles to do what they were supposed to do. What was very useful was that the acupuncture points were the same points for lasering. We took pics of the pigs needled and the vet drew marking points on their backs(easy with skinnies) which we photographed and then gave the pics to their physio therapist who adjusted her lasering to the acupuncture points.

The roached backs really improved. So it wasn't so much the needles but stimulating the right spot.

Good thing too because it was much easier for me to get access to lasering than acupuncture and acupuncture required more frequent sessions. Pigs preferred it too.

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