Julius's Medical Thread

[Mum]

That's such a tiny amount of lasix it couldn't have been the culprit either.

[iastate09]

I agree. I think it was the a/b's - he is possibly intolerant to Baytril and when we switched him off it, his gut flora never got time to replenish. He's now getting poop soup 2-3 hours after his Bactrim and has seemed to be doing well, except he has only pooped 2-3 poops over night the last 2 nights.

Maybe he's eating them?

He pooped all day and evening yesterday, and we'll see about today.

[iastate09]

I came home at 11:30 am today, and Julius had only pooped 3 poos since I left at 9:30. I called my vet, and she told me to discontinue the antibiotic since he has been on it a week, and said that the a/b could be messing with his gut.

Anyone have any ideas how long this morning's dose of a/b will take to get out of his system? He got healthy pig poop as a proibotic last night and today both. If it is the a/b, when should I start seeing improvement?

[iastate09]

Update : from 11:30 until 1:30 - two more poos
from 2 - 6, two more poos.

The vet said if i wanted him seen tomorrow, to call in the morning, although I don't really know what she's going to do. Things are obviously passing, just at an incredibly slow rate! I discontinued his a/b after this morning's dose.

Should I call her tomorrow and get him in, or watch him over the weekend? He is still eating and drinking and maintaining weight. He is also STILL sneezing.

I'm sick now too, I'm so tired of this!! :(

[Tracis]

Oh, I'm sorry that you are not feeling well. I hope you and Julius start getting better, and soon!

From my own observations: when I had to switch antibiotics for Ginny, she improved about 12 hours later. Sometimes, though, it can be as long as 2 - 3 days.

[iastate09]

Alright, I will keep watching him. The good thing is, that even though it is expensive, my vet clinic is 24/7, and will dole out advice fairly readily. So at least I am never without a vet on the weekends.

Julius has only been off of the a/b for about 12 hours. He is stilll eating and drinking, and pooing some at least. I would much rather be sick than to have him sick!

Thanks, tracis and everybody else, you guys are keeping me sane right now. At least there are some people that don't think I'm crazy for not giving up!

[iastate09]

I'm going to call my vet in the morning. Is it safe to put him on Reglan without him being seen? I feel bad that he's been there twice this week already :(

Moreover do you think Reglan would help his situation? He seems to eat alright when he's pooping. He eats all the time, but better when the poo is coming.

Grrrr 101 degree fever.

Breaking news: Julius just pooed 5 poos, or at least 5 pellets. They are normal shaped, but some of them are stuck together. Could this be an impaction problem?
I feel better that he's at least pooping, but something's still not right.

[Mum]

Grrrr 101 degree fever.

This is normal. See:

http://www.guinealynx.info/norms.html

[Lynx]

See gl/impaction.html for tips on taking a look at what is going on and cleaning him. More likely something else though.

[iastate09]

When I woke up this morning, Julius had been pooping all night - some were perfect little pellets, and some were smaller than normal. Other than that, he's pretty much the same - I'm keeping a very close eye on him!

Mum- thanks for the link - it's me with the fever tho! (I should have clarified) :)

[Mum]

it's me with the fever tho! (I should have clarified) :)

Oh dear - hope you feel better!

[Tracis]

Julius was a very thoughtful boy to leave you a pile of presents this morning!

I hope both of you get lots of rest today.

[iastate09]

Julius is still pooing, but some are still odd shaped and small. Here's my plan for the weekend/today, tell me if this sounds reasonable.

-Watch him very closely, if he quits eating or drinking start handfeeding CC.
-I'm not planning on taking him to the vet today, I'm going to give him another day or two to get rid of all the a/b's and see if he feels better.

He still looks like he doesn't feel 100%, but the poor guys has been through alot. He hasn't lost any weight. I keep telling him he would feel better if he would stop eating his fleece!

[iastate09]

I called Dr. Jacobson (the vet that put him on heart meds) and asked him what he thought of Julius's condition.
This is what he suggested:

-Put Julius back on his heart meds, maybe try halving the lasix dose on the in case that contributed to his Gi troubles (although he doesn't think it did). He said he is most likely sneezing and wheezing again because of the discontinuation of the heart meds.

-Watch him/his poos close - he thinks the ab's caused the GI upset, and said it can take a coupe of days for everything to get back to normal with his eating and poos.

Any suggestions/thoughts?

[Tracis]

I think your plan for his GI tract is a good one.

Someone with more experience will be able to comment on your Lasix question. :)

[Bugs Mom]

Lasix does not cause GI upset that I've ever noticed. My Lady Bug is on it as well as Lotinsen and Vetemedin. No GI problems at all.

Check with Mum if she has not already given you good Lasix doses and good luck!

[iastate09]

We still have poo, but it's still all small and stuck together. He's eating pretty well - he tipped over his pellet dish for the first time in a couple weeks (my boys like to eat them off the ground...strange i know!) He seems to be acting about the same - at least he's not sitting in his pigloo as much.

I gave him a toilet paper tub to chew on/eat so he could stop ingesting fleece ( i think it seems like a safer option ) and he's going to town on it.

Thanks for the thoughts, they're theyre always a welcome sight!

[iastate09]

Julius went back on his heart meds today!

His poos this morning were normal shaped - a little shorter lengthwise than normal, but i'll take it. They also are lighter in color than normal - I had to switch their hay, I ran out of Oxbow and all the stores that sell it here were closed or out of it (i'm a bad piggie mama).
They are eating Kaytee (ack!) Timothy hay right now, and have been since Thursday night. I have my 1st bale of KM's in route to me right now. My parents are driving an hour one way to bring the boys their hay and pellets - They are slaves to my piggies too!

He lost a half ounce from the 5th to the 7th, and if he loses any more we will be back on critical care.

Is it a good sign that his poos are more normal? Could we be on the road to recovery? (Oh, he was eating his brothers poos yesterday too)

[iastate09]

This is probably too early for high - fives, but after the last couple wheeks (hahahaha) I need to see some good stuff on here!!

Julius got his heart meds today (as a side note).

I got my KM's hay today, and the boys are totally in love with it. I have seen Julius eat more today than in the last week or two - he has his head in the pellet dish right now. He has been pooing fairly normal poos all day, and drinking well.

He is still sneezing, but hopefully the heart meds will cure that.
I fed him about 10 cc's of CC this morning, and may do another 10 before bed, depending on what he weighs in at.

Should I be doing anything else?

We're not out of the woods yet, but today was actually kind of encouraging, so I thought I would share.

[Bugs Mom]

It sure sounds like good news. I'm not sure how much the heart meds will help with sneezing but they will certainly help in other areas. Just watch him closely.