Julius's Medical Thread

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iastate09
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Post   » Fri Mar 07, 2008 6:56 pm


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!

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iastate09
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Post   » Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:01 am


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)

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iastate09
Supporter in '15

Post   » Sat Mar 08, 2008 6:31 pm


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.

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Bugs Mom

Post   » Sat Mar 08, 2008 6:34 pm


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.

Tracis
Let Sleeping Pigs Lie

Post   » Sat Mar 08, 2008 6:46 pm


Hay is so good for him. I'm glad he is enjoying it!

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:16 pm


So glad he got the heart meds.

But I'm not sure, either, that they'll help the sneezing. Is he still on a/bs? (Was he ever - sorry, I haven't read back).

Did he get lotensin? What dosage is he getting?

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iastate09
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Post   » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:33 pm


He was on a/bs for close to 3 weeks (Baytril for 2 weeks, Bactrim one week - he tolerated neither of them very well) We took him off of the a/b's because we thought they were causing the GI upset.

I notice that the sneezing usually starts when he's playing with his brothers or eating. Otherwise he hardly sneezes at all. Could this be due to fluid around the lungs/heart?

He is on benazepril 1cc/day 1mg/2ml concentration. i also put him back in the lasix once a day, hopefully if all goes well he will be back on it 2x daily (right now he's getting 1cc per day of 50mg/60ml Lasix.)

Another question - he has fluctuated about a half ounce since yesterday, I handfed him 10 cc's of CC this morning.
He has been eating well all day - including pellets and hay and has been drinking. I'm still pretty sick, and handfeeding doesn't sound so fun right now. I will do it if i need to, but do you think since he's eating he will be ok until tomorrow?

His poos look much better tonight, hopefully this GI thing is getting figured out. He has also been more active today than he has been in a couple weeks.

Any thoughts?

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:14 am


Half an ounce is nothing to worry about in a full grown pig.

If he tolerates 1mg of the benazepril a day, try upping it to 1mg twice daily (per kg). At the moment you're giving him just 0.5mg once a day, which isn't anything like enough. You want him to have at least that once daily, and then go up to the other dose if he tolerates that.

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iastate09
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Post   » Sun Mar 09, 2008 12:41 pm


So far so good on Julius - He has eaten more in the last 24 hours than in a long time. Hopefully his weight will be up a little tonight at weigh in.

Mum, should i just double dose him myself and hope my vet doesn't notice, or should I ask him about it and hope he agrees?

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Sun Mar 09, 2008 12:50 pm


You should check with your vet.

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iastate09
Supporter in '15

Post   » Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:18 pm


That's what I thought. I'll see how he does with the single dose and then call my vet. Thanks!

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iastate09
Supporter in '15

Post   » Sun Mar 09, 2008 3:34 pm


Julius still seems to be doing a little better. He's spending some time in his pigloo again (I can almost hear him - "Momma, let me sleep and stop picking up my pigloo!) but is eating some hay and is still eating KM's pellets quite well.

He loves to chew on the cardboard base of the divider (needed the cardboard so little Mouse doesn't get his head stuck) Keeping paws and fingers crossed for at least a little weight gain at weigh in tonight!

ETA: Forgot to mention yesterday that all 3 boys got their second ivomec dose yesterday!

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