For the love of Pete! Ozzy's med thread
- Mum
- I GAVE, dammit!
It can be tricky to get the hang of it, but with practice you will!
Make sure the needle stays the right way up (this is easier with a butterfly set), otherwise you can't push the fluids in properly. I usually put pigs in a cuddle cup so they don't have anywhere to run. You can put the cuddle cup between your knees so the pig can't turn around as you're sticking them. And put a treat - lettuce or carrots - at the face end of the cup, so the pig will be distracted for the initial stick.
Make sure your fluids are baby-bottle warm.
Make sure the needle stays the right way up (this is easier with a butterfly set), otherwise you can't push the fluids in properly. I usually put pigs in a cuddle cup so they don't have anywhere to run. You can put the cuddle cup between your knees so the pig can't turn around as you're sticking them. And put a treat - lettuce or carrots - at the face end of the cup, so the pig will be distracted for the initial stick.
Make sure your fluids are baby-bottle warm.
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- 4 the Good of all Pigs
Dr. A called tonight and has agreed to put Oz on a trial of Actigall! I love that she is open minded. She read the link I sent her and further researched the drug on several vet and med sites. I will pick up the pills tomorrow and start him on it tomorrow evening.
As far as the subcues-I have not mustered the courage to revisit that torture, but when I do I will be sure to warm the fluids. And rethink the way I hold him. I had him in a cuddle cup but I think I will have to get on the floor and wedge him somehow between my legs.
As far as the subcues-I have not mustered the courage to revisit that torture, but when I do I will be sure to warm the fluids. And rethink the way I hold him. I had him in a cuddle cup but I think I will have to get on the floor and wedge him somehow between my legs.
Love, love, love Dr. A! Hope Ozzy responds to the meds and that you become more comfortable with the subcues.
- mkkayla
- Supporter in '14
I've been giving SQ's to Bonnie for about 6 weeks now. I still dread them. She still hates them and, yes ,sometimes she bleeds... a lot, but sometimes not at all. Sometimes she tolerates them better than others. I do not know what the difference is. Site? Perhaps, but I can't always pick my site. She squirms so when she knows it is coming-and she knows when I tent her skin IT IS coming-that I am pretty much blind sticking now-wherever the needle goes in, it goes in.and it is not always were I tented. I am often sticking a moving target as she scurries off my lap despite my best attempt to keep her still.
This morning it took 3 sticks, the first one must have went through because when I drew back to check placement I got air. Pulled out and stuck again, this time it didn't go in far enough and my attempts to push it in further didn't work. Third time was the charm. And it was in a good place which means she didn't scream and buck and spasm and the fluid went in relatively easy and no blood after. Bad start but good finish.
I have gone to every other day SQ fluid, she was getting it twice a day for two weeks, then once a day for a week, now for the past three weeks I've gone to every other day. She still gets stuck nightly for her SQ gentamycin-which she hates even worse than the fluids. Her skin was really friable and she bled after each stick. Now she only bleeds occassionally. It does take practice but I think the SQ's are worth it in the long run. Or at least I hope so. Good luck.
This morning it took 3 sticks, the first one must have went through because when I drew back to check placement I got air. Pulled out and stuck again, this time it didn't go in far enough and my attempts to push it in further didn't work. Third time was the charm. And it was in a good place which means she didn't scream and buck and spasm and the fluid went in relatively easy and no blood after. Bad start but good finish.
I have gone to every other day SQ fluid, she was getting it twice a day for two weeks, then once a day for a week, now for the past three weeks I've gone to every other day. She still gets stuck nightly for her SQ gentamycin-which she hates even worse than the fluids. Her skin was really friable and she bled after each stick. Now she only bleeds occassionally. It does take practice but I think the SQ's are worth it in the long run. Or at least I hope so. Good luck.
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- 4 the Good of all Pigs
mkkayla, it's good to know after so much time it is not getting easier for you! ;) Seriously, it makes me feel like maybe I'm not such a failure. Do you do this by yourself or is someone helping?
Sometimes I feel like I could do it better by myself. Terry's hands are so big, they get in the way and for as manly as he is, he seems to not like the sticking part either.
Sometimes I feel like I could do it better by myself. Terry's hands are so big, they get in the way and for as manly as he is, he seems to not like the sticking part either.
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- 4 the Good of all Pigs
So now I have to deal with his weight loss. He's a petite guy (mostly hair) and at his heaviest back in November '07 he weighed 1208 gm.
Today he is 914. It's been a very slow, steady decline. The biggest drop came in December when he had surgery.
He got back up to 1082 in January. He's eating hay, veggies, some pellets and drinking water.
Should I actively start pushing Critical Care? How much?
Today he is 914. It's been a very slow, steady decline. The biggest drop came in December when he had surgery.
He got back up to 1082 in January. He's eating hay, veggies, some pellets and drinking water.
Should I actively start pushing Critical Care? How much?
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- 4 the Good of all Pigs
Does Critical Care make their poos soft? I hand fed him some yesterday. I think he got about 10 cc's down. I gave him a syringe full of water in between each syringe of CC so I lost count!
I don't know what I should be more worried about, the soft globby poos or the way it was before with teeny tiny poos.
I don't know what I should be more worried about, the soft globby poos or the way it was before with teeny tiny poos.