weight loss in older piggy

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Talishan
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Post   » Thu May 08, 2008 6:44 pm


"How is cancer diagnosed? Do tumors show up on X-rays or ultrasound?"

As I understand it, not generally. Abnormal parameters in bloodwork will most commonly give a place to start, in the absence of a palpable lump. As I understand it.

Has her heart been checked?

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Tracy

Post   » Sat May 17, 2008 11:56 am


Posting an update...

I've increased the Critcal Care supplements this past week. I can't give Inca too much at once; somehow she gets "backed up" (no stool for hours) and needs Reglan to keep things moving. But smaller amounts seem okay: maybe 20cc every few hours, with 4-5 "sessions" per day (in addition to regular hay/pellets/veggies). She loves Critical Care, yet seems hungry all the time no matter what I do.

Her weight is around 680 right now, slightly up from her low of 650. What's somewhat alarming is that if I don't feed her every few hours, she becomes so small and slim. Is there any condition where the body just can't absorb the food it's given? It's almost like it just moves right through her (though her poop is quite normal). And she eats almost every poop that comes out, I guess needing the nutrition. I'm still at a loss with this.

Talishan, every time Inca has had an Xray I've asked the vet whether her heart looks enlarged, and it never has. I also don't think Inca shows signs of heart trouble, like respiratory problems. And I don't think my vet would prescribe heart meds as a trial; she'd want to do an echocardiogram first, which my animal hospital can provide.

What's the verdict about avocadoes? I didn't find many threads on GL. Most say they're a no-no based on fat content, but also sounds like they may be toxic? A quick search online shows avocado is toxic for horses and birds, and perhaps dogs. I don't think I'd risk it with Inca, but figured I'd ask whether anyone has fed avocado to piggies without problems.

Any other ideas for us???

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Sat May 17, 2008 12:27 pm


20ccs at a time is enough for a small pig. And, yes, you need to try and feed her every few hours, as you've been doing.

I've never given avocado to a pig. It's almost impossible to fatten a pig up in this condition - all you can really do is hope to maintain.

I was convinced Llewelyn had cancer. He started gradually losing weight over a 2-year period and everything checked out fine - blood, teeth, xrays. My only indication that it might not be cancer that he never showed signs of pain. It wasn't until the end it became apparent he was in heart failure - and necropsy showed a severely damaged heart that wasn't visible on xray. He was on lotensin at the time (he did have a heart murmur), but he needed large amounts of lasix at the end.

If your pig is this thin I would suggest to your vet that you have little to lose by trying heart meds.

Talishan
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Post   » Sat May 17, 2008 6:21 pm


"Is there any condition where the body just can't absorb the food it's given?"

Yes. Our old vet looked into this for one of ours who had a host of problems, otherwise unexplained weight loss being one of them.

It's fairly uncommon, but does exist.

Bonita turned out to be a heart pig. She was our first and (so far) most dramatic. She was, quite literally, a different pig within hours of her first dose of benazepril.

I would second Mum's suggestion. I think statistically heart disorders will be far more common than nutrient uptake disorders.

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Tracy

Post   » Sat May 17, 2008 7:07 pm


Thanks, Talishan and Mum.

There was a time I thought MAYBE Inca had a heart problem, because she was gassy and distended for years without explanation from the vet (we did lots of tests) nor successful treatment from me (diet changes). I read that gas can be a sign of heart problems (inhaling lots of air due to breathing problems), yet Inca has never had respiratory problems. Then somehow Inca's gas resolved (after a near-death bloat incident), and she was normal size/shape for a while before this downward trend of weight loss began.

I will discuss a trial of heart meds with my vet, and if she's hesitant (despite our being out of ideas), I suppose we can go for an echo instead of the ultrasound I was considering.

In the meantime, please keep the ideas coming!

EllieMom

Post   » Sat May 17, 2008 8:17 pm


Has she had a urine glucose and/or blood glucose tests? Doodle's urine glucose was very high, but her blood glucose was not elevated at all. There was some suggestion that this could be related to adrenal issues or to hyperthyroidism, which could also explain the weight loss. I specifically asked about Cushings, but the doctor said that they would see an elevated blood glucose.

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Tracy

Post   » Sat May 17, 2008 8:30 pm


Inca's had both her blood and urine checked, and only finding was slightly elevated protein, I believe. Now, if we were to re-test, her glucose might be high because I've been feeding her differently to try to plump her (including baby food, fruit, oatmeal, treats). We also did a thyroid test, which came back "within range," though we're talking about repeating that because my vet says it sounds like "textbook hyperthyroidism."

Talishan
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Post   » Sat May 17, 2008 9:32 pm


The last T4 I had done I was given the same "within range" answer. Then our vet point-blank said there aren't very many norms out there and if I wanted to be sure, to bring two or three other pigs to them that I knew were healthy, have blood taken and the test run, and make our own norms.

Might the vet consider a very careful trial of Tapazole (methimazole)? We did that with one of ours, who turned out not to be hyperthyroid, but it did not seem to harm her.

What does her coat look like? Hyperthyroid pigs often have gorgeous, full, thick coats.

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Tracy

Post   » Sun May 18, 2008 7:55 am


Talishan, is your hyperthyroid pig the same one with heart problems? Based on your earlier post, I read the thread about Bonita-asthma-heart, which was helpful.

I asked my vet about thyroid norms when we first tested Inca, and she provided them from a textbook (forgot which one); they are posted in the T-4 sticky.

She also does not recommend tapazole without a diagnosis of hyperthyroid because "we don’t want to inhibit the production of thyroid hormone if she is at a normal level." She went on to say that tapazole (methimazole) is not totally benign -- "it has other systemic effects (e.g., bone marrow suppression)."

Inca has always had a shiney, healthy coat (except during hair loss from ovarian cysts), but I wouldn't necessarily say "full" (as in extra plush?). Her coat is actually not as nice as previous years (maybe thinning out a bit), which I attributed to age.

We'll probably re-test for thyroid first, and then do an echo to check Inca's heart (unless my vet is willing to try heart meds without echo).

Thanks. And if anyone has had sucess with weight gain, please send along your tips.

Talishan
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Post   » Sun May 18, 2008 5:56 pm


"I read the thread about Bonita-asthma-heart,"

Yes, that was her. She also had a number of other problems, including salivary glands in the wrong place, and a pedunculated mass from her anal area. We were at a loss to try to help her, hence the Tapazole trial. In the absence of desperation, I'd agree with your vet.

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Tracy

Post   » Sun May 18, 2008 9:10 pm


Too bad Bonita had so many weird things going on. But sounds (from that thread) like the heart meds helped, or do you think it was both heart meds and the tapazole? I doubt I'll try both for Inca -- probably one or the other to see if she improves. But yes, I think we are approaching "desperate" soon since diagnostics have not revealed the problem, and I'm struggling to manage her weight loss. Thanks

Talishan
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Post   » Sun May 18, 2008 9:49 pm


1. Heart med
2. She had a true COPD-like disorder and also took Ventipulmin

The Tapazole trial did nothing. Didn't hurt her but didn't help her. We discontinued it after a week or so, maybe a little more.

The biggest help to her, although it didn't help her weight as much as it did her behavior, was benazepril.

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