Actigall question

[Sef]

Several members seem to be having good results with Actigall for their stone-prone guinea pigs. Having had three guinea pigs myself who have had stones (two of which died as a direct result), I'm open to anything that may potentially help.

I do have a question though (and saw this same question asked on another thread, but there was no response) -- does anyone know anything about the potential risk of liver damage? I did some Googling on it during my lunch hour today...not too much information out there, but I did find a couple of references similar to this one on PetEducation.com:

Ursodiol is a bile acid used to treat certain liver and gallbladder diseases. It may also be used to help remove gallstones that contain cholesterol. Do not use ursodiol in rabbits, guinea pigs, or other animals with similar digestive systems. It could cause fatal liver disease. Contact your veterinarian if your pet develops diarrhea while being treated with ursodiol.

Reference to it on VINpartner:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Conten ... &A=549&S=1

Some of you who have been using it, have very knowledgeable vets and I'm sure they wouldn't recommend it if the benefits didn't outweigh the risks. Just curious if anybody has noticed side effects from it, or have been told that it can't be used long-term-?

[TwoWhitePiggies]

My vet said that she found this same information, but decided that she would go ahead and use it because others have had good results, and she had found a lot of examples of dosing for guinea pigs and other small animals.

I don't know if I feel good about using it long term, though.

[Tracis]

Not sure if you have read Pigginess' thread:

Valentine

You could write to her and ask if Valentine showed signs of liver damage.

[Pigginess]

Hi Sef, our thinking was the same as TWP's.

Valentine was in constant pain and bleeding from her stone. Surgery was not an option because of her age and congestive heart issues.

So the possible good outweighed the risks of liver issues.

[Stacy]

I asked this question as well in Little Bit's thread.

I am thinking about trying the Actigall if my vet will do it since Little Bit cannot have further surgeries. I need to give him a call and discuss it.