Should I worry? Lazy "rag doll" pig

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poppypiggy

Post   » Mon Oct 19, 2009 6:54 am


Thanks, Lynx! All my reading on GL has made me more more observant when it comes to the pigs behaviour, as I now know more what to look for, and more confident that my obersvations are important.

Pinta and Bugs Mom - thank you for clarifying that! I suppose you used tablets of Vetmedin? Bugs Mom - do you remember if the tablets you gave Lady Bug where the 1.25 mg or the 5 mg kind? I also wonder how much Fortekor she got at the same time.

By the way - I found a Wikipedia article about Pimobendan, and it says thet Fortekor and Pimobendan can be used together: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vetmedin

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Bugs Mom

Post   » Mon Oct 19, 2009 8:48 am


I used the 1.25mg tablets. At the end Lady Bug was on .6mg Benazapril twice a day which I had made up by my pharmacy, and her amounts of Lasix varied depending on her breathing.

Sorry, I'm not at all good with links but I made a thread called compounding Benazapril. It is my pharmacist's directions on what he did. Compounding pharmacies are too expensive. Lady Bug generally liked the mixture.

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Webs
Cavies 'n Cobwebs

Post   » Mon Oct 19, 2009 1:25 pm


Trick also has a pig, Rosie on Vetmedin / Fortekor / Frusemide combo.

The info is here on pages 9 and 10. Rosie is still doing well on it.

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poppypiggy

Post   » Tue Oct 20, 2009 4:26 pm


Thank you Bugs Mom and Webs! You are so helpful! I hadn't seen the discussion on Rosie's thread before, so it was very intresting to follow it.

I have passed on the information about Lady Bug's and Rosie's medications to my vet, and hopefully she will agree to put Poppy under the same regime. At the moment she (Poppy, not vet!) is not *quite* as active as I would like her to be, and a bit on the thin side, even though she is bright eyed and seems to eat well. I'll let you know how she is going when the Vetmedin kicks in.

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Bugs Mom

Post   » Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:47 pm


Fingers crossed here.

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poppypiggy

Post   » Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:47 am


Thank you, Bugs Mom!

Here is a much-needed update on Poppy:

Since October, we have been trying different doses of benazepril (Fortekor), pimobendan (Vetmedin) and furosemid (Furix), and have landed on 2.5 mg benazepril, 5.0 mg furosemid and 0.6 mg pimobendan in the morning, and 1.25 mg benazepril, 4.0 - 5.0 mg furosemid and 0.6 mg pimobendan in the evening.

These are higher doses than others have suggested on here, but it seems to keep Poppy going.

Lower doses seem to slow her down, and her weight jumps up, indicating her belly and chest is filling up again, I think. I might try to give her lower doses again in the summer, when she will get almost free access to fresh grass, though (after a period of gradual introduction, of course), and see how that works out. I strongly believe in the blessings of fresh, green food picked by the pigs themselves, if possible. ;-)

Poppy has not lost any more weight, though, and she feels a little bit “firmer” than before, but has not put on muscles either, as far as I can tell, unfortunately. She is also nearly deaf, and sleeps very deeply at times, and that has not changed much.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Mar 24, 2010 9:44 am


I am glad to hear you have worked out a combination that helps her.

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Bugs Mom

Post   » Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:53 pm


Good for you!! I hope Poppy continues to do well on her current doses.

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poppypiggy

Post   » Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:23 am


Thank you, Lynx and Bugs Mom! Unfortuately Poppy has been quieter than usual the past week, and her belly is large and "watery" again. I have a vet appointment for Mango next week (Thursday), and plan to bring Poppy along then.

I wonder if I should increase her Furosemide dose right away, though. I could ask the vet, but as I usually do the research and tell her what to prescibe, it is more useful to ask here.

I have been reading the medication page, and it says:

"Furosemide -- Lasix
SC, IM 1-4mg/kg q4-6h (diuretic for edema, pulmonary congestion, ascites [fluid])

SC, IM 5-10 mg/kg q12h
(above dosage rates James Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary)"

but I am not quite sure what the abbreviations mean - there used to be a list, but I can't find it. I suppose it means either 1-4 mg/kg every 4 to 6 hours, or 5-10 mg/kg every 12 hours. Is that right? But what is SC and IM?

On Rosie's thread (link provided above by Webs) Mum mentioned that it is possible to give a third dose in the middle of the day. Is this refering to a 5-10 mg/kg dose?

I also wonder if it is better to give 3 smaller doses 8 hours apart than 2 larger ones 12 hours apart.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:58 am


SC is subcutaneous (just under the skin), IM is intramuscular (in the muscle). Both are injections.

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poppypiggy

Post   » Fri Apr 09, 2010 10:50 am


Thank you, Bpatters!

Does anybody know if the dosing is different for orally administrated Furosemide?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Apr 09, 2010 11:45 am


My 4th edition Plumb's has:

Rabbits: For CHF: 2 - 5 mg/kg PO, SC, IM or IV q12h; For pulmonary edema: 1 - 4 mg/kg IV or IM q4-6h (Ivey and Morrisey 2000)

Guineapigs 5- 10 mg/kg q12h (Adamcak and Otten 2000)
[no route of administration given for gps]

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