Baxter's med thread

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Talishan
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Post   » Sun Jan 31, 2010 8:47 pm


This rings a very, very vague, dim bell with me from somewhere, sometime. For whatever that might be worth (probably not much :-p).

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zazzified

Post   » Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:19 pm


Well, at least eyes are more similar to other animals than the rest of a guinea pig, medically.

I may have spoken too soon about progress. It looks pretty red and swollen/sticky-outey tonight. I don't know what to think at this point. If it was all just an injury causing this it shouldn't still be swollen enough to protrude, should it? I just don't know. The surface is looking better, though, I think. His eye makes me so sad to look at. :(

Talishan
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Post   » Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:21 pm


I'd call the opthamologist tomorrow morning and use those exact words to ask her about it.

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zazzified

Post   » Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:54 pm


Ok, thanks. If she thinks we need to take a look inside his head, would it be better to xray or ultrasound? I assume the ultrasound is significantly more expensive. Would an xray show an abscess/elongated roots well? My regular vet does a great job with xrays without anesthetic if that's a good option.

This is probably a stupid question, but is there a treatment for elongated roots? I don't know how likely it is that they are elongated, as his eating hasn't changed. The vet saw last time that his teeth are getting pointy and should be trimmed soon, but I'm not sure of the linkage between uneven wear and elongated roots. I'm assuming there is no treatment, but I want to check... I do hope that if that's the problem we still have some options.

My apologies if any of this is common knowledge. I'm doing many searches here and trying to put together information the best I can, but teeth issues continue to confuse me even after reviewing the main GL site and the forums. I'm trying to wrap my head around it so that I have some preliminary guesswork in the back of my mind while talking to the vets.

Talishan
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Post   » Sun Jan 31, 2010 10:05 pm


I'd x-ray first ... if needed. See what the opthamologist says first. This may in fact be normal for this kind of injury.

Dental x-rays IMO if needed. He may need to be lightly sedated; dental uses a smaller area and a more tightly collimated beam (??? I think ???) and they can't move even the tiniest bit or it will be unclear. Good dental/skull rads will show elongated roots quite clearly. They should also (I think) show an abscess.

Treatment options for elongated roots include regular planing, lots of abrasive foods like corn husks, and/or a Chin-Sling. Uneven wear, points, the need for planing, and elongated roots have kind of a web relationship in my mind. A pig can have uneven wear, malocclusion, points and need a trim or two and *not* have elongated roots. Elongated roots are a disorder of the dental roots themselves. The other stuff is primarily mechanical (i.e., the grinding action of the teeth is or hasn't been correct for some reason).

https://www.guinealynx.info/chinsling.html
https://www.guinealynx.info/elongated_roots.html

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zazzified

Post   » Sun Jan 31, 2010 10:19 pm


Thank you. I noticed that Pinta mentioned Willie's jaw hanging slack, which Baxter does not do. So... I guess there's that. Not that it proves anything. I'll definitely keep the information close at hand since it may come into play here.

I will call the opthamologist tomorrow and probably call my regular vet to update her as well. I guess on average Baxter's eye is somewhat better than it was (particularly on the surface), but it doesn't seem to be on a consistent path to healing at this point. It seems to look best mid-morning and worst in the evenings (after drops in both cases, so that's not it), unless I'm looking into it too much. I suppose it could be the meloxicam, since that's the only thing he only gets at one time of the day. Maybe it kicks in and helps reduce swelling so that it looks better by morning, and then by the evening when it has worn off and it's time for another dose it looks worse?

Talishan
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Post   » Sun Jan 31, 2010 10:44 pm


If I remember right, Pinta originally developed the Chin-Sling for a pig of hers that had a TMJ-like condition. Then she discovered that it incidentally helped greatly to treat elongated roots as well.

Healing may not be consistent. But if you're worried, update both your regular vet and specialist, and ask all the questions you need to to feel comfortable.

I've had better luck with splitting Metacam in half and administering it in two doses. Not all will agree, but that's been my experience.

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zazzified

Post   » Sun Jan 31, 2010 10:48 pm


Yeah, it's just making me nervous. I don't want to feel like I'm letting the problem go without attention if it's deeper than we realize. You're right, though - I need to ask away to ease some of the worrying and make sure his current status is what the opthamologist is expecting so far.

I tried splitting the dose like that in the past with Jeeves, and it helped him. I think I'm going to give it a try and see how that goes.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Feb 01, 2010 9:07 am


Ditto Talishan. Feel the jaw line for bumps. Look to see if one eye is bulging more than the other. Those could indicate elongation. From what I understand, if it is caught early it can be managed. If caught late, it may be too severe requiring very frequent planings, much hand feeding, and a very poor quality of life.

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zazzified

Post   » Mon Feb 01, 2010 9:30 am


One eye does bulge more than the other, but we were thinking this was just the swelling. It never bulged more than the other eye until it was suddenly inflammed and red and got the ulcer, though. They tested the pressure of his eye twice, several days apart, and both times it came back as normal. I was hoping that meant the chances of something inside pushing the eye were somewhat lower. I just felt his jaw all over and it feels symmetrical on both sides. Nothing sticks out to me as feeling "wrong".

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zazzified

Post   » Mon Feb 01, 2010 10:40 am


I took two new photographs of his eye as compared to the left eye:

Image

Image

Any comments/thoughts appreciated.

egustavson

Post   » Mon Feb 01, 2010 1:05 pm


The right eye does appear to be bulging more than the left. I don't think it just looks that way because of the the direction Baxter is facing in the picture. I am completely inexperienced with the symptoms Baxter has, but from what I have read, it seems that a dental x-ray may be in order to eliminate the possibility of elongated roots. The thing that doesn't make sense to me is why would he get an eye injury due to elongated roots? Maybe he couldn't see well enough out of the right eye so he got poked with something?

I hope my ruminations are helpful.

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