Request for ARTHRITIS treatment protocols

Post Reply
Lovemycav

Post   » Tue Jul 19, 2011 9:55 am


My guinea pig Brownie is male, about 7 years old. Yesterday he was having trouble walking on his right hind leg. Took him to the vet. He got x-rays that show severe arthritis. (His rear right leg was broken many years ago when he had a different owner.) Yesterday he was eating/drinking fine. Gave him 7 units of metacam yesterday and upped his vitamin c. He isn't eating as well today. I know he is getting on in years, but hope he will bounce back. He is such a sweetie and I hate to see him having trouble getting around and obviously not feeling very well.

Agb

Post   » Tue Jul 19, 2011 3:38 pm


Piggie is 7 and vet has confirmed arithritis. Here is what I have found works for us:

- a little exercise every day. Not much, but enough to make him get up and move around at least twice a day.

- a bath in the bathtub one a week. About 2 - 2.5 inches of warm water. It helps him to walk around in the bathtub, and he needs it to keep clean from sitting in pee.

- Vet recommended Dasaquin, for cats. He won't take it in food (as it is fish-flavored), but he does take it mixed with Critical Care, in a syringe and given orally. It is glucosamine and does help, if given every day.

- Vet also gave a perscription for Gabapentin, orally. I have only given this to him once, so I don't know how good it is or if it helps.

- No weight loss and appitite seems good.

- Hope this is helpful to others with senior piggies.

User avatar
pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Wed Jul 20, 2011 1:58 am


Gabapentin? That's strange, as it's meant for neurological issues. I have taken it myself and ... well ... only once, because I had the most awful side-effects. It also made me hallucinate, but not in a fun way. I thought a man was sitting on top of my cabinets at night, although I knew that was rubbish. I can laugh with it now, but it was scary!

User avatar
Tracy

Post   » Wed Jul 20, 2011 2:30 pm


Has anyone tried this for arthritis? http://bunspace.3dcartstores.com/Myrist ... _p_59.html

My Winnie is now 8 yrs + 7 months old and lately has been really wobbley, leaning, back legs giving out, not wanting to walk much. She's on daily metacam but I don't know that it's helping (and am nervous to increase dose, which may affect kidneys). Haven't tried cosequin but just asked my vet about it. Sounds like it takes a while before helping, and not sure we have a while to wait and see! Not ready to euthanize her, but this week she's been struggling for sure.

Agb

Post   » Fri Jul 22, 2011 1:02 pm


Did not continue the gabapentin after trying it once. It did not help and piggie seemed more uncomfortable than before. Also did not like what I read about side-effects, although it is given to dogs, cats and other animals. Still doing the Dasequin (for cats) and that seems to help. Also have Metacam, but have not given it yet either.

User avatar
GuineaPigGoddess

Post   » Fri Jul 22, 2011 1:21 pm


1 - Precious, American, 4.5 years, female
2 - She had started walking strangely with her back legs, they looked kinda bow legged, also stopped being so active/using ramps in her cage.
3 - Xray showed arthritis in her hips and knees.
4 - Metcam every 2 - 3 days (we can bump up to daily, but started off slow since the arthritis is not too bad)
5 - First day on dosage, no progress yet.
6 - None.

8ball

Post   » Tue Aug 09, 2011 3:17 pm


1 - breed, age and sex of pig
Himi/sheltie cross. Male, roughly 6 years old. I can only estimate his age as he was a rescue.

2 - brief description of signs leading you to suspect arthritis
Slight bunny hopping at playtime and damp hair around the groin area (possibly not moving whilst urinating and/or not grooming properly).

3 - diagnostics done and the results
Vet examined his hips - they almost locked when she extended his hind legs.

4 - treatment, med and dosage
We're starting with 0.3ml metacam daily and will consider Rimadyl in the near future.

5 - results of treatment
Not started treatment yet, only just got him home and did a search here for cartrophen (aka Rimadyl).

6 - other med issues
Impaction and interstitial cystitis.

User avatar
gvstate01

Post   » Tue Aug 09, 2011 4:38 pm


1 - Custard, Abyruvian, 4 year old spayed female
2 - She was hopping on back legs but didn't show any other signs
3 - xray showed hips have severe arthritis
4 - Medacam, .1 BID, but upped to .35 BID because of other issues (below)
5 - Seems happier and running around a lot more! She actually has less sludge in her bladder now since she's more active!
6 - Arthritis was most likely caused by severe lack of vitamin C (she was a rescue). She also has pretty bad elongated roots that cause the worst drooling I've ever seen. She has no fur left on her feet and her ears are covered in crusty greens. She started at .1 medacam BID but I continued to increase until the drooling got better at .35 BID.

She also has CL but has only had one abscess from it under the chin. She is also a lumpy pig and has a lot of lumps that have been confirmed as lipomas. They're not bugging her so we leave them alone.

Image

User avatar
gvstate01

Post   » Tue Aug 09, 2011 4:52 pm


1 - Ginger, Abyruvian, 4 year old spayed female (Custard's sister)
2 - Didn't move around a lot, didn't like being picked up. Sister's diagnosis lead us to get an xray
3 - Had xrays done and has severe arthritis on hips as well as mid spine
4 - Started on .1 medacam BID, moved up to .35 BID (see below)
5 - Doing very, very well. She's large, 1320g, but is now moving around a lot!
6 - Has elongated roots just like her sister but not as bad (the reason for a higher medacam dose). Had 2 golf ball sized cysts on ovaries and a cancerous lump (but didn't spread). She also had a bladder stone almost pass a couple weeks ago (1/4 inch from being out). Vet was able to pull out and took 1.2ml vibramycin BID for 2 weeks.

Image

User avatar
gvstate01

Post   » Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:05 pm


Tracy, when medacam didn't do it for one of my pigs in pain with cancer, we gave him topical buprenorphine. It was $30 for a month supply. Not sure if it'll work for arthritis, but it's a hell of a painkiller :)

User avatar
Tracy

Post   » Mon Aug 22, 2011 11:27 am


Thanks for responding, gvstate01. We ended up trying an adequan injection, which I believe is liquid (faster acting) cosequin. Since Winnie's problems could have been cancer-related rather than (or in addition to) arthritis, she was also given steroids as a last effort; my vet and the technicians said that really perks up ferrets with cancer. But in the end, Winnie's mobility (lack thereof) resulted in poor quality of life, so I opted for euthanasia on 7/29/11. We're thinking maybe her cancer had spread to her bones at that point, resulting in very weak back legs that couldn't support her body anymore. There's a whole thread about Winnie's cancer (started as mammary lumps at age 6) -- here I was just grasping re: arthritis treatments.

lau

Post   » Thu Sep 05, 2013 4:40 pm


1 - Nanni, abyssian, 6 years old, spayed female

2 - difficulty in jumping

3 - we made x-ray and there was a stone that was expelled the same day, no other stones were formed

4 - metacam 0.1 ml for 3-4 days when she is in pain
http://www.pernaton-uk.com/PernatonCapsules.aspx (half capsule/ day)
arnica comp heel (half capsule every 12 hours)

5 - homeopathy and movement are helping a lot
Now she holds the legs more relaxed than before
here an old photo
Image

6 - only ovarian cysts when she was 2 years old

Post Reply