Pigjes' Pigs Piggadice part Pee ... oops, Three!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Feb 06, 2016 8:44 am


You are so observant! I'm glad you noticed this. Another example of how weighing can help catch things (it showed you that something was definitely going on).

I hope you can get this sorted out (heart/uri/teeth/etc.).

C Cole-Chakotay

Post   » Sat Feb 06, 2016 9:48 am


Pigjes, you are an excellent cavy slave! I don't believe I would have caught the issues you did, even though I usually have my girls out a couple of times for lap time and check over.

I hope Yuyu gets feeling better soon. It sounds like she's headed in the right direction.

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snowflakey
E's Moriarity

Post   » Sat Feb 06, 2016 10:03 am


Wow, awesome job figuring out the problem and for having medicine to begin treatment right away! Poor girl! I hope she recovers quickly.

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Sat Feb 06, 2016 2:13 pm


The Baytril like stuff killed her appetite, but I always have Cisapride (local brand Cisaral) at home to spruce that back up. Force feeding her meanwhile, although she has a minor interest in vegs.

Fed her some of my homemade mix of low calcium vegs and pellets, added green oats, mixed it as small as possible with a mixer, watered it with low calcium water. This as an in between of some Critical Care with vitamin C. She was eager to have some and I already felt that her chewing improved a lot compared to yesterday, as this stuff is a lot harder to chew than Critical Care. Green oats maybe not as fibrous as hay, but it's a great way to offer fiber to a pig who can't chew well, as they love it.

No more sneezes, coughs, no breathing noises 24 hours down the road. She's not lethargic at all. She's still happy. She is back to running away when she needs to be grabbed. Wew! She's not too happy with all the yucky meds, but already linked them to feeling better, so she is not resenting offering them at all anymore.

It brought back sad memories of the pigs I lost due to heart issues, if the vets I had at the time would only have listened. Now, after years of learning stuff, being prepared, I am doing all I can to save her. I am ill, so it drains me terribly, but seeing her improving is so rewarding.

Thanks everyone!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Feb 06, 2016 4:27 pm


I am so sorry to hear you are ill. Is this an additional illness?

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Sun Feb 07, 2016 3:19 am


Just a consequence of an allergy to medication, which took 14 days each, as the meds stay that long in the human body. Had to try it 4 times to find a clinic to believe me, so that 4 times of me almost croaking. Finally found a clinic who believes me, and will help me. The fact that the allergy is written on the prescription drug accompanied paper, was not sufficient enough to make them believe, sigh, "because I was the first to complain in over 40 years". Yeah, right.

So, now I am without meds till the final tests are done in 14 days, to give me the human version of the synthetic ones, which do not cause an allergy. I have yet another rare autoimmune problem, will get confirmation in 3 weeks. Hippocratic oath? Hypocrite oath for most specialist here, I'm afraid.

I always keep saying: it took 39 years to get diagnosed with a rare type of MS, but when a new rare prob arises, the same insults and disbelief starts all over again. As long as it's an obvious well known medical issue, you are helped fast. If they have no direct answer, the easiest is to blame the sick person.

Yet, I refuse to give in. I shrug the insults off once more and go and see the next specialist, till I get help. Second opinion? Times 100, I am not going down without a fight. So far, they do not want me upstairs or downstairs anyway, so it seems ;)

Combined with that, I have issues with sedating my teeth, so they can't be fixed anymore. Should let them all be removed under general anesthesia, which is also a risk, due to possible other genetic inherited issues. So, I am currently enjoying 1 bare nerve in my mouth, 2 other hurting teeth, no pain meds as I can't take those either. The one dentist who is trying to help, as I also visited 2 clinics since, says to just try and bare the pain, as it wears down after a while. She is right, but it wears me down.

That, plus the chronic pain issues due to MS, it's real fun, but I am still my optimistic annoying self, rofl.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Feb 07, 2016 8:10 am


That is discouraging! Being in pain and not able to do much about it is the worst. I do recall as a child my dentist uncle experimenting with hypnosis for some of his work. I never thought it worked very well. Pain is pain.

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Mon Feb 08, 2016 1:27 am


Tried hypnosis, they said I was one of the few whom is not susceptible, lol.

Yuyu is feeling much better, but can't eat on her own, except a tiny tiny piece. I'm afraid that her teeth are probably too long. Have to get her as well as possible for the visit at the vet. Her lungs cleared up this morning. Can't do anything about the teeth if she has a URI either. Her heart already beats stronger, can hear that too. Still, upped the dose to 2/3 of the max Vetmedin.

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Mon Feb 08, 2016 1:39 am


Got you in my prayers, pigjes. I know exactly where you're coming from, unfortunately.

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Tue Feb 09, 2016 3:40 am


Thanks! So sorry for you, GrannyJu1.

I upped Yuyu's dosage of Vetmedin slowly over the days, so now she is on the max dosage. She is definately chewing better, but won't eat on her own. Yet, she makes attempts to eat on her own again, which is good.

Piggies need to chew sideways to crush fiber, she is doing so since last night. The pauses between chewing are a lot shorter, she even can chew with far less pauses as before. So, I'm still having my hopes up for her teeth being fine, wew. Of course, the awful Baytril like stuff for her URI is not helping her appetite, but she sure is hungry with the help of Cisapride.

I can feel the heart meds working, as she is back to her own strength as before, the way she tries to escape me grabbing her like she used to. I see her bump hideys again, as before. Her drastic weight loss is 95% better. Still, she will need extra heart meds, that's for sure.

Maddy_harper

Post   » Tue Feb 09, 2016 5:27 am


aww poor piggie. Glad shes responding to meds though and her waight is stable. Hugs and scritches.

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Wed Feb 10, 2016 8:51 am


OK, learned a few things today at the vet. When a piggie gets a URI, it's a type of non human chlamydia infection on the lungs. Even though pigs have no contact with other pigs, it can't come from humans, but it remains a mystery what causes it. Baytril is forbidden since this year, as it has become useless.

When a piggie gets a URI, the heart function goes down drastically, even up to consequence causing levels. Yet, it's always hard to decipher which came first: the heart, or the URI. So, Yuyu is off heart meds and should improve by Friday morning. If not, she needs a heart scan.

The heart meds did help her, yet if it's not caused by a URI, there is no need anymore when the URI clears up. It has helped, but it's a dangerous balance in piggies what to do in this case. I did well, but it was only due to my years of personal experience with pigs. In case of a very severe rapid onset URI like Yuyu had, they need something for their heart, but that's not standard practice, as it's too hard to determine by a vet who does not know the pig well to decide this.

So, she's on Cisapride, Infacol, Doxybactin for now. She swallowed a lot of gas due to hand feeding. This is also not common, but Yuyu did. As long as the poos are not shaped perfectly, she needs the Cisapride. Infacol till she eats on her own.

She has a bit of enlarged heart, but minimal. Her teeth are OK, but not perfect, so now we wait and see.

Also, we tend to force feed pigs too much. Twice a day, 10 ml is enough. They will loose weight, but they need to be just hungry enough to eat on their own. It has worked, she ate her rock hard piece of Oxbow Digestive Support just after we came home, and some vegs.

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