Jan's Toothy Smile medical thread

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Wed Aug 23, 2017 7:10 am


Jan has lost 30grams in 2 days and is now for the first time below 700grams. She is still only eating 5-20% of her food, and mainly eats the grass, which is in short supply as a lot has been damaged by frost or has slime on it from slugs and snails. She has lost 130grams since January this year.

I am trying to find some-one to ultra-sound her but this is proving difficult as most vets don't even have some-one qualified to do ultrasounds let alone on a guinea pig.

If anyone has any suggestions would love to hear it, Carol will not listen to me she still wants to take bloods which I am against! thanks for reading and for any replies.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Aug 23, 2017 7:18 am


Is this grass that you pick from your yard?

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Wed Aug 23, 2017 7:50 am


Is this grass that you pick from your yard?
Yes it is. From our back yard.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Fri Aug 25, 2017 11:58 am


Jan went to see Carol yesterday (Friday) she is still losing weight. She's hardly eating anything and is hard to syringe feed. Carol couldn't find anything wrong with her so for the next few days she'll be on Metacam to see if she's in pain.

Carol And I can find no-one who will ultrasound a piggy, Carol feels the next step is X-rays or blood-works. What do you think? Zoe had an ultrasound and nothing showed up yet she had a tumour on her uterus. Jessie had X-rays and bloods and nothing showed up. What would be the best informative test to do next? Thanking you in advance.

Clint The Cuy

Post   » Fri Aug 25, 2017 2:36 pm


If you could successfully free catch a urine sample and have the vet perform a urinalysis I think that would be the least invasive and inexpensive route in your case. If the vet won't, then maybe you could try the pharmacy urinalysis test strips like Lynx suggested.

Unfortunately, only blood work is the most definitive way to tell you if she is in fact in renal failure at this point. I can't imagine trying to collect blood in these guys without anesthesia. You can always perform the radiographs and/or ultrasound, but as you mentioned there is always the chance that they can come back inconclusive, which is also informative in a round about way because it can rule out certain things too. Diagnostic imaging can miss things in any animal and short of exploratory surgery or a full body MRI, pathology has the potential to be missed.

I would start with a urinalysis and then pursue the imaging, but if someone could successfully collect blood then that would be my second choice after the urinalysis.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Sat Aug 26, 2017 5:09 am


If you could successfully free catch a urine sample and have the vet perform a urinalysis I think that would be the least invasive and inexpensive route in your case
Managed to get urine that didn't fall on me and the sample was spun. All was normal. I am thinking go for X-ray, if all clear do a dental X-ray, if all clear do blood works. If this too proves all clear you in the USA and UK will hear me scream and pull hair out in frustration! Thanks for the replies Lynx and Clint The Cuy.

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Sat Aug 26, 2017 11:35 am


Best of luck, daisymay. I hope you figure out what's wrong with Jan.

Clint The Cuy

Post   » Sat Aug 26, 2017 12:05 pm


I think the imaging is a good next step. If you do suspect soft tissue pathology, such as organ failure or even a stone, the ultrasound may be more informative, but not all vets are great at ultrasound. Many vets don't usually ultrasound healthy animals, let alone guinea pigs, on the regular. So having a "normal" to compare to is difficult. And having another vet, such as a radiologist, read an ultrasound performed by someone else can be quite entertaining because ultrasound imaging is so obtuse. However radiographs can also show a stone and of course poor dentition etc. It's tough. A one dimensional image of a 3-D object has limitations, no matter how much you oblique that view.

Good job on the free catch urine sample BTW.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Sat Sep 09, 2017 4:21 am


Well it seems after two weeks what ever was ailing Jan stopping her from eating has returned, and it would on a week-end too. Does anyone have any idea what might be causing this? I mean if it were kidney's the Metacam she was on would only make matters worse wouldn't it? She is NO longer pooping but she is peeing.
If she doesn't eat her tea in a few hours I will have to put her back onto the Metacam to see if that helps. I have 3 dosages left. Joy has an appointment for Monday to see Carol, I may have to cancel it for Joy and bring Jan in instead.
Any ideas much appreciated, keep you posted! Please someone answer!

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Mon Sep 11, 2017 5:09 am


Thanks ever so much for the replies I got over the weekend. Means a lot! Jan went back to the vet today and Carol could find nothing wrong again. She has one more dose of Metacam left then that's it! Have to see how she goes without it.

Joy went to the vet also as over last 2 years she has slowly been losing fur on her tummy and now it is progressing to her back and neck. Last time Carol saw her she said it was due to Joy's tummy rubbing on the floor. Now she thinks it is ovarian cysts as on Joy's left side she felt lumps the size of grapes. For now she just wants to keep an eye on it and see if they grow anymore.

Thanks for the replies in advance which I know I won't get any but hey worth a shot. Thanks for reading anyways.

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:39 am


If it's really ovarian cysts, I wouldn't wait too long for the surgery, daisymay, especially if they're fast growing. Let us know how she's doing. Just because we don't reply, doesn't mean we don't care. It's more likely that we don't have anything to tell you in support.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Sep 11, 2017 12:33 pm


Ditto GrannyJu1. We all care.

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