Jan's Toothy Smile medical thread

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Thu Oct 19, 2017 1:07 pm


Without reading back, has she had motility drugs? Reglan (metaclopramide)? Cisapride (propulsid)? Simethicone?
Jan was on Metomide for 5 days- a tenth of a tablet twice a day but it did nothing! Carol was going to put Jan on Infacol but she spoke to Dr Vella who gave her ideas for supportive care for Jan as in their eyes there is no cure for Jan.

Think of Jan's belly as a teacup. The wind in her tummy is massive like the size of a saucer. Yet when you feel her tummy you feel no wind, no fluid and no lumps nor bumps.

My husband and I are giving loads of tummy massages with the battery operated toothbrush, in fact one toothbrush has burnt it's motor that's how much we're using it. We're also using heat bags. She's on 0.7 Metacam cat strength, and a fourteenth of a Metomide tablet ( fun doing that!) She sees Carol again today.

Thanks for the replies bpatters and Lynx. This has been going on now for around 6 months. I put my foot down and insisted on X-rays being taken. Jiffy Jaf got X-rays done too for comparison.

On a brighter note Jan's sister Joy saw Carol yesterday too and the cyst couldn't be felt and weight the same as it was 3-6 months ago.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu Oct 19, 2017 2:06 pm


I wish you had a better vet. There are other meds besides metomide that operate on a different part of the digestive tract that could possibly stimulate it. The infacol couldn't hurt, and might help. And if the metacam is like most pain-relieving meds, it will actually slow down the motion of the GI tract, contributing to the problem.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Fri Oct 20, 2017 6:57 am


Saw Carol today who spoke with Dr Vella and they have gone off the Infacol and have put Jan on 0.2 of Zantac syrup twice a day for how long have NO idea. I too wish I had better vets. Dr Vella is on the GL list of vets and Carol is following his advice. If she is no better in a week will buy some Infacol and see how I go.

As to the Metacam it does stop the pain and she does eat. The other pain med mentioned on GL is no longer available in South Australia. Thanks for the reply bpatters. It is so sad to lose piggies because of incompetent vets!

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Tue Oct 24, 2017 12:03 pm


Has Anyone used Zantac on their piggies? Dr Vella said it was better than Infacol and Carol has put Jan on 0.2 twice daily. She is also on a 14th of a tablet of Metomide(fun doing that) twice a day and Metacam 0.7 once a day.

She is getting loads of toothbrush massages and ones by hand, heated wheat bags. Waiting for her vibrating cushion to arrive I bought on Ebay. Carol was also told by Dr Vella to remove ALL carbo's from her diet which means NO pellets and NO mix. Now with the Timothy hay pellets and mix is all she eats. What do I do if she stops eating? She is being hand-fed. By the way she HATES the Zantac! Will keep you posted.

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Tue Oct 24, 2017 1:07 pm


Good luck, daisymae! I've never used Zantac on any of my animals.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Feb 05, 2018 9:52 pm


You sent several xrays to illustrate air in the abdomen. I am putting up the best one:



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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Mon May 28, 2018 4:24 am


I am wondering if there is a test one can do to see if a piggy has lost it's sight? Carol said use the finger up to her eyes which we got no response. Today she is saying a guinea pig wouldn't flinch if you do that. Today she is saying build an obstacle course and see if Jan bumps into anything. So I built one and Jan, Joy and Jaffa would not move and we waited 30 minutes, even tried food.

Now I have been watching Harry's practice on TV-they are repeats but he has been a vet for 50 years and he always shines a light into the critter's eyes to see if there is a response. Would this work on Jan? To see if pupils react? Carol is reluctant to try this. Any other advice much appreciated! Damn Vets! Why are we so far behind in guinea pig, rabbit and bird care? It drives me mad that my pigs suffer due to idiot vets!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon May 28, 2018 8:19 am


Don't forget that if they can smell the food, they can find it.

If I remember right, if you shine a light on the eye and the eye reflects back white, they are blind.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Wed Jun 13, 2018 8:01 am


We stopped handfeeding Jan for today because of her rapid breathing but even though she is eating 90% of her food she lost 40grams today so now it's back to handfeeding at 11.00pm tonight. She ate two pieces of banana and she put on 18grams. Which surprised us! Thanks again for your replies in advance, keep your paws crossed!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Jun 13, 2018 8:11 pm


Paws crossed here!

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:04 am


Well it never rains but it pours. We are now having problems with Jan's sister Joy. She ate breakfast yesterday, all was well. Then come lunch time she refused to eat, same with tea time and breakfast this morning. She does how ever eat the Timothy hay. At present can get no grass from anywhere seems the council poisoned it all in preparation for Summer.
My husband has been syringe feeding her every 4 hours and can only get 3 or less syringes into her. Took her to the vets this morning and what a waste of time that was! Carol looked into her mouth-teeth was fine. I told her a piggy needs to be sedated for one to look at teeth but she insisted she could see all her teeth.
She listened to her heart which was 217, Checked her ovarian cyst which Joy has had for over 2 years they seem according to Carol to come and go. The left one was the only one she could feel and this was 3CMS. Jessie had cyst which were 2CMS and she was put onto hormone treatment. When I mentioned this to Carol she just said she can see no reason why Joy should be on it as the cyst were too small to cause her any problems.
We were told to take her home and watch her and bring back in a week for a weighing. Back in January she was 1156grams now only 907grams.
I thought maybe the move upset her and when we moved in there was a faint smell of paint. This was 2 months ago.
So for now we syringe feed and watch closely. Why are all vets here clueless? I am not on the Internet as PC is in a packing box out in the rain and I have no idea which box. But I do pop into the library 3-5 days a week. Thanks for reading any advise much appreciated.
Good news (touching wood) Jan is hanging in there, her weight going up and down. She still has the rapid breathing but Carol was happy with her and said the rapid breathing was nothing to worry about and yet sometimes Jan can hardly stand or support her head!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Aug 14, 2018 7:53 am


You are very knowledgeable. At least she is with someone who notices when something is wrong and does something about it. Not eating isn't always teeth (though not eating does aggravate issues and can create dental problems) so there may still be something wrong your vet is not considering. It might be worth your while to glance over the emergency page and note if there are any other signs of illness that might help you figure out what is wrong.
www.guinealynx.info/emergency.html

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