Worst Guinea Pig carer in the world or the unluckiest?

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rjespicer

Post   » Thu Sep 20, 2018 3:51 pm


Just got a call from the vet.

She said that Nala's improved recovery was a good sign but didn't mean that she can come off of the meds yet or that they resolved the issue.
She said it may have cleared the liquid but may not have fixed whatever caused the liquid to be there in the first place.
She said the Fleece/smell issues probably hadn't helped her recovery but she didn't think they were the likely cause of her current issues.

She gave us 3 options

Plan A - She suggested we take Nala back in for another X-ray next week and keep giving her meds until then, but it would have to be with the other vet as she was out of town that week. (estimated cost $300 - $400)
Plan B - She suggested we take Nala back in for another X-ray the week after next when she is back in town and keep giving her meds until then. Same price as above.
Plan C - Keep giving her the meds for another 4 weeks and see how she is then.

She said that the X-Ray may not tell them what is wrong or if it is heart disease but it should show her progress and hopefully give them a better view of what is going on.

I will have to talk to the wife and daughter about it tonight as they will need to know how to do the meds as I will be away for just under two weeks starting next Thursday. Not sure what the wife's reaction to more X-rays is going to be either.

No mention of euthanasia this time which is a plus and although it was slightly more positive in terms of outlook there wasn't any more certainty on the likely cause or the odds of finding the cause.
Although she didn't specifically say so I think she was still of a mind that the Ultrasound was the best chance to work out what was going on, but she had indicated before that it still not tell us anything, or might even confirm that Nala had an untreatable condition.

I think I really need to take a serious look at pet insurance.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu Sep 20, 2018 4:37 pm


She's doing a lot better, no? If so, I'd wait until there was some indication that she needs more tests and/or treatment before taking her back in. Vets are sadly not immune to the lets-run-more-expensive-tests syndrome.

rjespicer

Post   » Thu Sep 20, 2018 5:02 pm


Thanks.

I was kind of wondering about that as well. Especially after several other tests we had done had not yielded any results, like a culture test on the liquid that they extracted from Nala's swelling, that she had already been on antibiotics for, and then I read later elsewhere that such tests usually only work if the sample was taken before antibiotics were started. I was wondering the same thing when the vet talked about aspirating the liquid in Nala's chest and getting it tested when again she had already been on antibiotics.

It will mean keeping up with the medication for another 4 weeks but I think we can cover that if I get the wife and daughter up to speed on the medication routine and they take care when using the Chloramphenicol palmitate. We have a box of 100 surgical gloves (that has probably had about 30 used so far) so that should be plenty to last them while I am gone. 6 weeks would take us up to around Oct 15th -17th.

The challenge is going to get the wife to follow the routine and make sure Nala gets the meds (and Bene-bac) at the right time each day, and keep up with the feeding.

The Vet also mentioned about cutting back on the critical care from 1.5 tablespoons to 1 tablespoon and also about not being surprised to see a slight weight dip as Nala is more active and is therefore burning off more weight/energy.

rjespicer

Post   » Fri Sep 21, 2018 2:04 pm


Nala still seems well. 823g yesterday evening and 801g this morning. Still running around like crazy during floor time. Even more active in some ways than I remember her being before.

I am just having issues at the moment getting the wife and daughter on board with her care for when I go away for a couple of weeks on Thursday, back to the UK to visit my folks and family. The daughter seems fine about it but would only be able to do the evening medication, the Wife is not so keen and she would need to do the morning medication. She isn't happy about the amount of work or the expense and even threatened to "Find them a good home" yesterday evening. In some ways that might be a better option for them but not while they are ill and as long as it was a "Good Home", I think that is her impulsive nature at work again. So not sure what I will be coming back to after my trip away. I also dont know how much longer I will last without some cooperation and assistance from her.

Need to pick up some more of the Chloramphenicol palmitate as it will run out before I get back.

Still in two minds about the X-ray.

rjespicer

Post   » Mon Sep 24, 2018 1:35 pm


Quick Update

Nala is still doing well. Weight was up to 854g Yesterday evening (2-3 hours after her last critical care feed at around 3.30pm) that's 50g up from a week ago and almost 100g up on what she was on 7th Sept. She was at 822g this morning before feeding and she seems to be eating well including more veggies and is still very active. No noticeable chest or head movement when breathing either.

She is still getting 1.5 tablespoons of Critical care each day but if her weight goes up again today we may scale that back to 1 tablespoon.

Wife and daughter are both on board now with medication, feeding and cleaning. I showed the daughter how to do the medication on Saturday and will be showing the wife how to do it this evening. The wife even volunteered to do the cage cleaning and veggies this morning to save me having to d it before heading to work. So everything should be OK while I am away.

Me and the daughter even got Chunkita's nails trimmed this weekend, working as a team. It was a little traumatic, Chunkita does not like being picked up and she really didn't like having her nails trimmed. Blood was drawn, not from Chunkita, the daughter seems to have the knack of knowing where to cut without hitting the quick, however Chunkita decided she needed to bite down on something and my thumb was the closest item. A bit of tissue paper and a band aid got me patched up and we were able to get the job done with a bit of patience and perseverance. Chunkita seemed a lot happier once it was done as well, although I did have to sponge some blood stains off of her coat.

The new pen layout without the pockets on the Guinedads seems to be working out well. The dont seem to be getting anywhere near as smelly or dirty but we are still changing them out every 2-3 days.

I am hoping to pick up the additional Chloramphenicol palmitate (and possibly more Lasix) on the way home from work today.

I am still looking forward to getting a good nights sleep soon though, even heading for bed early I am still relying on coffee to get me through the day and I am looking forward to them all being fit and healthy Guinea Pigs so Nala doesn't have to keep being picked up for meds and feeding and we dont have to plan our days around medication and Critical Care feeding. Fingers Crossed/Touch wood.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Sep 24, 2018 5:17 pm


I hope your trip goes well and that the guinea pigs do well too!

rjespicer

Post   » Tue Sep 25, 2018 11:46 am


Nala was up to 859g yesterday evening and 837g this morning before feeding, so still doing well.

I picked the medication up last night but was a bit put out as rather than giving us another 15cc that would last about 32 days they wanted to just give me 7ml (15 days) as the batch of Chloramphenicol palmitate they had expires on October 5th.

The original bottle should last us up until October 1st so that would have meant that over half of what they wanted to give us would expire before we could use it and so we would be paying for medicine that woudl never get used.

It took me a while to explain this to the techs and working out the number of doses. One of them told me the original bottle only had enough doses for 15 days until I pointed out that we were up to 22 days already. I then showed her how to do the calculation correctly on her phone. Two doses of 0.23ml per day = 0.46ml per day so total number of days supply for one 15ml bottle = 15/0.46 = 32.6 days

Anyway I got them to give me 3.5ml instead of 7ml (7.6 days) which should be enough to cover up until it expires with a bit of a buffer in case the other bottle runs out earlier but the wife or daughter will have to go back to the vet when they get a new batch in next week (already on order they told me) and pick up another 11.5cc (25 days) to make up the 15cc that we already paid for.

Just curious but how hard and fast are medicine expiry dates? It strikes me as odd that medicine can be fine one day but then be no good the next. I guess the potency decreases over time so maybe that is when it dips below the optimum strength range?

I think I am about set for the trip. Wrote up a bunch of instructions for the daughter, at her request, that i hope she reads and goes through with her mum. Hopefully everything will be Ok while I am away.

If nothing else I should sleep well on the plane

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Tue Sep 25, 2018 11:56 am


Good luck with Nala and your trip. Please keep us informed of her progress. Sending hugs to all.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Tue Sep 25, 2018 12:42 pm


I wouldn't have worried about those expiration dates.

Some medicines have very short shelf lives, and will begin to deteriorate very quickly after the expiration date. Others will have an expiration date a year out in the future, and will likely be good for several months after that date.

rjespicer

Post   » Tue Sep 25, 2018 1:04 pm


Ok Thanks. The Vet Tech said that particular medication usually had an expiration of 2 months from when it was compounded, so the new stuff when they get it will have an expiration around Nov/Dec this year.

Thanks for the help advice and good wishes. I will let you know if I get any updates and hopefully there will be no issues while I am away and the wife and daughter will have everything covered.

rjespicer

Post   » Wed Sep 26, 2018 1:40 pm


Nala still seems to be fit and active, slight weight drop yesterday down to 836 and she was slightly less co-operative taking critical care this morning (took just over a third of a tablespoon rather than just under a half) but she still seems to be doing well and no noticeable breathing issues and was running around like crazy last night. Will get her to finish the critical care this evening.

I am nervous as heck about heading off tomorrow but the wife and daughter say they have it all covered. Fingers crossed.

SSLee

Post   » Wed Sep 26, 2018 3:39 pm


Good luck on your trip and to your piggies good health while you are away!

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