Spay... and then some.

[Joanna]

I just emailed you with the name of my vet, so give him a call ASAP.

[newwave_polly]

Well, update here...

I visited another vet today, hoping that I could get the pain meds from him because Beatrice wasn't looking too good today and still wouldn't eat or drink, so I was even more worried than I was yesterday. I had been getting up every couple hours through the night to heat up her heat pack and check on her because I was so worried. Her cage was right beside my bed though, so I could keep an eye on her quite well.

Anyway, this vet gave her subcuteaneous (sp?) fluids, which made me cringe and just about pass out myself. I've never seen that done before and I'm pretty medically squeamish. I got critical care from him too, but still no pain meds. When I brought her home I gave her another dose of the Advil, (which does seem to be controlling her pain fine), and got a bit of C.C. into her. That stimulated her appetite a little, and she was able to eat a tiny bit of lettuce. Through the day I've been feeding her pommegranite seeds (which is the only thing she would eat at first) and trying to get more C.C. into her.

I just finished feeding her 12 cc's of the C.C. and then gave her some orange bell pepper, which she gobbled up, a whole leaf of lettuce, some parsley, 1/2 a baby carrot, and then another larger chunk of pepper. Her appetite is back, she's eating like crazy, and she's looking sooo much better. She's bright and perky looking, like usual, instead of the lethargic, sick little girl she was this morning.

Thanks so much to lynx, pinta and joanna for getting me some vet recommendations. So far they haven't panned out, but thank you.

[dribble]

To clarify: You went to a vet recommended by a GL member and he still didn't prescribe pain meds? Geez. Did you whine at him and cite instances where it made a real difference in the pig's healing?

I'm glad Beatrice is eating again, but honestly, both vets need to get up to speed on how helpful pain meds are for the little guys.

[newwave_polly]

Actually, I never did get to see the GL-recommended vet. I had already gone to the other vet in the city that was listed on the Oxbow site. I'd just come back from there when I got pinta's recommendation. I called her vet anyway, and I believe, so did she, but the vet was reluctant to get involved with another vet's patient. Actually her vet said twice today when I called them, that they'd give me a call back, and I still haven't received a call, so I'm wondering why. Her vet apparently said she wanted to talk to my original vet that performed the surgery before seeing me. I haven't heard back from either vet.

[dribble]

Your vet did good by giving her subcues and Critical Care. That shows he's paying attention. I've walked into vets with printouts from this forum. I don't know if it helped or irritated, but at least I went in with support for my case.

[lisam]

Glad she's eating. I'd keep handfeeding her.

[Lynx]

Pinta's vet has a great deal of experience with guinea pigs, in part, thanks to Pinta (who has so many of her own). Guinea pigs really do much better with pain medication. If you read the surgery link I gave you earlier, there are medical references that encourage aggressive pain management.

I hope she recovers alright. Yes, keep hand feeding her. Weigh her daily right now.

[Joanna]

I am glad she is eating. When my rabbit was spayed she recovered quite quickly once she started eating. The tough part was restraining her and keeping her from leaping around. I'm glad you got some help.

[newwave_polly]

Well, Beatrice has been healing from this operation for the past 9 days or so, but she began pulling out her stitches yesterday. Today when I checked her, it looks like she's pulled them all out. The incision was still a bit opened up, so I put steri-strips across the insicion to hold it together a bit longer. (The steri-strips are sticky-backed suture-replacements that came from my mom who's a nurse.) Unfortunately, my mom had to leave town today to go back home, but she's been a great help with this for the past few days.

What I'm wondering about mostly though is that I think I see some pus forming in one end of the insicion. I'm assuming that is an indication of infection. Beatrice's vet office is closed today, but I'm wondering if it's something she'll need to see her vet about, or if I can put something on it topically to get rid of infection. I was thinking of Polysporin or something, but I'm wondering if that would impede healing, since it should be drying out, and an ointment may keep the wound moister than it should be. I've also heard that Preparation H works to heal, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't do anything to combat infection.

Any ideas?

[HollyT]

Is she on any oral antibiotics? I think that's necessary. When we got Wooly spayed we had to get her stapled because she pulled out a stitch or two. She was on abs and didn't get an infection.

[Lynx]

I would try to rinse the area with a dilute solution of chlorhexidine gluconate and perhaps apply some Preparation H. www.guinealynx.info/supplies.html I don't know if this is a good idea or not, just what I'd do myself.

I hope her incision is not opened up much. If you check the surgery page, you'll see that sometimes incisions that are healing do look like they're pulling apart. I hope this is the case for you (that it just looks like it, but that it is healing fine). www.guinealynx.info/surgery.html

[newwave_polly]

HollyT - She was on antibiotics for the first 5-1/2 days, but she's no longer on them.


Does chlorhexidine gluconate have a more common name? Where do you find it?