I think I'm losing Lucy . . .

Josephine
Little Jo Wheek

Post   » Fri May 21, 2004 12:05 am


Of 1.5 mg/ml? That sounds standard.

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Teresa

Post   » Fri May 21, 2004 12:16 am


Yeah. It's the standard dose.

Josephine
Little Jo Wheek

Post   » Fri May 21, 2004 12:20 am


Sounds good.

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Paravati
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Fri May 21, 2004 1:01 am


Good luck with her, T. I'll be thinking of you.

pinta

Post   » Fri May 21, 2004 1:57 am


It's worth an xray to diagnose. I have several with arthritis. Rimadyl thus far, has worked better than Meloxicam. They get light laser treatment and a new thing that's worked particularly well for Ferdinand (who has compacted(?) vertebrae from being dropped or stepped on as a baby): massage of soft tissue with a handheld body massage machine. The ultrasound is for the worst cases.

They also get "vet form CT Support" - a form of glucosamine(a smear of powder daily) and "vet sol'n omega-3" capsules(a drop daily). Every month they get an injection of cartrophen(sp?).

Their physio thinks they'd do well on "Recovery", something dogs and horses take, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet.

Hard to say what's working but they are all mobile and all have been diagnosed with arthritis.

Another possibility is that the arthritis is bacterial:

Beachez was 6 in early January. We already knew she had heart issues as most senior pigs
seem to develop (just like senior humans).

She also had horrendous arthritis that made her appear paralysed.

Jan. 17 >>>>>>>Beachez has been on ABs since mid dec. Doxy and baytril. rattling came back
the night
before last night and after 0.5 Lasix didn't have an effect I took her in today. I also gave
her oxygen and put the steam humidifier on by the cage.

They were triple booked but the vet said I made the right decision not to wait til Mon. She
gave her steroids(prob. dex) 15mg Lasix and 40cc subcue. Told me to give her 15 min.
oxygen and then a steam treatment. She has to come into the clinic on Sunday anyway
and said to meet her there at 10:30 if beachez wasn't improved.

She's eating and bright eyed but breathing badly and rattling like hell.

Jan. 18 - took her in at 10:30. still rattling bur sounding better. The dex and lasix should have
stopped the rattles if it was just heart so we put her on Chlor. She got another injection
of lasix(probably 10mg) and dex.

Back again tomorrow.


Feb 3 - We almost lost Beachez a week ago from URI/ heart failure neither the vet or I thought

she'd make it thru the night. she'd been on doxy or baytril since mid dec. and crashed on
chlor. The vet tried a heavy duty drug she's used for rabbits with URIs. Azithromycin. Can
only be used daily for 7 days max. Has to be compounded. It saved Beachez.

Also seemed to improve her arthritis. The vet said she'd heard a radio doctor mention
this drug can cure arthritis in humans. his theory is that arthritis is an infection. he's
considered a flake by reg. drs.

She's like a new pig. She can even come out of the condo on her own again.<<<<<<

Beachez is still moving as though she doesn't have arthritis. She can come in and out of the
condo at will. Recently she started rattling again and we increased her lasix to the max daily
dose. The vet also put her back on Azithromycin for 7 days.

Please note that I asked my vet if it would be a good idea to put all my arthritis pigs on
Azithromycin. The answer was an emphatic "no". This med is very harsh and not to be used
casually. Beachez has already proven she can tolerate it. Other pigs may not do so well.
Intolerance symptoms for this drug may not be reversible therefore it should only be used as
a last resort.

User avatar
salana
GL is Just Peachy

Post   » Fri May 21, 2004 2:15 am


Pinta, when the vet diagnosed Cuddles with arthritis in her knees (there was a visible separation between the knee and the lower leg bones on the X-ray), she mentioned that an early vitamin C deficiency, from before I got her, could have caused lesions to form on the bone or the cartilage. The fact that she got adequate vitamin C after arriving here couldn't reverse the damage, says the vet. Have any of your arthritis pigs had this?

Sorry to hijack your thread, Teresa.

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wheeky8

Post   » Fri May 21, 2004 2:34 am


I'm sorry Lucy is not feeling well. I hope you find a way to help her.

I know there is a product call Missing Link that is a flax product that sometimes can help aging pets. I don't know if there is one specifically made for small animals, though.
Maybe Josephine has heard of it, and can tell us if it would be any good for guinea pigs?

Edit: Found a link. There's another link at the end listing the included ingredients in each product.

http://www.naturalpets.net/missinglink.htm

It comes in a ground powder-type form, but not too fine.

Charybdis

Post   » Fri May 21, 2004 2:41 am


We talked about it in the "Ensure" thread:

https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewt ... ght=ensure

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wheeky8

Post   » Fri May 21, 2004 3:05 am


Thanks Chary, I hadn't read that far.

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KarasKavies
For the love of my girls!

Post   » Fri May 21, 2004 3:08 am


Oh, T, I am thinking of you and Lucy. I know your heart is breaking.

I'm going to Adobe tomorrow at 11:00 if there is anything I can pick up for you or you want me to ask N.

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gracielee
Me, too!

Post   » Fri May 21, 2004 9:17 am


Thinking of you. Good luck with her. I hope you can get her pain under control.

GP Lover
My home, ruled by pigs!

Post   » Fri May 21, 2004 9:30 am


I'm sorry to hear about Luci's troubles. I hope that it is not as bad as you're thinking.

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