Evangeline, I don´t know that my numbers can be trusted either. Statistically my experiences are a very small blip. I do know I´ve had several older sows ultrasounded and there´s been no sign of cysts. If the 76% number applied I should have seen cysts in 3 out of 4 pigs.
Hillyer and Quesenberry suggest it is as high as 76% of the sows who develop ovarian cysts or other
reproductive problems.
It sounds like there is data somewhere and this is just a general summary. It would be interesting to know all the details and how the figures were arrived at. Could be cysts are at 30% and reproductive problems include pregnancy complications as well as cancers and infections are at 46%. Urinary tract infections might even be thrown into the mix.
And keep in mind some sows can live with cysts just fine and in the end die from something completely unrelated.
One of our sows with cysts has a bad heart(is on daily Lasix and fortekor) and is hyperthyroid too. Not a good surgical candidate. HCG injections have worked very well to reduce the size of her cysts. We would only risk surgery if she had a life threatening condition like pyometra or a tumour.
Another sow with cysts responded well to a second round of HCG. Her sister had pyometra(no cysts seen in ultrasound) and died on the table. The vet is very leery of doing any surgery on Abigail in case there is there is an underlying genetic problem. There were no signs that Samantha was not a good surgical candidate but she went into cardiac arrest within 10 seconds of the start of surgery.
Peony is the third sow with cysts. She is also our lumpy pig. She is covered with benign lumps(sebaceous cysts). The vet feels she is not a good surgical candidate either. She responded well to the HCG.
Crusty nipples -- whitish deposit
If the HCG reduces the size of the cysts, I would be interested to know if it reduces the PMSy behaviour
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Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
By the way. The pmsy behavior is not entirely gone in Snowflake. She has not become a kinder, gentler creature -- but still rumbles and stalks around the other two. I thought she had quit spreading her bits but she did again. The other two pigs don´t seem to be whimpering quite as much and I think it is somewhat toned down, but the behavior still seems to be there.
Perhaps it is one of those things where the hormones are still in her body? Like when I have a colt gelded (castrated) he still acts studdish for awhile afterwards. I think maybe some of it is learned behavior, too.
Amidala is still the dominant pig, but she no longer mounts everyone.
She also had quite a bit of hair loss following the surgery (she had none before). I just assumed she had a case of mites that suddenly flared because of the stress of the surgery, but I wonder if it could have been hormone related.
Amidala is still the dominant pig, but she no longer mounts everyone.
She also had quite a bit of hair loss following the surgery (she had none before). I just assumed she had a case of mites that suddenly flared because of the stress of the surgery, but I wonder if it could have been hormone related.
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Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
I haven´t noticed any marked hairloss in Snowflake. I´ll be interested in what she is like in a couple of months.
By the way, did your vet feel surgery was the most appropriate thing to do for Amidala? I have since heard people say that ovarian cysts are not really life threatening, even if they burst. They can press on other organs if they get very large and that drug therapy can help in most cases (sometimes just a couple treatments). I guess it seemed like the thing to do for Snowflake and I´m glad she is fine but it was harrowing.
By the way, did your vet feel surgery was the most appropriate thing to do for Amidala? I have since heard people say that ovarian cysts are not really life threatening, even if they burst. They can press on other organs if they get very large and that drug therapy can help in most cases (sometimes just a couple treatments). I guess it seemed like the thing to do for Snowflake and I´m glad she is fine but it was harrowing.
A friend of mine had hair loss, on her piggie, after it was spayed, but it stopped after about a 10 days.
I called the Cambridge Cavy Society, who said it is uneccessary if there is no suffering in the piggie, but they would do the operation, if ´I´ thought it were absoloutely neccessary, for the benefit and well-being of my herd. In other words, they were really no help at all. They do, however, recommend spaying of other rodents, such as rats and rabbits, and they do say that a vast number of older female rodents, such as Guinea pigs, develop Pyometrey(sp?), or some other infection of the Uterus and Womb, at the later stages in their lives. I put the phone down feeling even more confused than ever, as they´d basically contradicted themselves. It is an expensive ( not that the money is an issue here ! ), and heavy procedure, and I´m not so sure about the negative effects, if any, that are resulting from spaying. I have heard, can´t remember where from though, that spaying can lead to Urine infections, and bladder problems. I´m not trying to worry anyone, but it´s just stuff I´ve heard in the past day or two. Does anyone know the downsides to spaying. The other side of it is that, as I have said before, she is healthy now, and what if surgery goes wong, or there are complications as a result of surgery that will leave her with problems. My family generally live by the " If it ain´t broke, Don´t fix it ! " rule, so thinking about this just gets my Dad in particular, so riled up. I hate these sort of decisions. Whatever way I go with this, is one that will be fraught with risks.
I am so glad your little piggie is doing well, Lynx. You must be very relieved. How long was it before your Snowflake seemed ´back to normal´ inspite of the hairloss ?
Has her behaviour changed noticably ? Anyway, as I said, I´m really pleased that she´s doing well.
Peace, Love, and Happiness, Always
Sonia
I called the Cambridge Cavy Society, who said it is uneccessary if there is no suffering in the piggie, but they would do the operation, if ´I´ thought it were absoloutely neccessary, for the benefit and well-being of my herd. In other words, they were really no help at all. They do, however, recommend spaying of other rodents, such as rats and rabbits, and they do say that a vast number of older female rodents, such as Guinea pigs, develop Pyometrey(sp?), or some other infection of the Uterus and Womb, at the later stages in their lives. I put the phone down feeling even more confused than ever, as they´d basically contradicted themselves. It is an expensive ( not that the money is an issue here ! ), and heavy procedure, and I´m not so sure about the negative effects, if any, that are resulting from spaying. I have heard, can´t remember where from though, that spaying can lead to Urine infections, and bladder problems. I´m not trying to worry anyone, but it´s just stuff I´ve heard in the past day or two. Does anyone know the downsides to spaying. The other side of it is that, as I have said before, she is healthy now, and what if surgery goes wong, or there are complications as a result of surgery that will leave her with problems. My family generally live by the " If it ain´t broke, Don´t fix it ! " rule, so thinking about this just gets my Dad in particular, so riled up. I hate these sort of decisions. Whatever way I go with this, is one that will be fraught with risks.
I am so glad your little piggie is doing well, Lynx. You must be very relieved. How long was it before your Snowflake seemed ´back to normal´ inspite of the hairloss ?
Has her behaviour changed noticably ? Anyway, as I said, I´m really pleased that she´s doing well.
Peace, Love, and Happiness, Always
Sonia
Glad to hear everyone piggies are doing fine.
Marcy has a large bald spot on her the top of her back now, she had been treated for mites and ringworm but no sign of improvement or regrowth, and she has no bi-lateral hairloss to go with the other cyst symptons. It has got the vet confused although he still thinks it could be linked to the cysts. The skin doesn´t look red or strange or anything. It´s just skin with no hair.
I noticed this morning she also has a spur-like growth on her foot. It just looks like a flap of skin growing off the side of her foot. I have just read that Snowflake also has this Lynx (and is your only pig that does?)
Anyway what sort of age do pigs generally get these cysts or can it be any age. According to the ages we were given when we got them she should be between 2 1/2 and 3 years old but I´ve always suspected (gut feeling/intuition or something) that they were older. Could cysts be a sign that they are older?
Marcy has a large bald spot on her the top of her back now, she had been treated for mites and ringworm but no sign of improvement or regrowth, and she has no bi-lateral hairloss to go with the other cyst symptons. It has got the vet confused although he still thinks it could be linked to the cysts. The skin doesn´t look red or strange or anything. It´s just skin with no hair.
I noticed this morning she also has a spur-like growth on her foot. It just looks like a flap of skin growing off the side of her foot. I have just read that Snowflake also has this Lynx (and is your only pig that does?)
Anyway what sort of age do pigs generally get these cysts or can it be any age. According to the ages we were given when we got them she should be between 2 1/2 and 3 years old but I´ve always suspected (gut feeling/intuition or something) that they were older. Could cysts be a sign that they are older?
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