Clover's Medical Thread

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Zaphy

Post   » Thu Aug 25, 2022 1:52 am


Clover has some pneumonia we're treating with oral and nebulizer antibiotics (enrofloxacin and gentamicin respectively). The vet did not give me enough nebulizer saline for her whole course of antibiotics. I'm new to nebulizers and all the vets are super backed up around here (and maybe everywhere I suppose)- do/can you use the same kind of saline in a nebulizer as you'd use for contact lenses? If not, do most human pharmacies stock the correct kind of saline?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Aug 25, 2022 8:58 am


Doing a search online, it seems that the standard sterile saline solution used in nebulizers is 0.9%. It is only water and saline, no preservatives and can't be stored. I am guessing that if you asked a regular pharmacist this question (or called your vet) you could get an answer. I welcome anyone who has helpful info to add it!

I ran across these images of the nebulizer PinkRufus set up:
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewt ... 5#p1372435

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu Aug 25, 2022 2:33 pm


It's not contact lens solution, but you can buy saline at most pharmacies.

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Zaphy

Post   » Thu Sep 01, 2022 10:57 am


Thanks for the help! The grocery store pharmacy didn't have anything (which I guess is not terribly surprising for such a little pharmacy) but I was fortunately able to order some from Amazon that arrived before I ran out.

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Zaphy

Post   » Mon Jan 02, 2023 12:13 pm


So about a year ago, Clover was diagnosed with a mammary tumor about the size of an apple seed. After some back and forth with the vet, I opted not to operate due to her age (5 and a half at the time). Over the course of the last year it's grown to about an inch in diameter across the long way- it's pretty irregularly shaped. She's also had some other health issues crop up over the year- bladder sludge, UTI, pneumonia, all of which have resolved more or less without incident.

A week and a half ago I left town for the holidays. Yesterday when I got back, I discovered that Clover's mammary mass had shrunk to be about a third of an inch in diameter. The only thing my pig sitters noted was some heavy calcium deposits in the cage, which is more likely due to my stone pigs. The only explanation I can think of is that part of the tumor was actually a pocket of fluid that drained somehow on its own while I was away- is there any reason I should be concerned about this and maybe have it checked out before I go chalking it up to more or less a Christmas miracle?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Jan 02, 2023 8:33 pm


I think it reasonable that it may have drained on its own if it was primarily fluid filled. Did the vet ever do a syringe biopsy to check for fluid or to explore what was in the mass?

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Zaphy

Post   » Mon Jan 16, 2023 9:51 pm


When I first found it they took an aspirate biopsy to confirm malignancy. It hadn't been aspirated since then- honestly I'd never have thought to do that as we'd already decided on palliative care. It felt super solid and like a rough mass, very tumorlike to me so I never questioned it. Clover still seems to be doing well, so... Yay!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Jan 17, 2023 8:14 pm


Really glad to hear Clover seems to be doing well! Sometimes our pets surprise us.

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Zaphy

Post   » Thu Jun 29, 2023 12:18 am


Clover is still doing well overall. We're pretty sure she's got a sizeable mass in her abdomen, I can feel it myself when I'm petting her. But it doesn't seem to be causing her issues at this time, so we are just letting it be. Her mammary mass shrank back down to the size of an apple seed and has remained that size since then, which is pretty cool!

Lately I've noticed she's had some trouble eating her fresh veggies, she's interested in it and keeps picking pieces up and trying to bite into them, but doesn't manage to get them in her mouth. Appetite wise, she's fine- I've been doing Critical Care the last few days and she vacuums it down no problem. Her front teeth looked fine to me, so I brought her to the vet to have em take a look and sure enough, her molars are overgrown on one side.

Given her age (she'll be 7 in September) the vet didn't think sedation/dental work would be such a great option for her, so he more or less suggested just mashing her food down to a point that she can eat it more easily and waiting. He said that this kind of dental issue usually takes a long time to become a real problem i.e. interfering with her eating to the point that she loses weight. He also pointed out that her front teeth are indeed ever so slightly slanted, it's just not noticeable unless you can get a real good look at her teeth.

This is my first dental pig, so I'm not so familiar with the protocol. It seems to me that I've seen several threads here about elderly pigs that still go to get their molars planed regularly? The chin sling is also something that seems to come up frequently here with dental issues, is there ever a time when that wouldn't be a good option for molar issues or is it something that's usually worth a try? Does this sound like something that would be worth getting a second opinion re:dental sedation on a nearly 7 year old pig?

Note: she is currently on gabapentin and meloxicam once a day for old-related pain. .3mL once daily for each.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Thu Jun 29, 2023 1:54 am


Due to a misaligned mouth Jessie never ate again after tooth removed and vet broke her jaw in 3 places. So every month she would go to the vet and get teeth filed. Vet only used gas. When ever Jessie stirred she would get more gas. Jessie's vet was not a piggy savvy vet and Jessie's teeth were her first.

Jessie got this done for last 4 years of her life and she lived life to the full and lived to 8 years of age. I tried the sling chin but sadly it didn't work for her.

Perhaps message Pinta? Inventor of the chin sling and a piggy dental expert! Scroll down and you'll find email address! Good luck! Jaffa was not quite 5 and she didn't get teeth filed and it was found teeth have trapped tongue and put hole in it! https://www.guinealynx.info/chinsling.html Just above dislocation of the jaw.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Jun 29, 2023 7:14 am


Good advice, daisymay. Ditto on writing Pinta (use the mailer on the forum or her address on the chin sling page).

I believe some of the cautions for sedation have to do with a guinea pig with heart issues (sounds like your guinea pig is not on heart medication). I second your thought of getting a second opinion. Look for a vet that has experience with guinea pig teeth. I do believe leaving things as they are (if they could be corrected) is not the best move - and that an imbalance will contribute to the problem getting worse more quickly. That you discovered this early will help a lot.

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Zaphy

Post   » Sun Jul 02, 2023 12:44 am


I've not gotten a second dental work opinion yet but I did contact Pinta and get the pattern for the chin sling from her. So now Clover's rocking a lovely pink chin sling! She seems to be tolerating it well (though I'm easing her into it, first day was only an hour of wear and I'm doing a couple hours today). She seems to be able to eat a little easier while wearing it- she managed a couple pea flakes today during wear, which is one of the foods she'd seemed to have given up on because of how troublesome it was for her. Hoping that's a good sign of success to come, but still keeping my fingers crossed!

Now I just gotta keep her and the other pigs from figuring out how to take the sling off 😆

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