I adopted my male guinea pig Chuck Chuck from the shelter over four years ago, and at that time he was listed as being five years old. I don't know the veracity of that but he was definitely a full grown boy, so I put his age to be at least 5 years old today.
Over the past four years he would sometimes (about once a month) because very gassy and lose his appetite. A dose or two of Reglan (.5 ml) always did the trick and he had no side effects.
Two months ago he started having seizures, sometimes every other day. We ran multiple tests on him (blood, mites for which he was treated as a precaution) and nothing was found or fixed it. He would have cluster seizures and after he came out of them he was very groggy and not eating- so I'd give him another dose of Reglan (again, he had never had problems with it). The vet thought maybe he had a brain tumor.
Long story shortened, I did a google search and came across this and other references to seizures and Reglan:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Conten ... &A=523&S=1
"Side effects are rare with metoclopramide but generally stem from the ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier. Animals predisposed to seizures (i.e., epileptics) may experience seizures, although this should not be a problem for normal animals."
Chuck Chuck did not have a history of seizures, but I immediately stopped giving him Reglan. That was over three weeks ago and he has not had a seizure since then! I am so grateful that I found out about this. I had searched guinealynx looking for causes of seizures and almost all references said mites. Lynx, if you could add this possible side effect to the section on Reglan it might help other pigs!
When I told my vet she explained that as animals and people age they become more susceptible to side effects of medicines. I can't explain it but I am just putting forth that he was having seizures for a month whenever he had taken Reglan and when I stopped giving it to him they stopped, too.
As for replacing Reglan, I haven't. When he was coming out of a cluster of seizures I'd give him extra fruit and veggies to help get him going. Everything I read suggested gassy pigs should have less of them. Well, I'm here to tell ya that in Chuck Chuck's case that I continue to give him more veggies and fruit than before this all happened and he has not been gassy or had stasis since. Just stating what I observe!
I realize this may all be a rare example, but I am posting in case it might help another pig! I love Chuck Chuck and I are thrilled that he is OK and can maybe help someone!
Reglan and Seizures
After an entire month of no seizures or Reglan and a very happy life, Chuck Chuck had seizures yesterday and this time they did not stop. We had to put him to sleep.
I do believe we got an extra month with him because we stopped the Reglan- obviously he was predisposed to having seizures, so the Reglan did, I believe, exacerbate his situation when he was on it.
I hope Chuck Chuck's experience will help others.
I do believe we got an extra month with him because we stopped the Reglan- obviously he was predisposed to having seizures, so the Reglan did, I believe, exacerbate his situation when he was on it.
I hope Chuck Chuck's experience will help others.
You are all so sweet.
When we first met Chuck Chuck, it was because we adopted a different guinea pig, Louie. We both loved Chuck Chuck but we were thinking we would stick with two pigs (we had one at home) plus I was concerned about his being five years old. We had just lost a pig and I didn't want that much loss so soon. So we left without him!
A few days later we went out for a walk, and about midway I said to my husband that I wanted to go back and get him. We both ran back home and drove over, hoping he was still there and he of course, was.
For his initial exam our vet noticed that he had some cataracts and although she couldn't determine his exact age, she said it was fair to say a few years old. His former owner was a teenage girl who didn't want him anymore.
My husband and I never expected that we would have had four plus wonderful years with him. He was very interactive and intelligent and smiled a lot in his own way. He was also a purring machine who loved pets. In some ways he was a mama's boy but he saved his kisses for his "Pop Pop". Chuck Chuck would lick my husband's fingers and then my husband would dab the "kisses" on his own face.
All I can do today is mope and cry. I know you all understand!
When we first met Chuck Chuck, it was because we adopted a different guinea pig, Louie. We both loved Chuck Chuck but we were thinking we would stick with two pigs (we had one at home) plus I was concerned about his being five years old. We had just lost a pig and I didn't want that much loss so soon. So we left without him!
A few days later we went out for a walk, and about midway I said to my husband that I wanted to go back and get him. We both ran back home and drove over, hoping he was still there and he of course, was.
For his initial exam our vet noticed that he had some cataracts and although she couldn't determine his exact age, she said it was fair to say a few years old. His former owner was a teenage girl who didn't want him anymore.
My husband and I never expected that we would have had four plus wonderful years with him. He was very interactive and intelligent and smiled a lot in his own way. He was also a purring machine who loved pets. In some ways he was a mama's boy but he saved his kisses for his "Pop Pop". Chuck Chuck would lick my husband's fingers and then my husband would dab the "kisses" on his own face.
All I can do today is mope and cry. I know you all understand!