[Gpdd] HEALTH: Mollie's Bladder Stones

[Candy G.]

Well, I just wrote a whole long message and was finishing the last sentence 
and lost it.
It is not showing as having been sent, so I will try again and just hope 
that I am not
jamming the list twice in one day.

Sherry, thank you so much for your quick reply and for the information that 
you gave me.
To answer your questions, yes, there were x-rays taken before and after 
Mollie's first stones
were flushed.  The stones were very visible in the 'before' x-rays; nothing 
showed up in the
'after' x-rays.  No stones showed up in her bladder either time - just in 
her ureter.  Because
of the severe bladder infection - three different bacteria strains cultured 
out - she was seen
by the vet every one to two weeks for about ten weeks.  After one full week 
of clear urine
with no visible blood, he did another urinalysis.  No bacteria were present, 
but it still showed
blood cells.  He said that there might be a 'hidden' stone that we didn't 
see and the only
thing we could do was to just wait and see if she started showing symptoms 
again.  She has
not shown any sympptoms at all in the past four weeks until Friday.  I hope 
that covers all
the things you were wondering about.

I absolutely credit this vet with saving Mollie's life.  He is NOT an exotic 
vet and is not very
familiar with GP's.  I don't believe that many folks in this area would have 
gone so far out of their 'familiar' territory for a little piggie, but he 
stuck with it and researched it and made
phone calls, etc, about meds and the mammary tumor and the stones.  He did a 
WONDERFUL
job.  However, he is not well versed in the day-to-day care and maintainance 
of GP's.  He
doesn't think they should have pellets - I do.  He thinks that they have to 
be anesthetized to
do a dental check - I don't.  He didn't send the stones in for analysis 
because he said that
there is just not enough research on GP bladder stones for that info to have 
helped us in any
way - I know that is incorrect.  It makes a difference in treatment and 
life-span if they are bacterially based as opposed to calcium based.  So, I 
was a little uncomfortable about him
being able to provide me with the info I wanted in order to make sure I was 
doing the right
things for Topper and, especially, Mollie in their regular daily lives.

Therefore, last week I made an appointment with their original vet (two 
hours from us
one-way) to just take them in for a 'general well piggy' check.  She IS an 
exotic vet and has treated hundreds of wee piggies.  She is well known and 
highly recommended throughout our region.  I trust her completely and knew 
that she could give me some good guidance on diet,
etc. for them.  Between the time I put them in the carrier and the time we 
got there, Mollie started peeing blood.  The vet x-rayed her and we could 
see the stone in her bladder.  I was
so shocked and worried that I didn't even think to tell the vet about the 
other vet's theory
that there might have been a hidden 'leftover' stone from the first time 
around.  I will be
speaking with her on Monday and will mention that to her first thing.

I definitely haven't given up on Mollie.  Later the night that I wrote the 
other GRDD entry, I decided that I owed it to Mollie to offer her every 
chance to get well and get back to her
healthier self so that she can continue her life with her beloved Topper.  I 
decided that
we would go ahead with the surgery.  If there is a chance that this is a 
leftover stone, then
she may not have further stones and that would be wonderful!  If she gets 
another stone
in just a few weeks, then that gives us very important information that is 
essential to making
future decisions for her as far as her moving into a cycle of continued pain 
and suffering with bladder stones versus repeated surgeries also filled with 
pain and suffering.

Please, anyone in the digest that can give me ANY information about diet, 
what fresh veggies to stay away from due to high calcium content, herbs, etc 
- just anything that you can think of that might help me do the best I can 
for Mollie, please let me know.  These are the only two piggies I have ever 
had and I want to keep learning all I can to keep them healthy and happy.  
And thanks again Sherry for your input.

I know this is another long post.  I am not used to writing in digest form.  
Please bear with me this one last time.  I will improve, I promise.

Candy, Topper and Mollie