[Gpdd] [Health] Spay questions

Dr Kay Dudman kay.dudman at londonmet.ac.uk
Fri Dec 8 15:09:11 EST 2006


Dear Lisa

Sorry to hear that Keely is having trouble after her spay.  What pain meds
is she on?  If she is having Metacam, she might need something stronger
like vetergesic (might be called something different in the US, it is a
morphine-like drug).  She is not going to eat if she is in pain, so I
don't agree with your vet that she should come off her pain meds.  She
probably had some pain relief as part of the spay, and it may be that she
feels uncomfortable now that has worn off.

I have had two of my piggies spayed.  Felicity had to have an emergency
operation as she had a pyometrium (like an abscess in the uterus); I took
a week off work to look after her, but she was fine and didn't really
need any special care (I was still glad I took the time off, though).  I
changed her bedding every couple of hours to make sure the pee didn't
sting her tummy.  Bess was spayed as she had ovarian cysts, and she looked
a bit out of things for a little while because of the pain relief
(vetergesic) she had, but then she was fine.

I sounds as if, with the uterus and bladder being attached, it could be
something like endometriosis in humans, where some of the uterus lining
exists in the body cavity, and it becomes inflamed when she is in oestrus.

I think the trouble with her poo is because she is not eating much.  What
got Bess eating again recently (different problem) was fresh grass; if you
can cut some fresh grass and rinse it in warm water, see if Keely will
take that.  What you might also like to try is some of Keely's normal
salad put through a juicer; she'll get the taste, vitamins and fluid; you
could mix it with critical care so that will provide some fibre too.  She
should be getting better by now, after being spayed on Tuesday.  It sounds
as though you aren't happy with your vet's answers to your questions, so
maybe you could ask the emergency advice section in the digest.  Don't
take no for an answer when it's your little piggy...go somewhere else if
necessary, maybe ring round to see what other vets can suggest.  When
piggies aren't eating properly and are losing weight, it is an emergency,
so you need to find someone who is piggy-orientated.

I hope you and Keely feel better soon.

Best wishes

Kay

> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 8
> Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 23:21:44 -0800
> From: "Folly Farm" <lfolly at sbcglobal.net>
> Subject: [Gpdd] Health-Spay questions
> To: <gpdd at gpdd.org>
> Message-ID: <000a01c71a99$882a71f0$0101a8c0 at homeii226ynl7t>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Hi,
>
> Have any of you guys had your sow spayed?  I was just wondering how she
acted afterward.  How long did it take before you could see her acting
like her old self?  I had my Keely spayed on Tuesday, and I just didn't
know what to expect.  She looks terrible.  She's barely eating or
drinking, she cries when she poops (the poop is long, dark and stringy)
and there's blood in her pee.  Did this happen to anyone else's pigs?  I
have dogs and cats, and I know they're different species, but they seem
to bounce back so much more quickly after a spay.   I called my vet with
my concerns, but he had explanations for everything.  He said to cut back
on her pain meds to see if her appetite came back.  She had been to the
vet several times with UTIs and bleeding, so I opted to have her spayed
and have exploratory surgery done for stones at the same time.  No stones
or female problems, but he said that her uterus and bladder were
'attached' and that he'd never seen that before but that might have been
what the problem was.  So he ended up leaving a tiny bit of the uterus in
rather than cutting into the bladder.  I'm feeding her critical care with
a little carrot and peach baby food, and she's eating a pinch of hay here
and there or a romaine leaf, but she's lost almost an ounce in one day.
Any info I'd greatly appreciate!  I'm a mess with my little piggy sick.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Lisa &the Herd in San Diego
>




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