[Gpdd] [HEALTH] Emergency! Strokes, Seizures? Ear infection?

Jessica Schmidt jess_schmidt at yahoo.com
Tue May 9 22:50:12 EDT 2006


Hello all, 
   
  I apologize in advance because this is long, but I wanted to give history for anyone who thought they could help. I have a rescue guinea pig with severe problems. Just when I think he's getting better, he gets worse. 
   
  Joey was rescued in January (with a severe eye ulcer among other problems). Upon getting him to the vet the Monday after his Saturday rescue, they gave him with several doses of Baytril over a period of several weeks to treat a respiratory infection. He also had to have cream for urine burn on his feet and triple antibiotic ointment in his eye. 
   
  After about a month he seemed to be getting better. We stopped the Baytril treatments and cut down on the number of times the ointment was put on his eye daily. In late march or so, I came home one night to find Joey laying on his side with a severe head tilt. I took him back to the vet and they diagnosed an ear infection in his left ear. We treated his ear infection with an ear medication and doses of Baytril once again. That lasted about two weeks and he seemed better so we stopped the treatments. Since then he seems to keep going more downhill. I came home about a week after the treatments ended and found him on his side. I took him to the vet the next day and they said he seemed fine and it might be a repercussion of the illness. 
   
  But then he kept falling, like once every four or five days. And it takes him longer to regain his composure each time. (Sometimes it takes up to 4-5 hours of me propping him up for him to be able to stand on his own at all). So, last Friday I took him back to the vet and told them the problem was progressing. They looked him over and started the Baytril shots and anti-inflammatory shots again. He was fine over the weekend, but had a falling episode on Sunday. It wasn't a bad one, but he went to his scheduled Monday vet visit and I told them he fell again. Tonight I got home from work at 6:30 and he was on his side. I've been holding him for almost three hours and he still has not regained his footing. 
   
  My question is, does anyone have experience with something like this or suggestions on what it could be besides a side-effect of his old ear infection? I have talked to the guy who runs the rescue (but he is three hours from me, I'm just a foster home) and he thinks maybe seizures, stroke or an effect of mites? 
   
  Each time he falls he as a head tilt and cannot get his balance back. I give him a dose of 1.25 vitamin C each day, so I don't think it's a vitamin C deficiency. 
   
  He has timothy based pellets and hay and he'll eat carrots, cucumber, apple and lettuce, but he ignores other veggies. 
   
  Please, if anyone has suggestions on how to help him or a diagnosis let me know. We go back to the vet tomorrow to get another check-up and I plan to suggest any possibilities. I get the gpdds in digest form, so if you can e-mail me privately that would be great. 
   
  He has a great will to live and eats and drinks well when he's not toppled over, I just feel like I'm losing hope when hours after an attack he seems the same. =(
   
  Thank you in advance,
   
  Jessica and sweet, sick little Joey.



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