[Gpdd] mystery illness - what killed my piggie???

Daniella Leifer dh_leifer at yahoo.com
Mon Apr 7 12:04:08 EDT 2008


hello,
  my poor little pig died of a very weird illness that developed very quickly, and I've tried asking around to many people/vets/websites/etc. to see what it might have been (ie. was it preventable or not, if so how can I prevent it in my other pigs).  So far nobody has been able to offer much insight, if you have any idea i'd appreciate it.
   
  She had multiple symptoms.  Here is the basic overview:
  She was middle-aged, ~4-1/2.  Already had ovarian cysts (she was pretty bald on her sides, vet did ultrasound & confirmed).  For a while she was guzzling water like crazy - I thought maybe she had diabetes. Then starting about a month ago she began to eat like crazy - granted, all piggies eat like crazy, but for her it just seemed more frantic, like no matter what I gave her it wasn't enough and she never seemed satisfied, like she was always looking for something else in addition to whatever I was giving her.  I was giving cabbage, tomatoes, & vitamin drops so it wasn't lack of vitamin C.  
   
  Then, here is where the weird part comes in - about a week before she died, I suddenly noticed a little round blob on her belly - like a little pouch of flab about the size of an apricot. Over the next few days it grew and grew, very quickly, until she basically looked like she had one big flab of fat running all along her underside - from her chin down to her belly.  Meanwhile, the rest of her body was very skinny.  I made a vet appt but she went downhill so fast that she died before ever making it. My mom (who is a people doctor) looked at her and thought that maybe it was actually fluid, not fat, that was building up. At this point I think she was right - this is a little morbid, but after she died her body didn't really stiffen up very much - it definitely felt like her body contained a lot of fluid.  So the symptoms basically were:
  1- ovarian cysts (may or may not be related)
  2- drinking lots of water constantly
  3- the water thing diminished, but then she began eating constantly/always seeming to be looking for other food besides what I was giving her/never satisfied (also, being very skinny despite eating a lot).
  4- the enormous fluid buildup in her body
   
  Does anyone have any idea what it could have been?  Could it have been diabetes?
  Thanks for your help.
   
  Daniella
   


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