[Gpdd] Health: Doris --- Another UTI !!!

[pat schuett]

Well, I didn't have long to enjoy the good result from the biopsy on Doris' "bump" --- less than a week later she started to show signs of a new UTI, only a month after she finished antibiotics for the previous one!

I asked the vet if she thought Doris' bacteria were becoming resistant to the antibiotic we have been using all along (Sulfatrim, also called Bactrim).  She doesn't think so; she said sometimes with repeated infections, the bacteria gets into the wall of the bladder and it requires a longer course of antibiotics to wipe it out.  She has prescribed six weeks worth this time; most times it has been only two weeks, though we did three weeks last time because of my concern that it seemed to be taking longer each time before I saw real improvement.

Doris has only been on one other antibiotic for this; that was Baytril several years ago, and she reacted so badly to it (she completely stopped eating and seemed to feel awful) that we switched to Sulfatrim, which seems to be very easy on her tummy.  

She's now been on the Sulfatrim for a week and is only just getting to the point of eating better and not being soaked with urine.  I am still seeing small amounts of blood in her cage, not every day, and less all the time, but I've only seen actual blood in the last two infections.  (She's also getting Metacam for pain.)  

Can anyone tell me how they have successfully managed these sorts of long-term problems with UTIs?  She has been x-rayed regularly during these episodes and this shows gravel-like bits in her bladder but not a stone (so far).  When I give the Sulfatrim, I also give her about 25cc of cranberry juice and water, since she does not drink well on her own (despite me trying five or six different kinds of water to find one she would drink more of).  

Sorry this is so long --- I'm trying to anticipate and answer questions you might have about the situation... and THANK YOU in advance: you folks have been the source of most of the useful things I've ever learned about piggies, and the girls and I are eternally grateful!

                                         Pat & Doris (not to mention Audrey and Olivia, the "healthy ones" --- KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!!)

                                                            




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