[Gpdd] HEALTH: Snowy Bear update

[oreochockc at yahoo.com]

Hello everyone and everypig!  A little over three weeks ago, Snowy Bear wasn't feeling well, so he went to the vet.  The x-ray showed a protein mass in his bladder.  He was put on sulfatrim for two weeks.  He seemed to do pretty good, acting pretty normal.  But once off the antibiotic, he became all sick again.  So the vet prescribed more sulfatrim.  Again, he seemed to get better, acting near normal.

However, after a week of the second treatment, he stopped peeing, from Tuesday of this week.  We syringed him fluids and kept trying to massage his penis, etc.  But no pee.  As to the way these things always seem to go, we went to another vet and it seemed forever before our appointment (the vet wasn't there until late afternoon) and I could see him fading before my eyes.  She said his bladder is quite full!  Bigger than normal size, I think.  So she, I forget what word she used, but she aspirated the urine out.  Normally, I wouldn't go that route, but because it wasn't coming out the normal way, even if she hadn't suggested it, that was going to be my plea to her.  She put him under, using isofluorane, and while he was still under, she used a catheter to 'flush out' his bladder and also see if there was anything in there.  She couldn't detect anything.  They tested the urine and there were crystals.

So he was put on metacam for the pain (strange how I was going to request that too--he would sometimes do these low squeaks then raise his butt, those are signs of bladder stones??) and also put on baytril.  It took forever (hours!!) for him to be back to 'normal.'  I've never seen a piggie 'right after' being put on anesthesia.  His eye areas were all white, as well as his nose/lip area.  I was aghast.  Not to mention he wasn't moving and his eyes were closed.  I nearly screamed bloody murder at my first sight of him.

He seemed much better late at night, but still no pee.  I stayed up with him, still no pee.  A call to the vet this morning and she said to bring him in and she aspirated the urine again and also took an ultrasound.  She said there appears to be a small blockage, we're not sure if she meant urethra, all she did was point, 'there.'  So she said to bring him in again tomorrow and she'll again do the catheter to see if she can flush the blockage, possibly a tiny stone, out.  In the meantime, she said it would be great if he passed it himself.

Now, this is where we're stuck.  IF we syringe him tons of water to try to flush it out and it does, great.  If NOT, then his bladder will be super huge and he'll be suffering and in pain until he sees the vet again late tomorrow afternoon.

We're trying the shilintong.  Also we're trying to 'vibrate' him with a hand held massager, trying to loosen the blockage.

As one can expect, the poor little guy is so tired and I'm sure quite uncomfortable.  The vet said that too much metacam can cause damage to the organs so we're trying not to do that.

Does anyone know a website that shows the 'insides' (illustration, not 'real', hopefully) of a guinea pig?  I haven't found any in any of the books I have, nor on the internet.  We'd like to know where 'things' are.

If anyone has any suggestions, please let us know at oreochockc at yahoo.com

Many thanks!!

Corrine and Michael and Snowy Bear