[Gpdd] HEALTH: Isis needs to gain some weight!

[warmbreath at comcast.net]

Hi Angela,    Isis' weight loss and hunger and thirst are a symptom of the 
hormone imbalance she has because of her ovarian cysts. I must ask, are you 
treating her with hormones, actually it may be HGH, somewhere in the 
archives is the name of the one she needs.  However she has had these cysts 
for a very long time and there is a distinct possibility is should say 
probability, that they will grow to the point of putting too much pressure 
on nearby organs, or they may develop cancer.

The best cure is surgery, but she is now much older.  It will cure her is 
she lives through it, and to make this more probable you need to find  an 
expert exotics surgeon, we can help you find one. Even the choice of 
anesthesia and it's delivery is are critical as is her post-op care, she 
should be on Reglan before and after surgery to minimize gas, which 
minimizes bloating and gas, which minimizes the pressure put on the 
stitches, which prevents itching, which prevents her from wanting to scratch 
and bite at the stitches. And there must be stitches, not glue, not 
steristrips, not staples, 2 layers deep of real stitches.

The other option is the hormone treatment.  If the cysts haven't been 
treated directly no doubt they have grown, and the hormone imbalance 
stimulates metabolic imbalance that puts her in high gear, she is quite 
literally burning up, burning both food and water in a vain attempt to keep 
up with her new metabolism. Of course dont try to withhold food or water, 2 
or more water bottles, etc. I would add some alfalfa to her diet, more 
calories, unless she prone to stones.

Now lets talk about treating her symptoms. The smelly poops.  Acidophilus is 
on the map but the wrong road. Vets use Benebac which has one or 2 more 
bacteria in it than acidophilus which is only good for digesting milk and 
piggies dont eat milk. I think it best to go to the health food store and 
ask the clerk or read labels of the refrigerated products, to find the one 
that has the most different kinds.  I've even heard that Beano helps if she 
is gassy, but I have never used it. Avoid ones that have sorbitol. a sugar 
alternative, in it because it causes gas, and in high enough doses, 
diarrhea.

Or.  if you know of a healthy pig who has had a couple of doses of 
Ivermectin in the last few months to make sure no parasites are passed, then 
you can try to retrieve a healthy cecotrope from that pig, mash it with a 
bit of water and feed her, or try to get her to take it straight off. This 
has to be repeated (as does the probiotics) well past the time her gut 
health is restored.

This is a very common disease in female piggies, the best thing to prevent 
is a spay at a young age, but really there are few vets experienced enough. 
Because of the growth of the cysts and the metabolic changes, which will 
continue to escalate, she will eventually die of this, unless surgery is 
successful, (but she may be too old and unhealthy) or if the hormone 
treatment works well for her.  I would try to find the hormone treatment, 
but if the cysts have turned cancerous it wont work for long. Cancer in 
piggies is not usually successfully treated unless its a cancer on a leg 
that can be amputated in time.

These comments are based on guinea pigs, not the rabbit medicine that I had 
to lean on for the e.c. discussion of the last few weeks. FYI, female house 
rabbits are routinely spayed by their first year as degenerative changes 
occur starting very early, often by two years old. Its possible their is a 
correlation between the two species, I.E. both very commonly suffer this 
degenerative change. House rabbit and our pigs often live much longer than 
their sisters and brothers living in household or breeder populations as we 
get them vet care, and study and develop best practices, so our pets live 
long enough for these change to show up. Her age now is tribute to your 
great care.

If no treatment is found then I suggest just support her as well as you can 
as long as she is finding enjoyment in life, there may come a time when a 
decision about helping her to the bridge is preferable for her.  Keep track 
of her weight, and consult with a great vet if you dont have one, Oh! how I 
love being wrong esp. when a new treatment has come along that can save her. 
BTW I did spay a 5 year old sow and it went great till 10 days out when we 
ran out of Reglan, she was a very gassy piggy and her gas came back, she 
itched, and then ate through her stitches. I did have a great surgeon he 
tried to repair her, but she had eaten through her own bowel, he attempted a 
resection but it was too late.
Since then we have discussed inventions of a type of Elizabethan collar on 
this forum that's not a stiff paper ot plastic cone, but more like a thick 
scrunchie worn around the neck, it doesn't drive the piggie nuts so is much 
more successful

I do wish you and her  good luck and pray you will be able to make her 
comfortable, (of course keep up the meloxicam)and even find a cure.  Enjoy 
one another while she's here, 5 years is a very respectable age for a piggy 
of course we cant help but want them around much longer. I hope you will 
keep in touch with us and share your experiences good and bad so we can 
learn more for other piggies and we can share what we find. Dear little 
Isis, bless her.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Angela Taylor" <angela at lunaclick.net>
To: <gpdd at gpdd.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 8:27 AM
>
> As many of you know, we've been battling Isis's ovarian cysts for a few
> years now, and she'll be 5 in December. They caused her digestive 
> distress,
> and she was up and down there for a few months. We got her to a decent
> place, and she was there for quite a while, having occasional pain and 
> bouts
> of soft poop that we were managing with meloxicam and diet.
>
> Her problem now is that her poops are always soft, plentiful, and VERY
> smelly, and she's lost a quite a bit of weight in the last few months 
> (from
> 2lbs 2oz to 1lb 9oz -- yeah, not good). She still eats like a horse, and 
> is
> always begging for more food, more food, more food, which she eats like
> there's no tomorrow. She drinks probably 3 times the water that our other
> girls do...we refill her water bottle every two or three days. She still
> begs for scritches and loves getting them, but she's not comfortable being
> out of her cage for longer than a few minutes. I think it's because she's
> pooping so much and wants to do it "at home." (Doesn't everyone feel that
> way when their stomach is upset?) I have to clean her cage twice, 
> sometimes
> three times a week.
>
> After thinking about it, I had a theory: Maybe she stopped eating her 
> cecal
> poops because of her digestive distress, which made it worse...she didn't
> have the bacteria necessary to digest her food properly. We've been
> sprinkling her nightly lettuce with Acidophilus for a week or two now, and 
> I
> have noticed that her poop is a little less smelly, but there's still lots
> of it and it's still soft. I haven't seen an increase in her weight like I
> hoped since we started the Acidophilus.
>
> Does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations about what we can do to
> make her tummy happy and get some meat on this poor girl's bones?
>
> ~*~
> Angela, Peter, and the Guinea Goddesses
> Isis, Artemis (Mimi), and Pomona (Mona)
>
> =====
>


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