[Stones] Re: UTI (due to bladder stone irritatoin ? ) not responding to either baytril or bactrim

Tue Aug 2 14:45:27 EDT 2005

Joel, first, you have my sincere sympathy and my concern and understanding on the difficult issues that you are facing with Star, they are not unlike my present issues and emotions with my 4 year old, Rugi who was recently diagnosed with a kidney stone.

I am not a vet and have no medical training but the one thing that I have gleaned through the many guinea forums regarding stones is that the Ca:Ph balance is very important.  Carrot greens and parsely have a high oxalate content and are too high on Ca for a balance Ca:Ph ratio.  They "could" be two contributers to Star's stones.  If it were my dear piggy, I would immediately stop feeding Star those two greens.

I have corresponded with several guinea lovers who have had success with UTIs by supplementing with an herb called Shilintong.  It's my understanding that Shilintong may not prevent UTI but helps with the discomfort.  I just began using Shilintong last week so I cannot confirm the efficacy (yet).  I "think" it may be helping.  

While Star in on antibiotics, I would definitely recommend that you give Star some type of probiotic to restore the good bacteria that get killed off by the AB.  The most widely recommended solution is the poo of a healthy piggy but I've tried every imaginable way to disguise that and try to give Rugi and she rejects it every time!  Therefore, I have used BeneBac (be sure to get the kind that is not preserved with BHT).  I am presently using iFlora (I got it a KVVetSupply.com).

If getting Star to take the Bactrim is a struggle, one trick that I came up with was to mix with a little bit of 100% pure pumpkin, a dash of garden vegetable baby food, and some Dasani water so it's not a thick paste.  About one hour later give her the probiotic.  Rather than the pumpkin, if it is available use Odwalla Superfoods.  Because that beverage is not available where I live the alternative recommendation given to me was to use pumpkin because it is natural, hasn't been cooked, and contains fiber.  I also now use this mixture to administer the Shilintong -- then she'll willing take.  I let the Shilintong tab dissolve in about 3 cc water and give half twice daily.
I sympathize with the turmoil that you are going through and the discomfort of your dear Star.  I wish that there was more that I could do or say.  Hopefully, someone else can respond with additional information.  My thoughts go to you and Star.

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Today's Topics:

1. UTI (due to bladder stone irritatoin ? ) not responding to
either baytril or bactrim (Joel Silverberg)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Mon, 01 Aug 2005 21:57:40 -0400
From: Joel Silverberg 
Subject: [Stones] UTI (due to bladder stone irritatoin ? ) not
responding to either baytril or bactrim
To: Stones at gpigs-database.org
Message-ID: <42EED314.5090909 at ids.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed

About 2 weeks ago our 5 year old female guinea pig (Star) started crying 
when she peed. The vet did an x-ray and said there were very tiny 
bladder stones, not blocking anything and perhaps that was causing 
inflamation and infection. She was put on 1 week of baytril and metacam. 
She stopped eating and lost a lot of weight. We started feeding her 
Oxbow intensive care, and afer a week on bytril showed no improvement, 
we took her off antibiotics for 1 week, intending to do a urine culture. 
half way through that week a second x-ray showed no stones but there was 
much more blood in the urine. At the end of the week an ultrasound 
showed(?) a bladder stone not visible in the x-ray, a possible mass on 
the pancreas and very small ovarian cysts. Vet says cysts not a problem 
now but may grow large later. says pancreatic mass might be tumor, or 
might be benign, or might be abcess. says the bladder stone is likely 
the cause of her current distress and hematuria (why didn't it show up 
on x-rays?)

We switched to bactrim ( 0.6 ml given twice a day , now on the 4th day), 
continuing with metacam (0.02 ml per day ... that's 0.02 ml, not 0.2 ml) 
and continuing with oxbow critical care. weight has dropped from 980 
grams when this started to 800 grams now. seems to be stable at 800 
grams for the last few days. she still eats almost no hay and no dried 
food. will only eat fresh greens (carrot greens, parsley, lettuce, 
cabbage, etc) and will only take critical care through the syringe -- 
(under protest). She is still alert and playful... just won't eat and 
squeals when she pees. I still see red in the urine ... some days just a 
little and some days a lot.

The vet says if we do decide to operate we should attack all three 
issues : bladder, ovaries, pancreas and says that is asking a lot of an 
elderly animal who has lost so much weight. On the other hand, she is 
not lethargic, but is alert, friendly, and playful, so it is hard to 
imagine putting her down. And on the third hand, if we can't get a 
handle on the infection and we can't get her eating again, will we be 
putting her in a position of pain and suffering?

Has anyone seen a similar case history and do you have some advice for 
one confused cavy owner.

P.S. The one other health concern is that she had a growth behind her 
ear about a year ago, which was removed (clear margines, 
adenocarcinoma). It came back about 4 months ago and was removed again 
(no pathology done at that time). So far there is no indication of any 
recurrence .

Thanks for any help, sympathy, or advice.

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