Sunday, January 19, 2014

Recheck

This was the view for the majority of the trip
Both Pinniped and Cannoli made the trip to the vet on Friday.  It was a very different experience than last week.  The ride went by without a peep.  Amazing.  Cannoli's presence kept Pinni so much calmer, even after the indignity of having her belly shaved and heavily gooped up. 

The bad news is that Pinni still has some kind of calcification that looks about the same size as the stone removed last week.  The good news, it's not in her kidneys, which the ultrasound confirmed.  It also confirmed that the cyst on the left ovary is gone and what's left on the right one has shrunk considerably.  X-rays show the calcification is somewhere near her spine.  It's an odd spot.  The vet isn't sure if it's in Pinni's digestive system or somewhere else.  But it didn't appear to have moved much since last week's x-rays.

So we're due for a recheck in another six weeks, unless something comes up earlier.  Pinni continues to get some pain meds, although her grunting is getting less frequent.  I'm hopeful that will stop in a few days.


3 comments :

  1. Hooray for the (mostly) good news! The photo made me crack up. What clowns.

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  2. Hi Sally,

    I frequently pop by to enjoy the antics of your piggies. I have a question as I can't really find anything on the guinea pig forums and you have experience with Pinniped's cysts. I have a 4.5 year old pig who I will take for an ultra sound soon because we've ruled out mites for her hair loss on her belly. Did you fast Pinniped before her ultra sound? The vet recommends fasting 12 hours before because gas in her stomach might interfere with it, but it really doesn't sit well with me. Thanks

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    Replies
    1. We've never fasted any of my pigs for either xrays or ultrasounds. I've watched the vet do the ultrasounds, and she's a wiz at moving stuff around to find kidneys, ovaries and cysts. Twelve hours is a long time to fast a guinea pig. I took a quick look around GuineaLynx, and could see that some people fasted their pig for a few hours, but only if the guinea pig was going to be sedated (ultrasounds usually do not require sedation). I did see one comment that an ultrasound was postponed because of too much gas and matter in the intestines (it showed up on an xray).

      My opinion is not feed any treats or extra greens a few hours before the appointment, but leave her with hay and water. (But that is ONLY my opinion - I am not an expert nor a vet.)

      Good luck with the vet visit!

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