Ethical?

[salana]

If you are worried about her being lonely at the vet, you could bring along her favorite cagemate to keep her company. I think at some point you have to decide on what's best for the animal's quality of life day to day, vs. what they could have in the future. As humans we can say to ourselves, "This chemotherapy/surgery/medication will make me feel miserable for 2 weeks or 3 years, but afterwards I will be much healthier." We don't know if animals can say that to themselves, or if all they know is "I feel miserable."

Would I spay a 6 year old guinea pig? Probably not. But I would want her ultrasounded to see if she has cysts or ovarian/uterine cancer. And then if she had cysts, I would want them drained if they were large, and I would get her Lupron injections.

[thalestral]

Originally Posted by Susan9608

So, thalestral, how do the hCG injections work to reduce/eliminate ovarian cysts? Did your vet say? I'm curious. Lupron is generally the treatment of choice (that or any kind of birth control pill to stop ovulation) for human cysts ... so i"d be really interested to know.

hCG is the treatment used here in the UK, and also the one recommended by Guinea Lynx. I don't know much about the workings, but a good comparison is that hCG is often used in human females to treat polycystic ovarian syndrome. *pulls up her far too numerous guinea pig files!*

Follicular cysts on the ovaries of a guinea pig are formed in much the same way as with POS individuals. A follicle enlarges to an abnormal size instead of ovulating and releasing an egg. This is thought to happen due to the animal having too little luteinizing hormone (LH)

The hCG imitates LH - a surge in LH is required to kick start ovulation. In a guinea pig with a follicular cyst, their ovulation cycle is stuck which is why they appear to be stuck in estrus. This surge provided by the hCG causes ovulation all over again, the egg is released (resulting in the guinea pig coming out of heat) and the luteinization causes the cyst to regress.

Much of what is known about hCG in animals actually comes from the treatment of dairy cows, where ovarian cysts are very common. The hormonal treatments also work against serous ovarian cysts but I'm not sure how they work exactly - Brie has a follicular cyst and it was that which our vet explained. I'm not sure what kind Rosie has, or which is a more common kind or whether it varies by age (both my cyst girls are young).

I do know that hCG is successful in treating many mammals, from cats and dogs to cows, rabbits and guinea pigs.

The similar but newer hormonal treatment GnRH (Gonadotropin-releasing hormone 1) is perhaps even more successful as it doesn't result in antibody formation. We are thinking of trying to see if we can get that for Rosie next as she doesn't seem to be responding to hCG as well as we had hoped anymore. We have also progressed to using a three injection course rather than a two injection course, 10 days between injection one and two followed by injection three after a further 21 days. Brie has so far responded wonderfully to the hCG treatment though and it is certainly helping Rosie compared to before. I've also been recommended to try giving Rosie a top up injection every month to keep her cyst in check so I am going to discuss the benefits of doing that with our vet as well.

Lupron is a GnRH agonist, so I am not sure exactly how that works in comparison

[Susan9608]

That's interesting - I know that hCG is a choice of treatment for PCOS, but I've never heard of it for "true" ovarian cysts. Lupron has been touted as a treatment of choice for ovarian cysts, since it suppresses ovulation. Of course, many doctors - depending on the size and type of the cyst - will want to try cheaper and less invasive birth control pills first, before moving on to lupron injections.

Lupron is also used for women with severe endometriosis, which for some reason seems to go hand in hand with ovarian cysts for some reason.

I have NO reason to know all of this, except for that I've spend too much time look at infertility information.

[thalestral]

I don't think they use hCG to treat ovarian cysts in humans at all, but it's pretty widespread for use in other mammals. I've been in touch with a couple of people on GL who have pigs who have been on it for years with no problems which is comforting to know.

I'll need to look into Lupron and its effects in animals, I only know about it for ferret use which is for adrenal disease I think.