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UTI/Urinary Tract Infection Colonel is squeaking when he pees

barbaramudge

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Oh, I truly hope that's not the case! You and the Colonel don't deserve this! I hope everything works out much better!

Thank you. I'm keeping my fingers crossed but preparing for the worst. I should feel lucky that we've made it this far but it's hard.


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miniver

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I am frustrated that it seems there isn't much research happening for solutions to what is a common problem.

I think the people on this forum are the research team. Every story or problem that someone shares will help someone else. Reading about Colonel's issues have helped me and my two girls.
I hope everything works out for him.
 

barbaramudge

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I think the people on this forum are the research team. Every story or problem that someone shares will help someone else. Reading about Colonel's issues have helped me and my two girls.
I hope everything works out for him.

I'm glad to hear that it's been helpful for you. I've learned so much here myself!
 

barbaramudge

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c0304bc9f00159488b82fc880ecc174e.jpg


Resting comfortably for now. He's been less puffy tonight. I've been giving him Shillintong to help with pain and inflammation. I genuinely think it helps him feel better. Could just be in my head but I don't think so.


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bpatters

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Shilintong doesn't particularly help with pain and inflammation. What it does is slightly relax the ureter so that a stone is more likely to be able to pass. If you think he's in pain, ask the vet for some metacam.
 

barbaramudge

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Shilintong doesn't particularly help with pain and inflammation. What it does is slightly relax the ureter so that a stone is more likely to be able to pass. If you think he's in pain, ask the vet for some metacam.

That's the plan. If the weekend vet wasn't triple the cost I would have done that. Of course I would have done that despite the cost if he had been in extreme pain or not eating etc. I'll be calling the regular vet tomorrow. I imagine we'll do an X-ray to confirm and then treat for comfort for as long as possible. Much as it pains me to do so, I'm not going to just keep operating on the poor little guy. Especially when they seem to come right back. :(
 

barbaramudge

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Update: Took Colonel to the vet. She was lovely. She's only going to charge me the "follow-up" rate for his visits for anything bladder related from now on. Urine came back totally clean. Nothing palatable. Ultrasound didn't show anything. While X-rays are the only way to tell for certain, we think if he has stones currently they are probably still small. Since he is not in distress currently, we are going to wait on X-rays. She did send me home with metacam for if he seems to be having more pain. He's hasn't been fluffy since the 21st.

I've been giving him the shilintong daily. The vet was happy to get some anecdotal evidence that it helps so I'm kinda tracking our experience for her. I guess she has another client in a similar situation that she plans to tell about it.

So overall we are just on a wait and see plan. Hopefully if he has more stones he will be able to pass them. Keeping my fingers crossed.
 

lisa325

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I'm so glad Colonel is doing better, he has certainly had more than his fair share of issues with his bladder. I know skinnypigs1 on you tube used to give her "bladder pigs" Shilintong tea, and she felt it helped, it certainly can't hurt him, so I would give it too. I wish these poor little creatures didn't have to suffer with these crappy issues. Before I ever had pigs ( as an adult ) I didn't realize just how many medical issues they can actually have, I always thought they were pretty tough, but have since come to find out they're quite delicate, so we have to be very diligent in observing them.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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That's definitely good news about the Colonel so far. Hopefully the x-rays come back clean, in the hopes that if he did have another stone he was able to pass it like the last one.

Seems to be a pretty tough cookie, that Colonel!
 

barbaramudge

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I'm so glad Colonel is doing better, he has certainly had more than his fair share of issues with his bladder. I know skinnypigs1 on you tube used to give her "bladder pigs" Shilintong tea, and she felt it helped, it certainly can't hurt him, so I would give it too. I wish these poor little creatures didn't have to suffer with these crappy issues. Before I ever had pigs ( as an adult ) I didn't realize just how many medical issues they can actually have, I always thought they were pretty tough, but have since come to find out they're quite delicate, so we have to be very diligent in observing them.

Skinnypigs is the one who suggested it to me! She's been so helpful! We're just keeping our fingers crossed and trying to be happy with whatever time we have together.
 

barbaramudge

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Well, it’s been a while but here we are �� Given his age and history, we are going with just keeping him comfortable. Unless there is some new treatment I haven’t heard of?? Just wanted to let you know. Attaching x-ray for others information.
 

bpatters

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Without reading back, how old is he?
 

barbaramudge

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He will be 6 this summer
 

barbaramudge

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Trying again on attaching X-ray. Everything is set up different than before. 9463D735-4B9B-4579-BDFD-2EAA559E687D.jpg
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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You did very well managing to keep him stone free for almost two years. But those are big ones.
 

Cavydad1019

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Information provided is very useful. Thank you so much. He is very very lucky to have you [and the other way around as well :)].
 

barbaramudge

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Ok, am I being selfish? I’m rethinking having the surgery to have Colonels stones removed. We did make it 3 years between. He is in good heath other wise. He is still, even now, excited for food and wheeking and begging from his platform. I was thinking maybe I’d rather lose him because I tried instead of putting him to sleep. Is that crazy?


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Soecara

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No it isn't crazy. At the end of the day you are the one who has to make the decision, and trying to make the decision that will leave you with the least amount of regrets is certainly worth considering.

The pros vs cons of either decision must be taken into account but I don't doubt this is something you have thought and will continue to think long and hard about.

Just keep in mind if he did make it through the surgery itself he would still need to make it through the recovery period, how well he coped with the last surgery should certainly be taken into account but keep in mind if you did go ahead with surgery to expect the recovery period to be harder for him than last time.
 

barbaramudge

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Ok, I’m doing it. The vet feels he should do well and he feels very confident. I have all the supplies I need and the time to care for him. Surgery is Monday am. Wish us luck!
 

Cavydad1019

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Good Luck. Hope he makes it through. Our prayers are with Colonel and you.
 
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