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Heart Issues Can I give infant gas drops with heart medications?

jdallas2

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Hi there. My guinea pig Hawley was just recently diagnosed with some heart problems (she's almost 6). She is now on Furosemide, Enalapril and Pimobendan. Last night she felt pretty gassy and she feels a little bloated to me this morning still. Am I able to give her infant gas drops with those medications?

I left a message for my vet last night but they are not open today so I don't expect to hear back until at least tomorrow. I did call an emergency vet but they can't give me advice without having seen her. She's not uncomfortable and is still eating and drinking and eliminating fine so I'm not terribly concerned but I would like to see her belly a little less hard.

I've been massaging her and putting her on my vibrating phone and get some movement that way but would like to try the drops to see if that helps.
 

bpatters

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What do you mean by "feels a little bloated?"
 

jdallas2

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She's had some bloat before (where her tummy sounded hollow when tapping on it). This is similar though not as bad as in the past. I just didn't know if anyone had experience with knowing if there are any interactions with the above listed medications.
 

bpatters

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Is her stomach tight? It's the combination of tightness and hollow sounds that are characteristic of possible bloat. If it's not tight, she's not bloated.

And yes, you can give those meds concurrently, AFAIK, but I wouldn't dose them at the same time. Give the simethicone halfway in between the doses of the other meds.
 

jdallas2

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Yes, it feels taught and hollow sounding. I've given two 1.5cc doses today. Hopefully we can get ahold of the vet first thing.
 

jdallas2

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Her tummy feels a little better after the second dose.
 

jdallas2

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Just to give an update - I took Hawley to the vet this morning. The vet told us that it's possible that the medications are kicking up some bacteria in her tummy and causing the excess gas. She hopes it will calm down in a few more days (she has only been on the meds 4-5 days). In the meantime she did approve the use of Simethicone 2-3 times a day at .3cc-.6cc dosages. I will be doing 3 times a day at .3cc. She also said that it's okay to give it the same time as the other medications.

When we took her in last Wednesday (she wasn't squeaking or making any noise Tuesday night) her lungs were filled with fluid. The best news to come out of today's appointment is that the vet couldn't hear any fluid in her lungs at all so her diuretic (Furosemide) is doing what it should!
 

jdallas2

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Quick update - the gas drops have been helping keep her bloating under control. The vet last week gave us metochlopramide to try (a GI motility drug) to see if that would help move out some of the gas. Unfortunately when we gave her the second dose, she became lethargic and was just not acting like herself even though the first dose was fine. We don't know if this was related to the new drug, or just coincidence as she exhibited similar symptoms Sunday night after not receiving the drug. After I gave her some gas drops she seemed to perk back up again. We stopped giving her the metochlopramide so we could speak with the vet. When I talked to the vet yesterday morning, she said it was unusual that our girl would have reacted that way and to try again. I tried to give her the dose last night with her other 2 heart meds but she was just not having it and my husband wasn't home to help. I also didn't try this morning as I would not have been around to watch her. We're going to try again tonight and see if it helps.
 
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