I am so scared

[Piggersrule]

I had to take Pinkie, my forster piggy to the vet for what I suspected a URI. Turnes out her lungs are clear and the doctor can hear a Heart Murmur. He says it sounds like a grade 3 murmur, their are only 6 grades to determine the severity of a heart murmur. This morning when I went to go feed them breakfast I could see Pinkie was breathing heavy and I could see her heart beating which didn't seem right to me. I emailed the lady that I am fostering her from but when I didn't hear from her I called my vet who got me in ASAP. The doctor gave me some meds that will help her with her breathing. The lady called my back and has set an appt. for tomorrow morning to see a specialist. This could be a sign of congestive heart failure but we won't know for sure until some test are done. I am so scared that Pinkie might be real sick, I don't know what I am going to do, but I do know one thing, I am going to stay positive thatthis may not be as serious as it may be.

 

[seagirl96]

Oh no, she is such a little sweetie. I remember your little Pinkie cutie pie from your pigture thread. She looks like my Munchkin without the black patch over one eye. I hope she'll be fine, but remember she has been having a much better life than most piggies get. I'll keep my fingers crossed for her and say a little prayer. Please let us all know what the specialist says.

 

[chesneycwgrl]

You guys will be in my prayers. I hope all goes as good as it can.

 

[ellig123]

I'm sorry to hear this, good luck with her and I hope it works out ok.

 

[Piggersrule]

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, it means alot to us. I put Pinkie and her bestest friend Abby in a quarentine cage. I felt as though her being alone may stress her more. I want her to be as comfortable as possible. She is resting now and she did eat her dinner so that is a good thing. I suggested to the lady that I got Pinkie from that an ultrasound of her heart would be useful in seeing what is going on. She ok'd it as long as the doctor agrees. I am just sick to my stomach about this. I can't believe one of my girls could be really sick and possibly terminally. I am not going to get one ounce of sleep tonight, I just know it. I hate being a worry wart. I will let you know what the doctors say tomorrow, I go in at 10:30am. Wish us luck.

 

[NickM]

We just can't win can we? I know exactly what your going through and I remember telling myself on Monday that I would never sleep because my baby came close to death but I have been getting over it slowly. But like you said, don't think about the worst case scenario, its usually never true. Good luck with your baby:cheerful:and keep us posted

 

[envisionary333]

I really hope everything works out for you, it sounds like you are doing everything thing you can. It's so hard to feel out of control of your pet's wellbeing; when my dog was hit by a car she almost died and it was so hard to wait through the night while she was at the emergency vet.
Did you get Pinkie from Lollypop Farms in Fairport, NY by any chance? I was looking at piggies on petfinder.com a couple of weeks ago and they had an Abyssinian white girl named "Pinkie" that was so adorable!
I'm sending good wishes your way...

 

[Piggersrule]

Update on Pinkie and it's not good news. The specialist agrees with what my vet suspected. She has a heart Murmur and suspects fluid in the heart cavity. The fluid is putting pressure on the lungs and heart allowing it to not function properly. The doctor has her on meds to help with ridding the body of excess fluid. The doctor and I want to have an ultrasound done to see what is going on but he does't think that there is anyone around here will do the ultrasound on a Guinea pig. He said he will make some phone call though. He wants to see her on Saturday to see if the meds are working and than go from there. I totally lost it while talking to the doctor. I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I can't believe that my little girl is sick and there isn't much I can do for her but make her comfortable. I need to calm myself down, my chest hurts. I'll talk about this later.

 

[NickM]

Hey piggers,

I really hope you trust that you can come to us for anything we can do. I think we have all felt the effects of heartbreak over a sick guinea pig. I know very well how hopeless you may feel. I know you will do everything you can for Pinkie but getting through this time of doubt is the hardest part. There is a LOT of good people pulling for Pinkie to gain her health back; I even told my boy, Chester, to think about her.:cheerful:

Its so hard to think of things to say for you. Just know I truly care and I think I speak for everyone when saying we are hopeful she will pull through and make you happy.

 

[salana]

What meds is she on, at what dosage?

There's a lot of stuff on GuineaLynx about pigs with heart problems:
Guinea Lynx :: Heart

 

[Piggersrule]

What meds is she on, at what dosage?

There's a lot of stuff on GuineaLynx about pigs with heart problems:
Guinea Lynx :: Heart

Thank you Salana for that helpful link. I am going to print it out and give it to my doctor. I have another appointment on Saturday. My doctor will do an x-ray then to get an idea of what is going on. He has her on Furosemide 10mg/ml orally 2x day. He is hoping that this drug will help rid the excess fliud that is in the heart cavity.

I just want to thank you all for your support and prayers. Pinkie is one of my love bug girls. Her and Pumpkin are always the first to greet me. A couple days ago she started chattering her teeth at me and I knew something wasn't right. I just never amagined it could be her heart. Last week before all this came to a head, I started the paper work to officially adopted her as one of my own. All I need to do now is sign the adoption papers. Especially now with her declining health, she needs a loving home to call her own and I will see to it that she gets it, Pinkie deserves it.

 

[salana]

How much of the medicine is she getting, and how much does she weigh?

Lasix is a great drug for getting rid of fluid. Just make sure she doesn't dehydrate. If she seems lethargic and listless, she may need subcutaneous fluids (from the vet, who can show you how to administer them at home) or you can syringe her Pedialyte to replace the fluids. The Lasix makes her pee out all the fluid from around her heart and lungs, but also all the water from her blood and other organs, so you might have to balance it out by replacing fluids for her body to function right. Lasix will also make her pee out some necessary electrolytes like potassium, which can be replaced with subcutaneous fluids or Pedialyte.

On GL there are some very knowledgeable people who have tons of experience with pigs with heart problems. I would definitely recommend joining GL as well, so you can start a thread on her. Josephine, pinta, and Mum are all great resources, and their vets are good resources if your vet wants to consult on your pig's treatment.

 

[Piggersrule]

Sorry salana, I did give you the right info. She is getting .4ml of the lasix 2x day. She weighs 885g. My doctor went over the precautions for giving her the lasix. I plan on getting a bottle of pedyialyte today to have on hand for emergencies. Would it be bad to give her the pedialye to help prevent her from losing vital fluids? I am going to join the GL and start a thread on Pinkie about her heart condition. Thank you for the great advise.

 

[Hooray4Ashley]

Thank you Salana for that helpful link. I am going to print it out and give it to my doctor. I have another appointment on Saturday. My doctor will do an x-ray then to get an idea of what is going on. He has her on Furosemide 10mg/ml orally 2x day. He is hoping that this drug will help rid the excess fliud that is in the heart cavity.

I just want to thank you all for your support and prayers. Pinkie is one of my love bug girls. Her and Pumpkin are always the first to greet me. A couple days ago she started chattering her teeth at me and I knew something wasn't right. I just never amagined it could be her heart. Last week before all this came to a head, I started the paper work to officially adopted her as one of my own. All I need to do now is sign the adoption papers. Especially now with her declining health, she needs a loving home to call her own and I will see to it that she gets it, Pinkie deserves it.

I don't know how much this helps, but I have an 11, almost 12, year old long haired chihuahua with a mitral valve deficiency (it leads to Congestive Heart Failure). When we found out he got really sick. He was on a high dose of Lasix (Furosemide) to get the excess fluid out, and is on Enalapril. It's been a year and a half and he's doing great. His lasix was lowered to a maintenance level after he got better. It was scary for a while, but the Lasix was a HUGE part of his pulling through. I don't know if it helps, because I know it's probably quite different from a dog to a guinea pig, but I'm sure the lasix will work great in getting the fluid out.

 

[salana]

I would definitely syringe her pedialyte. For a pig that's not eating or drinking on her own at all (is she, or are you handfeeding her all of her food?) I like to get the Pedialyte freezer pops. Don't freeze them, just open one pop and pour the pedialyte into a cup. Syringe her about 10ccs at a time, 4-6 times a day. The pedialyte will last through a whole day if you put the cup in the fridge between drinks. If she still has signs of dehydration, (lethargy, sunken eyes, skin on neck doesn't spring back into place when you pull it up a little and let go) you should take her to the vet for a shot of subcutaneous fluids, 20cc or less only. If you feel comfortable giving them at home, you should probably ask him to teach you. As long as she's on the lasix (which could be the rest of her life, depending on whether a med like enalapril or benazepril can help her heart enough) she will need extra hydration.

 

[Piggersrule]

Salana, Pinkie is eating and drinking on her own. I started yesterday with giving her veggies wet to make sure she staying hydrated. I am also giving her Probotic Acidophilus to help keep her gut healthy from the Baytril. I have been keeping an eye on her when she eats and she is eating very well, like normal. I have seen her at the water bottle a few times today. I have also been checking her for signs of dehydration and she seems fine for now. Would the pedialyte be good to give her as a precaution/preventative to becoming dehydrated, from loosing vital fluids? Thank you for your time and advise. I am researching all that I can. I just want to make sure that Pinkie is receiving the proper care and medicines to keep her as comfortable as possible. The Baytril that she is on now, I can either give it orally or I can inject it. If she is breathing hard I will inject it. I haven't had to inject it yet. She has been fine to give as an oral dose.

 

[Piggersrule]

I took Salana's advise and I joined GL. I started a thread about Pinkie. I couldn't use the name Piggersrule so my name on GL is pigsrule. I will be giving updates on Pinkie here but you can also follow along on GL. There is some really good information on GL about heart disease. I have already printed up some info. to take to my doctor tomorrow.

 

[Piggersrule]

Update: Pinkie is feel much better this morning. She is back to doing her rumblestrutting and she popcorned a little bit this morning. I never thought I would be happy to see rumblestrutting. I haven't seen her do those in 4 days. Now Miss Piggy and Pinkie are popcorning YAHOOOOO!!!

 

[Piggersrule]

I had a vet appt. this morning and the doctor is thrilled at how well she is responding to the treatment. Her heart rate is near perfect and most of the fluid is gone from the cavity. The doctor say she will be on the lasix for the rest of her life and the murmur will probably always be there. He felt at this time she does not need to be on any actual heart medication. We are going to keep her on the lasix at the current dosage. Pinkie is doing so much better. The doctor said I could put Pinkie back into the piggy condo to be with her friends. Everybody gave her a warm welcoming by rumblestrutting and popcorning. It was like long lost friends getting back together again.

 

[seagirl96]

Good for Pinkie. She's a strong and brave little girl. You're doing a great job, Piggersrule. We are lucky we have a lethal mod of doom on our side! Thanks Salana.