Sierra

[brendab]

Hi all,

Well, Sierra has blood in her urine. But, it is not very bright red. It is more rust colored and very dilute. Does that indicate something?

Weight, appetite, all else are good. Poops are the best she has every had (she was my mushy poop pig).

Help. I worry most about her.

PS. I have a call into my vet.

[brendab]

I'm reading about interstitial cystitis. Could she have it?

She gets these every 3-4 months. Sometimes they go away in a day and I only suspect it was her. last time she was treated with bactrim and it went away.

[Paula]

Are you certain it's blood?

I'd get a UA to see if it's a UTI that's not being treated with the bactrim. I'd also consider an xray to rule out a stone.

[Sef]

Aw, poor Sierra. I hope it's nothing major. I agree that I would have an x-ray done to rule out the possibility of a stone, especially since there have been recurrences.

Next thing, would be to examine diet. Do you feed her a lot of romaine? Romaine used to trigger bleeding in my "sludge" pig, Henry. Also, what pellets are you feeding?

I/C is really just a fancy way of saying "we don't know what's causing the bleeding." If you can rule out stones and adjust diet if needed, that would be a good start, I think.

[brendab]

Thanks guys. She peed brighter red last night but today I don't see any yet. She is on my lap on a towel right now.

I cut out all romaine and kale since the last one. She eats KM hay and KM pellets. Although I just ordered orchard because she is out of timothy.It is on the way to me. Isn't it higher in calcium? Should I not feed it?

They did a UA and it was clear at the vet (she actually peed on the table and it was clear. Then they took a sample of it back to look at)but he put her on a course of bactrim.

Last night he called back and told me I could start her on Guinness's left over baytril and some metacam. That maybe she needs a stronger AB.

She does like to sit in her pee in the hay. And I keep her butt trimmed but she is a long haired. Could she just have more of these or should I really be suspicious of something else?

[brendab]

ok, she just peed in the towel and it was clear. Not a trace of visible blood! I am sure it was blood last night because there was a small bright red clot once. Maybe she passed a stone? Can AB's work that fast?

I plan to keep her on metacam and baytril and watch her like a hawk...

[Paula]

I really don't think it's likely that she would have passed a stone and I also don't think the baytril is working that fast, at least not to clear up blood.

I'd still want an xray to be sure.

On the hay question, timothy hay is higher in calcium than orchard grass.

[Sef]

How long a course did you originally do on the Bactrim? UTI's can sometimes be stubborn. How long ago was she on Bactrim for bleeding?

Be sure to watch for inappetence on the Baytril, as you already know, and keep us posted!

[sabrina]

Is she spayed?

My Gracie Lou had some bleeding before her spay. We thought it was a stubborn UTI, until we did the abdominal ultrasound. She had enormous cysts and pyometra.

Kumar does have IC. We did every test on him and didn't find anything wrong. Every so often, he will pee a speck of blood. It's usually just once or twice each time.

I'm also dealing with a stone pig right now, so I second the x-ray.

I hope Sierra will feel better soon. Poor baby, scritches to her.

[brendab]

She was on the bactrim for a week, but I think it lasted me 9 days so I finished it all. This was in May.

What would cause blood and then no blood? This happened last time too. By the time we got to the vet, no more blood...

No she is not spayed.
My vet said that he would go right to a spay rather than ultrasound because of the costs.

[brendab]

ok, so no blood tonight and eating like a champ. So, since we don't want to take her out in the heat, my vet is going to refil the baytril prescription and have me watch her closely. If she has more blood, stops eating, crying or any strange behavior he will have to see her.

[Sef]

That sounds like a plan! Fingers crossed here. Keep us posted, okay?

[brendab]

Clear pee again this morning. And her weight is good. I am truly stumped on what it could be.

[brendab]

Today she has long skinny poops. They are good color and consistency but like they are stretched out. Could this be from the baytril? (She is prone to GI issues).

She has no blood in her urine, weight good, eating and drinking. I give extra Vit C and acidophilous after every dose of AB.

Should I be concerned?

[Sef]

Oh, poor Sierra. Yes, it's most likely from the Baytril. It can be hard on the gut for a lot of pigs. Of ours, only Sebastian seems to tolerate it.

Are you giving the acidophilus an hour or two after the Baytril, or immediately after?