What would you do?

[catalady]

I have a huge dilemma here and was just wondering what everyone else would do, though deep down I think I know what people are going to say and deep down I know the answer myself..but need some reassurance.
I have a sow who is not yet 3 1/2 years old and before christmas just gone she had an operation to remove a bladder stone. This operation was hugely successful, I posted about what the vet actually did in the bladder problems in the health section, though it also cost a lot of money ( our holiday money for this year) Since then we have been treating her with a chinese herbal remedy that is supposed to help stop crystals/stones forming. I had thought this was successful as we'd had no further problems...and we'd been told that they could recur within a few weeks.
At the weekend we noticed that her urine had a pinkish tinge so I immediately started her on Pearl Barley water. Most of the time she has passed urine without squeaking or wincing, though a couple of times she has squeaked as she passed it. A couple of times it has been clear, then today there has been a lot of blood in it..though she still isn't really showing signs of pain or discomfort. I have now started her on human cystitis treatment but I think deep down that I suspect it is another bladder stone/s. Obviously as soon as she shows any pain or discomfort I will get her straight to the vets but then I have the dilemma of what to do ultimately...do I let them x-ray her and do tests, do I try antibiotics and painkiller or do I have her put to sleep ( which will break my heart) I am just not sure if it fair to put her through that all again, though she coped fantastically well with it all last time, and truthfully I can't afford to have another operation done either. Is it fair to have her PTS when there is the chance an op could solve it again, or will it just keep recurring anyway and be a problem for the rest of her life.Is it fair to have PTS just because of something as trivial as a bladder stone..we wouldn't dream of doing that to a human?
I love this little girl to bits, she is so loving,intelligent, trusting and seems to know so much of what I say to her...and of course all these feelings and emotions are clouding my judgement.
What would everyone else do, what are your opinions on this? Please help me to come to a rational decision by giving me your considered opinions , rather than my very emotional and involved view point.
Tracy

[celia]

I have a sow inside at the moment with similar symptoms to your sow but the xrays showed no stones and no sludge . She had xrays done and 2 weeks later was wheeking when she pee'd but when i went to see what was up with her she passed very thick sludge and with that came a lot of blood . The sludge has gone and she is happy enough but her pee is sometimes a rusty colour . I have kept her inside away from the herd just to keep an eye on her but she is not the same without all the other pigs , we all know how they like company of their own kind . I have had lots of different info and meds to try but there will be NO bladder op because i lost my boar after his bladder op i will never do it again . I have done all i am willing to do for my sow because there are limits on how much pain and suffering i can allow her to go through and limits to what i will spend , i also have to consider that if she is always going to leak pee from her bladder then she cant go back in the shed with all the other pigs because she will need washed and sudocrem on everyday and there would be a risk of fly strike . I would also need to monitor the amount of pee she passes and its colour and that cant be done in a herd of pigs . I will be honest with you Tracy if this sow does not get well enough to be put back in the herd then it would be kinder to let her go but she is not at that stage yet , if it was proved by xrays that your sow has an other stone then if it was me i would let her go . I know its hard but its all part of being a responsible owner and we have to do the best for them even if that is letting them go x
p.s forgot to say i was just reading your posts about that sow last night and was going to pm you to ask how the meds were working because i am trying to help my sow through this too

[catalady]

Thanks for replying to my post Celia, I know this is a difficult post to respond to as it is so emotive and up to each individual...but I just feel that other peoples opinions will help me make my final decision and I really appreciate that you have responded to me so honestly. Thank you

[honey]

I have also had a guinea pig in the past (Lemon) who had a bladder stone and it was successfully removed with no problems at all, she was 5 at the time and she came through ok and was fine once again.

Now at the moment I have Honey who is 5 1/2 and I suspect that she too has a bladder stone she is leaking smelly wee and her vulva is swallon and Im 100% sure she has a bladder stone but because of her age I am reluctant to put her under sugery as she prob wouldnt make it due to her age, so I am continuing to monitor her, and I will continue to monitor her, as at the moment she is in no pain.

Its a tricky one to answer because if it was me I must admit when it comes to it I will have Honeys bladder stone removed only if neccessary and I know that there are risks and that I could lose her but it would only be if I was certian that she needed the operation, and like you say they can form again within 2 weeks, I dont think tho I would put her through more than that though I think you have your limits and also age goes against Honey too.

You say that money is an issue too, and yes it is very expensive, but I think its how much do you put your pig through, when is enoughs enough and of cousre if you think your piggie is in pain.

I can only give my opinion and I hope that this helps.

[catalady]

Thanks for your reply Honey...I hope your Honey is ok, it's horrible when they are unwell isn't it - you feel so helpless at times. We have been giving Molly the cystitis powder for 2 days now and I have increased the chinese herbal tablets that are supposed to help dissolve stones and crystals. She is absolutely fine in herself, trundling about and eating well..yesterday there was quite a lot of blood in her urine and today it has got less and less until it was almost completely clear this afternoon- Until tonight and she has just passed urine with a fair amount of blood in it and squeaked as she passed it. It's very puzzling as it just isn't consistent, ( which makes me suspect stones even more) all we can do is finish the 3 days of cystitis powder treatment tomorrow, keep on with the Lysium and continue syringing her water often and just keep our fingers tightly crossed and see how it goes I guess.

[honey]

I think thats all you can do at the moment, just monitor her and help her as much as you can and then if you really want to put her through an operation again then thats a decision you have to make, after a second operation the stones might never come back, its that gamble you take and shes still quite young.

It is horrible to see them ill, but I know at the moment my Honey is happy enough so I will leave her until absolute necessary, until that time comes.

Please let me know how you get on with Molly wont you.

Good luck, I know how you must be feeling.

Do you live in a hard water area? I have heard that this doesnt help either.

[catalady]

Well...this morning her urine is clear!! As I said yesterday, she is bright as a button and showing no signs of illness at all. We have this game we play when I am syringing her, she has a syringe full then I say 'don't you bite that towel' in a teasing voice ( I have her on a towel on my lap)...so she immediately bites the towel and looks straight up at me, she does this every time so it can't be a fluke. She's definitely a piggy with a sense of humour, lol.
I don't think our water is particularly hard Vickie, and besides which I always use filtered water in the piggies and cats bowls and bottles so that would counteract it anyway I think.
I have my fingers crossed VERY tightly for both of us and our gorgeous girls!

[honey]

Ahhh thats so gourgous to hear that she does that, how cute, my Honey does something similar when Im syringing her too, she tugs at my cardi, she gets hold of it with her teeth and gives it a tug, to say right I dont want this syringe full of stuff, lol its nice to know that they have feelings too.

Please let me know how things go Tracy.

I too will keep my fingers tightly crossed for both our lovely girls who mean soo much.