Lola update: Guinea pig recovery from surgery

Hi, everyone. I suppose I'm overdue for a blog update after my recent ordeal, and I hope I wasn't keeping you all in suspense. I survived the surgery just fine, and have been doing a pretty fine job of recovering if I do say so myself. Of course, it helps to have some fine humans to help my recovering by keeping track of my medication regimen. After getting back from surgery, I was on 6 different medications/supplements:

1. Meloxicam (for pain and inflammation)
2. Cisapride (for gastrointestinal tract motility)
3. Enrofloxacin (for controlling gas in the GI tract)
4. Trimethoprim Sulfa (to treat bacterial infection)
5. Tramadol (to control pain)
6. Critical Care (if not eating well, or to help weight loss)

That's a lot of medicine!

Now I'm done with most of those medicines, which means a lot less plastic syringes being shoved in my mouth. My weight has been down a little lately, and the humans need to check with the vet to find out what my "new normal" should be after the spay surgery that removed the uterine cancer.

Thanks for the nice comments, readers!

Guinea pigs, cancer, and surgery: Lola's very rough week

The humans went out of town for a week last week, and boarded us at the vet. Near the end of our visit, the vet noticed a bit of sludgy, pink-tinged urine (likely from blood) in the cage. As our readers know, I've been having a few issues lately, so their first thought is that it came from me. They examined me and found nothing that would explain the blood--although they did find I was due for another molar trim, had a weepy eye, and some nasal discharge, and prescribed some medicine for each condition. They then moved on to checking Lola, and noticed that she had a bloated belly.

Lola, is your belly bloated because you take so much of my food?

They took some x-rays of her, and noticed a large mass that was pushing on her other organs. The "primary concerns" on her discharge statement said:

1. "Abdominal Mass: Possible uterine cancer, bladder cancer, or other cancer
2. Lytic (moth-eaten) Pelvis: Possible bone cancer, bone infection, degenerative changes, other"

The humans then had to schedule surgery for Friday, where her life hung in the balance. There wouldn't be much they could do if it was advanced bladder cancer, but if it was uterine cancer, they thought they could remove her reproductive tract to bring it under control.

Lola before being dropped off at the vet for surgery. Good luck!

The humans got good news from the vet on Friday: Lola made it out of surgery okay. She's in observation until Monday, which is common after a guinea pig surgery. The cancer was in her uterus but unfortunately it also did spread to her bladder. The vet thinks if she makes it to Monday, she will probably live many more months pain free. Since the cancer was made worse by hormones, they fact that they spayed her will keep it from growing fast.

Poor Lola! I can't wait to get my cage-mate back tomorrow. It's been so lonely in the cage all by myself. I hope she's able to continue keeping me company for a long time!

Lola's trichofolliculoma removal and Deslorelin implant placement surgeries

Well, hello there, readers! We first wanted to let you know that the humans have caught and removed that little furry jerk that's been scampering around at all hours of the night. Good riddance, I say! Finally some peace and quiet.

But wouldn't you know it? As soon as you solve one problem, life throws another one at you. And this new problem is of the medical variety, which I would say in worse than our little home invader. You may remember way back when I was first introduced to the blog almost a year ago (has it really been that long?), I wrote: "I had a small lump on my back, but the vet said it was just a clogged oil gland, similar to a pimple, and that the vitamin C would help with that." That turned out to not really be the case; the lump just got bigger and bigger, which the humans asked about on subsequent vet visits, but they kept saying it was best to leave it alone. Just recently, a new symptom appeared: there was some fur loss near the lump. The humans made another vet appointment for me when they noticed this.

I am not a fan of this.

Diagnosis, please?

After giving me a physical exam, the vet said that I had two issues: trichofolliculoma (a benign follicle tumor), and cystic ovaries ("solid or fluid-filled pockets in or on your ovary"). They diagnosed this by noting crustiness by the nipples, areas of thinning hair (not consistent with mites or other causes), and a lump they could feel on the ovaries. I then had surgery to take care of both issues: removing the lump, and getting a Suprelorin (Deslorelin) implant, which will slowly release hormones into my body. The hope is that this will take care of the hair loss and the cystic ovaries; they said it might even make me feel calmer.

 In the aftermath of the surgery, the humans are now giving me Enrofloxacin (antibiotic), Meloxicam (pain killer), and Cisapride (GI mobility drug). I've also got a shaved patch with stitches on it, so I'm not looking my best at the moment. Hopefully, I'll be back to normal soon, though!