advice please

Question
Hi Pat, I've asked you questions recently about my guinea pig, Sophia. I hope you can help me again. I'll just give you a re-cap of the situation, and I'll try to keep it short. I have a 5 year old guinea pig, Sophia, who was attacked by our newly adopted pomeranian about 1 month ago. Miraculously, she survived, but with several complications. We were taking her to a regular (dog/cat) vet for her concussion, blindness in one eye, and overall trauma for the first few weeks. When she developed an abscess on her cheek (from an infection that was caused by a bite wound), this vet no longer seemed to know what to do. I did a lot of research online and knew the abscess should be removed and cleaned out thoroughly before it would heal properly. Other than the abscess, Sophia was getting better and stronger everyday. Anyway, we started taking Sophia to an exotic vet who specialized in small animals. She removed the abscess and stitched it up. We thought that would be the last hurdle, unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case.  I should mention that she hasn't had a big interest in food since the accident, she will nibble on a vegetable here and there but she has mostly been sustained by syringe feedings of critical care. The exotic vet put Sophia on metacam for pain, flagyl antibiotic, and propulsid for constipation. She also has special eye drops because she has ulcers in both eyes, one is going blind. Sophia had her first BM in 3 days today. I have to say that since Sophia is on this new medication her demeanor is terrible. She just sits puffed up in the corner, she is pushing the critical care mixture out of her mouth when we try to feed her, and just seems to be going more and more downhill everyday. This is heartbreaking, we have done literally EVERYTHING we can to help her, financially and just with our time and effort. It almost seems like the exotic vet turned everything around for the worse minus their work on her abscess. I know this is a complicated situation and you probably don't have nearly enough information to accurately access the situation, but any advice? Should we go back to the original vet? Am I over thinking this and it has nothing to do with the vets? Any help and all would be appreciated. Thank you.

Answer
I remember our conversation. I think I told you at the time that I didn't think it was an ordinary abscess. Flagyl is an antifungal. It's also notorious for causing stomach upset which may be why she's acting the way she is. She hurts.

Not to criticize the exotic vet but I would think Baytril would have been a better choice. Abscesses have the potential to come back, especially when they've been sewn shut and any remaining pus has no way to drain. I still think she's got trauma inside her mouth from the bite.

If this were my pig I would stop the Flagyl. If I'm right she will perk up within a day or two as the stomach pain goes away.

I know you've spent a fortune on treating her and I commend you for making that effort. Not everyone has the financial resources to do that. Keep giving her the eye drops. I would stop Flagyl and see if that helps. The Propulsid was given to aid her digestion so continue that for now. The Metcam may also be causing some side effects, so don't give it routinely for a day and see if she perks up.

The fluffing up and staying in the corner is not a good sign. It's often a sign the pig has given up. But don't you give up yet. It's not over till it's over.  

Please keep me posted. I'm so sorry she's taken a turn for the worse. But let's hope for the best.