reaction to medicine?

Question
Hi,
My name is Clara and my guinea pigs name is lenny. lenny is two years old and has a cagemate named popcorn. a few weeks ago, i noticed that lenny wasn't excited about eating like he usually is, so i took him to the vet and found out he had a stomache impaction. They also told me he had a lot of gas in him so they gave him a few shots and send him home. The next day he wasn't doing any better so I too him again to the vet; this time, he stayed over night and the next morning he seemed better. I brought him back home, kept him in isolation and gave him his medicine.  His medicine consisted of 0.5 of primethoprim sulfa suspension twice a day and 0.3 of reglan three times a day. The meds seemed to work. Lenny passed all of the fesces and the gas as well. I was soon able to put him back with his cagemate and everything seemed fine for a few days.  Recently, about three days ago, I discovered Lenny wasn't eating or drinking much, and he also had lost a considerable amount of weight.  I once again called the vet, but they were reluctant to offer any help.  The only thing she suggested was reducing the medication doses to just one dose of each once a day.  I knew i had to act fast, since guinea pigs are so delicate.  I called the vet a few more times, but she never returned my calls saying she was too busy.  I decided to orally keep him hydrated and fed. I give him twice a day 15 cc's of water with vitamin C drops and about 30 cc's a day of pellets that i grind and mix with water.  I didn't want to overfeed him because he does eat and drink on his own, just a lot less than before.  I noticed his stool was not hard rather it looked orange and kind of like a gel.  He does do some regular ones, but I'm quite sure he eats them, and he seems to be urinating fine.  I want to know if perhaps he had a reaction to his medicine or if this is just normal, considering the amount of stress he had been under for the past few weeks.  I also discovered that his two back paws seem to have abrasions on them; they don't look like bumble foot.  The bruises just look like to large red scabs. Please let me know if you could provide me with any information, I'm very concerned and would appreciate any help.  THank you in advance for your time

Answer
Hello Clara,

I suggest starting him on Acidophilus. Acidophilus is a supplement found near the vitamins at the pharmacy. This will replace the good tummy bacteria that the antibiotics kill off. If he doesn't begin to improve within a day or 2 after starting him on Acidophilus or if he begins to get worse, he needs to see the vet (the acidophilus should help though). If there is another vet available, I suggest switching. A responsible and caring vet would return your calls and offer more help. As for the cuts on his feet, keep them clean and keep a very close eye on them and keep them very clean. If they don't heal quickly, they'll need to be looked at by the vet to make sure there isn't an infection starting. Good luck.

-kkat
http://www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs