12/19 Noodle Dental Update Good news :-)

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Christianna

Member Since 2014
To everyone who has so kindly been praying for Noodle's dental, I am happy to report that he came through it fine and I will be leaving in a minute to bring him home. He only had to have one extraction, a relatively minor one, and other than bad tartar and gingivitis, there were no other unwelcome surprises. I can't wait to see him. All of your prayers, support, and words of encouragement are appreciated more than you can know and now I am off to get my boy :-D

Christi
 
Very happy for you!! And it's so encouraging to hear that everything went well - my sugar kitty Mandarin will need a dental too and it just scares me to death to do it.
 
Now sending vines for a speedy and drama free healing :cool:

I think the most important thing to keep in mind post dental surgery is that eating may be uncomfortable for a while.
So before resuming insulin be sure that Noodles will eat if you need him to.
In case you encounter unexpected lows, you want to be confident you can manage with food.

It may be premature but while it's at the front of my mind I want to mention that once Noodles mouth is healed there is potential for him needing less insulin.
ECID but It happened to my BK. HIs first dental was 12/08/2008. On the 8th day post dental things started changing . He was on 12.5u Lantus at the time.
By the 14th day after we were down to 9u and by the 21st day after down to 8.5u. The downward trend continued, building momentum until on 02/19/2009 when BK was down to 3u.

His is an extreme example; since he was high dose it was a long way down. Nevertheless it illustrates the dramatic difference healthy teeth and gums can make.
 
Thank you, Sandy and Black Kitty :smile: Wow, I couldn't believe the reduction in BK's insulin after the dental was done. I will keep a close eye on Noodle, both for the potential reluctance to eat and for the possible insulin adjustment. I'm almost afraid to expect the same kind of results for Noodle but it sure would be a dream come true if he would have a downward trend like Black Kitty did. He is still a little woozy and doesn't want to eat yet but I am just so glad to have him home and through the procedure. I know I just about drove everyone on the forum crazy with my questions and anxiety and I appreciate your hanging in there with us :smile:

Christi
 
Hi Mandarin's Mom,
Thank you so much for your kind words :smile: As I mentioned before on the forum, I think I drove everyone nuts (although they were far too nice to say so) with all my anxiety and questions about Noodle's dental. So I know just how you feel ;-) Everyone pitched in with very helpful comments and suggestions about how what to ask the vet, how to make Noodle less stressed, etc. and I know they will do the same for you. How soon will Mandarin need a dental? Noodle had needed one for months but I encountered a couple of stubborn vets who wouldn't do it unless he was regulated. But I read here on the forum how difficult it would be to get him regulated with nasty teeth. Thank goodness I finally found a vet who agreed with the forum members and suggested going ahead, with all the extra precautions in place. I will keep my fingers crossed for Mandarin, so please post when he is getting ready for his dental. You'll get lots of support here :smile:

Christi
P.S. Just saw Mandarin's SS and his numbers really look good--envy you those blues and greens!
 
Thank you! Very excited about Mandarin's numbers! At this point, I might wait with his dental until I can figure out a safe dosage (or maybe even take him off the insulin). Dental issues are actually what started this entire journey. Despite his young age (Mandarin is only 2.5 years old), Mandarin has always had problems with inflamed gums. In late August, the vet suspected stomatitis, but wanted to try a shot of Depo and Convenia before doing major extractions. It helped for a brief period of time, but the infection never cleared up completely and he was bleeding from his gums again by mid-November. The pre-surgical blood work in November revealed that Mandarin was diabetic. One of the vet's theories was that the Depo shot triggered the diabetes. However, he is also a big boy and had urinated excessively even before the Depo injection. So who knows.

Long story short, Mandarin needs a dental badly and, worst case scenario, he will need all of his teeth extracted. I am amazed at how well he is doing with all of that going against him... and considering that he is such a little scaredy cat and doesn't let me test him very regularly. But I am sure I will be full of questions and concerns once I go ahead and schedule his dental.
 
Hello again :cool:

Hows Noodle doing?

Did the vet send you home with an antibiotic and something for pain?

I do hope you are able to get a spot check in before AMPS. The anesthesia can cause BG to drop - ECID.

Christi & Noodle said:
Noodle had needed one for months but I encountered a couple of stubborn vets who wouldn't do it unless he was regulated.
Click to expand...
I encountered that as well. . ..I cannot tell you how crazy that makes me grr_red
 
Hi Sandy and Black Kitty,
So sorry--I'm a bit slow in answering today. Had to dash out to get some more test strips so I didn't run out while I need to test Noodle more.
He is doing pretty well today--still a bit sleepy but his appetite has been ok so far and he had a good breakfast. The vet wouldn't cut loose with any pain med (g-r-r-r) and the AB she prescribed is Simplicef (cefpodoxine). He has never had it before and I wonder how he'll react, as many ABs give him diarrhea and vomiting. He only gets half a tab once a day so I'm thinking it's some pretty potent stuff. He had his first tab after breakfast so I'll watch and see. Oddly, his AMPS today was 323. I can't figure out the rise, since he's been running from low-mid 200s most days this week. When I phoned into the vet this morning to report in she said to raise him .25 unit. Is that a good thing to do right now? She thinks it won't be any danger to continue taking him up but from all I've read on the forum about cats dropping after a dental, it gives me trepidation. May I ask what you think? I just didn't think right now was a time for changes. I have been testing poor Noodle frequently since he got home, poor guy and am going to update his SS right now. Thanks so much for checking on us and for all your help :smile:

Christi
 
Christi & Noodle said:
The vet wouldn't cut loose with any pain med (g-r-r-r) and the AB she prescribed is Simplicef
Click to expand...
Here is a link to information on the use and potential side effects using Simplicef for cats.

Pain can cause numbers to climb. I don't understand why the vet didn't send you home with a couple days worth of buprenorphine.
I can't imagine a serious deep cleaning with an extraction not being painful. grrr is right. Is he eating well?

This 'post op' period requires that you shift into a very attentive mode.
Since ECID there is no way to know which way things will go so being prepared is your best strategy.
Make sure you have plenty of HC and a bottle of karo or honey available and plenty of test strips.
Test frequently and let the numbers be your guide.

It's a one shot at a time situation until healing takes place and extra vigilance is the best strategy.
Be mindful that with a DKA in the very recent past having enough insulin on board is very important. Not doing so could open the door to ketones developing.


Hang in there - It won't be this intense for long. In a week or so it will likely be a different story. :cool:
 
Hi Sandy and Black Kitty,
Thanks so much for the Simplicef link. I'm not overly impressed with what I read, that it's mostly used for dogs and for skin infections. Since amoxicillin is poorly tolerated by Noodle maybe the vet knows something I don't about this drug :? I wish she had given Noodle metronidazole. He tolerates it well and the vet sites I visited said it's good for dental infections. S-I-G-H.
Noodle is eating quite well today. Every portion is made into "cat food soup" as a clever forum member put it. Lots of water added to make it easier on his poor little mouth and to keep his fluid intake high, although he doesn't seem to be in any pain and doesn't show any reluctance to eat. I still am burned up about no pain meds though.
I am heeding your advice and warnings and testing Noodle frequently for both BG and ketones. The lowest he's dropped today is 261 at PMPS and ketones are negative so far. I wonder if he's a little higher than last week because of either pain, or the reduced dose the vet did at the clinic (2U) and had me do last night (2.5). Probably choosing to do Noodle's dental during the week before Christmas was foolish but once the vet agreed we could go ahead, I didn't want to wait even an extra week or two. We're planning a quiet Christmas this year so I will be home all the time to do the testing. That is more important to me than anything right now.
Thank you so much for your continuing advice and help. With your experience with Black Kitty I know I'm getting the best advice possible and I really, really appreciate it!

Christi
 
Christi & Noodle said:
Noodle is eating quite well today. Every portion is made into "cat food soup" as a clever forum member put it. Lots of water added to make it easier on his poor little mouth and to keep his fluid intake high, although he doesn't seem to be in any pain and doesn't show any reluctance to eat
Click to expand...
Very good news and excellent strategy!
Christi & Noodle said:
I wonder if he's a little higher than last week because of either pain, or the reduced dose the vet did at the clinic (2U) and had me do last night (2.5)
Click to expand...
Probably all of the above. It's an ordeal - no way to know exactly how a kitty will react or how long before healing is complete.

sending some more (drama free) dental healing vines Noodles way :cool:

BTW, did they schedule a followup visit?
 
Hi Sandy and Black Kitty,
You asked about a follow-up visit and yes, we have one on the 29th. The vet thought 10 days would be reasonable for a re-check unless, of course, Noodle develops any complications.
He is eating better today and seems to be more interested in things. Not sure how long it takes for all traces of the anesthetic to wear off. Maybe he's just tired from the whole ordeal and all my extra poking and testing. I suspect, though, that part of today's fatigue is that he was "mousing" until the wee hours. When I checked him at 1 am and 5 am, he was camped out in the laundry room, pressed up as close to the wall as he could get and we could hear a mouse scrabbling between the walls. Thank goodness Noodle came up empty, but hope springs eternal. :shock: Once he gets onto something like that, he doesn't give up. The beans are hoping that the wee mousie found his way back out again or at the very least, that he will go into the live trap. He doesn't want to be Noodle's midnight snack-EWWWWW! We HATE when he catches anything, which he has down once or twice in the past year. The poor little things are so pitiful when injured or killed and they just want to live too. :sad:
Thank you so much for sticking with us and always inquiring about Noodle :smile: We really appreciate it!

Christi
 
Hi Christi.

I just saw that Noodle has some dental work completed recently. I'm glad to hear that he's doing well with his recover.

Speaking of dental, I too may be going down that road here in the coming weeks. We have a suspicion that Websters teeth may be causing issues him issues.

What's the latest update? Hows Noodle doing?

I'm very interested to see how Noodle responds once the dust settles. Fingers crossed that his bgs drop into normal range and stay there for a long, long time (with any luck, without insulin. :smile: )
 
Hi Mike,
Thank you so much for asking about Noodle :smile: He is doing very well, better than I even expected. He regained most of his appetite the day after his procedure, which surprised me, and has continued to act better every day. I am testing his BG more frequently, just to be sure there is no sudden drop as I have been advised sometimes happens. He did scare me yesterday with one neg-trace ketone reading but subsequent tests last night and twice today showed that he had returned to negative. Whew. You understand how that panicked me :shock:
Speaking of ketones, how is Webster doing? I saw on your post a couple of days ago that he had thrown you some scary moments too. Also, I know you're pursuing getting him on a waiting list to see a dental specialist. (Did I get that right?) Does he seem to have any mouth discomfort that you can discern, like trouble chewing, really bad breath, etc.? Before my experience with Noodle's developing diabetes, I had no idea how much dental issues can impact BG. I was aware that dental bacteria in people as well as in cats can get into the bloodstream and cause all kinds of problems elsewhere. But I never really thought of it as impacting BG. I am very anxious to see if the cleaning will lower Noodle's numbers after his mouth is fully healed.
Were you able to get instruction on sub-Q fluid administration? I fully understand your reluctance. I was the same way but 5 years ago had a kitty in renal failure and when I saw how much better she felt after getting them, I learned to do it. I actually videotaped my vet tech doing it and probably watched that video a dozen times before I did my first poke. :? The first time is the hardest but then it will become almost as routine as testing and giving insulin shots. We here in Wisconsin get a lot of snow and dangerous road conditions and I've always been afraid Noodle would start to show a need for fluids and I wouldn't be able to travel, so I always keep a bag or two of fluids on hand for an emergency, and I've been glad a time or two.
I'm anxious to hear an update on Webster and hope that he is improving with every day. I'm a little behind on reading posts because of the holiday demands but hope all is well with your boy :smile:

Christi
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top