anesthesia anxiety...dental this week

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allie and newkitty

allie and newkitty

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Newkitty has a dental scheduled for Thursday morning. She is 14.5, has chronic pancreaititis, IBD, diabetes currently in remission, and early stage CRF. Her blood work looked good (considering) this past Thursday. Her weight is stable. I trust my vet. She will be monitoring Newkitty during the procedure while the tech cleans her teeth (it's been years since her last dental) -- monitoring heart rate and pressure, administering the anesthesia 'gas,' and giving fluids.

But I am still freaking out. It is sooooooo hard to do this, to take her there when there is a risk when I could just let go of all this stress right now and cancel. I KNOW it is really mandatory for a geriatric cat, esp. one with kidney issues that does not need an infection running around (esp. considering Newkitty is immunosuppressed from pred) from her mouth. I know, I know, I know. I keep hearing 'there is always a risk' when you put an animal under anesthesia, but can't find anything about how rare it is. I also know that if I do it and something goes wrong, I will beat myself up. However, if I don't and she gets another terrible kidney infection, same thing. My vet says she needs this. I trust my vet. But it is scary.

Please cross your fingers or say a prayer for Newkitty this week. It is so so hard to let go of the reins when things are going ok. I know this it the time to do it, when she seems stable, but still. It is stressing me out.
 
We have paws crossed that all goes well with the dental. Zener had a dental almost 2 weeks ago and is a poorly regulated diabetic, so we were very worried. He came though fine, the antibiotics caused poo problems and he had some pain which we have been managing with Buprenex but all in all, he did very well. His numbers are starting to reflect the removal of two bad teeth also. Still, it was very stressful and we know how you feel. We go back for his post-dental recheck tomorrow. Sending best wishes to you that all goes just perfectly! :YMHUG:
 
Thank you for posting, Anne! Sorry to hear about Zener's poo problems and sore mouth but glad that he made it through fine and his numbers are improving. I know that must be a relief! Did he have to have extractions? Which antibiotic is it? I have to start Newkitty's clindamycin Tuesday night.
 
Allie

My old cat,not sure how old he is(could be 15 or 16) just had 9 teeth pulled at Thanksgiving. He was a stray from my old house. He stopped eating for two days prior and they told me it was his teeth. He had some pulled about 5 years ago. He is not diabetic however. He only has 7 teeth left in his mouth. I know they keep a good eye on them during the dental, I know on my invoice the had blood pressure taking and all that. Also sent home with Clavamox and Buprenex. Sometimes they will also medicate with antibiotics prior to the dental if they think they need teeth removed. We could not do that with Arthur because he went for an emergency dental.
I am hoping your kitty will not need any teeth removed and just need a cleaning that would be ideal. Please keep us posted.

Terri
 
Allie, I completely understand your nervousness about the anesthesia and dental. Two of my cats underwent anesthesia this year and had dentals and other procedures while out. I was so nervous that I sat and listened to their heart monitors (I could hear them from the lobby) and waited until they were out of surgery. One of them was my Harley who like your Newkitty has diabetes, CRF, pancreatitis & IBD. I wanted to cancel his procedure so many times for fear he'd not wake up, but I told myself I had to go through with it because he had an abcessed canine that needed to come out. So the compromise I made with myself was that I would take the day off from work, sit in the lobby with a book and stay close by until the procedure was over and he was out of danger. He came out OK. I will be doing the same thing tomorrow morning for Hadley, my 5 year old, newest adopted diabetic who needs a dental. nailbite_smile

The only specific thing I can suggest is to ask your vet if they will be giving Newkitty IV fluids during and after the procedure. I learned on the Yahoo Feline Pancreatitis support group that cats with pancreatitis can have a flare-up after anesthesia if there is not adequate hydration and perfusion of the pancreas.

Hugs and best of luck to both of you. :YMHUG:
 
terri1962 said:
Allie

My old cat,not sure how old he is(could be 15 or 16) just had 9 teeth pulled at Thanksgiving. He was a stray from my old house. He stopped eating for two days prior and they told me it was his teeth. He had some pulled about 5 years ago. He is not diabetic however. He only has 7 teeth left in his mouth. I know they keep a good eye on them during the dental, I know on my invoice the had blood pressure taking and all that. Also sent home with Clavamox and Buprenex. Sometimes they will also medicate with antibiotics prior to the dental if they think they need teeth removed. We could not do that with Arthur because he went for an emergency dental.
I am hoping your kitty will not need any teeth removed and just need a cleaning that would be ideal. Please keep us posted.

Terri
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Nine teeth, oh wow!! I am so sorry he had to go through that. He is lucky to have a mama who will get that fixed for him. I hope she will not need any extractions as she had an odd reaction to bupernex and I don't know what else she could take...she takes gabapentin for arthritis but it won't work on mouths, I don't think. Thanks for the info!!
 
Laura and Harley said:
Allie, I completely understand your nervousness about the anesthesia and dental. Two of my cats underwent anesthesia this year and had dentals and other procedures while out. I was so nervous that I sat and listened to their heart monitors (I could hear them from the lobby) and waited until they were out of surgery. One of them was my Harley who like your Newkitty has diabetes, CRF, pancreatitis & IBD. I wanted to cancel his procedure so many times for fear he'd not wake up, but I told myself I had to go through with it because he had an abcessed canine that needed to come out. So the compromise I made with myself was that I would take the day off from work, sit in the lobby with a book and stay close by until the procedure was over and he was out of danger. He came out OK. I will be doing the same thing tomorrow morning for Hadley, my 5 year old, newest adopted diabetic who needs a dental. nailbite_smile

The only specific thing I can suggest is to ask your vet if they will be giving Newkitty IV fluids during and after the procedure. I learned on the Yahoo Feline Pancreatitis support group that cats with pancreatitis can have a flare-up after anesthesia if there is not adequate hydration and perfusion of the pancreas.

Hugs and best of luck to both of you. :YMHUG:
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Hey Laura. You really do understand exactly what I am talking about with Harley and all the mutual health issues! She did say she would have Newkitty on fluids throughout, so that is good. I did not know that about anesthesia and pancreatitis. We definitely do not need a flare of that. Did Harley get the gas kind too? Newkitty does not have any abscesses so I could talk myself out of it if I tried but I know I need to do this to keep her from getting them (or reduce the chance). It just sucks so bad. I have been fine with the other cats and their dentals but they don't have as many complications.

I can be off Thursday so I will do as you did, with the book in the lobby (and a Xanax). Good luck with Hadley. I hate that you are having to do that this week as well. Please keep me posted. Good luck, hugs, and pink paw pats to Hadley and you!!
 
Allie

Do not let them give her Metacam for pain that is not to be used in cats and can cause kidney failure. So just keep that in you mind as they tried to give that to Arthur and I had a fit.

Terri
 
Hi, Allie,
I completely understand your nervousness because I need to arrange a dental exam for Mookie and I've been putting it off for a long time. Your courage to go forward with it in spite of your fear has inspired me to do the same, so I'm going to call this week to make an appointment. I'll be thinking about you and Newkitty on Thursday. Let us know how it goes, ok?
 
just a couple things to discuss with the vet -

last year ketamine was recalled - while it was only certain lots, I've told my dentist to not use it at all.

Do not let the vet administer metacam - for pain relief - rather ask for buprenex

do not let the vet administer covenia - if an antibiotic is needed, use clavamox, amoxicillin or something else

aside from those three drugs - just tell yourself everything is going to be just fine and New Kitty will come through with lovely teeth.
 
allie and newkitty said:
Hey Laura. You really do understand exactly what I am talking about with Harley and all the mutual health issues! She did say she would have Newkitty on fluids throughout, so that is good. I did not know that about anesthesia and pancreatitis. We definitely do not need a flare of that. Did Harley get the gas kind too? Newkitty does not have any abscesses so I could talk myself out of it if I tried but I know I need to do this to keep her from getting them (or reduce the chance). It just sucks so bad. I have been fine with the other cats and their dentals but they don't have as many complications.

I can be off Thursday so I will do as you did, with the book in the lobby (and a Xanax). Good luck with Hadley. I hate that you are having to do that this week as well. Please keep me posted. Good luck, hugs, and pink paw pats to Hadley and you!!
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Hi Allie, Well, Hadley sailed through his dental just fine. He lost only 1 tooth - the left upper canine, which had a small chip off the tip but had a large neck lesion under the gumline. I got to keep the tooth - photo attached. I sat in the lobby with my book, no coffee and shoot, no Xanax. I knew I'd forgotten something. LOL Since he's an uncomplicated kitty, Hadley's already home, eating and being his usual bouncy self and on buprenex for pain.

I"m glad your vet is on board with the IV's before, during and after - it's crucial. I'm sure Newkitty will be just fine. I second Terri and Hillary's suggestions on letting the vets know about no ketamine, metacam or covenia. Will be thinking of you on Thursday and please let us all know how shes does!
 

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Terri and Hilary, thank you for the med info. We are starting clindamycin tonight. I don't think she would even consider metacam as Newkitty is a renal kitty and it was not offered as an option when we were discussing her arthritis pain several times this year (I had already heard bad things, too). She does not react well to Bupe but maybe Tramadol?

Mookiesmom, this is one of the harder things I've had to do since I have had her...the worst being agreeing to the exploratory during the Great Pancreatitis Attack of 2005. Same vet, and Newkitty's pancreatitis attack was done and gone when she came home so that one went well. I am just sick with dread and second thoughts and doubts. Please let me know when Mookie's dental is coming so I can say a prayer for a trouble-free, extraction-free dental.

Laura, what a relief. I am sorry you had to white-knuckle it without the xanax though. I wish my other cat still took valium, I might sneak one of hers, ha ha, just kidding. Should I give extra fluids the night before? She is supposed to get 150 ml each week and it's up to me how she gets it. I usually do 50ml x 3 nights but I can give her more.

Aghhh!! Dreading!!
 
This is a link from my vet's practice that describes a dental procedure in detail. You may want to ask whether your vet follows the same procedures. I would not give extra fluids, The vet should put in an IV so if fluids or anything else needs to be administered during the procedure, it can be done easily.

Gabby had a dental around Thanksgiving. She's almost 12 and did very well despite 5 extractions.
 
Hi Allie, I agree with Sienne to not give any extra fluids. If tonight is Newkitty's regular SubQ fluids night then I'd suggest administering the usual amount. If tonight is not the night you'd normally give the fluids then skip. The IV's before, during and after dental should take care of the required hydration.




Edited to fix bad spelling. Wish my kitties took Valium or Xanax! I won't stoop to raiding their buprenex though.
 
Thanks you guys! I will just give the regular amount of fluids.

Going to start a new thread...came home to a dark loose stool in the box. Hers is usually more orangey brown. Not black dark but darker than we normally see...not sure if that is normal with clindamycin...she has had 2 doses. She seems to be eating fine though.

I dread the next 24 hours!
 
Breathe!!

And yes, dark loose poo could be the antibiotic; does everything else seem OK?

During the dental, maybe ask that they warm the fluids slightly unless there is a clinical reason not to do that; anesthesia tends to chill them a bit.
 
Newkitty is home from her dental. No extractions, lots of tartar but otherwise things looked pretty good, considering how long it's been. She has already used the litter box and wandered around looking for food. The worst part of it was last night, she was soooooo hungry around midnight, then 4 am, 5 am, 6 am, etc. She kept telling me with pitiful mews and paw pats and could not understand why I was being so stupid/lazy. Anyway, hopefully she will recover well, no panc flares, and we can put this behind us. I got some Cerenia just in case.

Thanks for all your prayers and support!!!!
 
YAY!!! Now that was the update I was waiting to see...Go NewKitty. Tell mommie that now that you have pearly whites again a few extra low carb treats are in order so she can be forgiven for starving you last night. :-D

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
Yes! I was watching for your update and am so happy for both of you! No extractions, she hit the jackpot. That's good for at least 3 rounds of catnip and LC treats for her and some tunaritas for you.

flip_cat drinking24
 
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