Better results...sort of.

[Pam & Alley]

Vet appt yesterday, checking for BP and EKG. EKG was great, everything ok to proceed with the dental set for the 24th. His blood pressure was high, but no one told me you take a cats blood pressure from the tail, and NOBODY messes with Alley's tail!!! She took it 4 times, the lowest was 175, but no meds for that until after the dental if needed. Would not go along with the Sub-Q fluid request. Said not a good thing if indeed his BP is high. She will use the gas for anesthesia, the one that has a very fast recovery if needed. Didn't write down the name. BUT she said she would give him Metacam for pain, I said no way, as I have read here bad reports on Metacam especially when used on cats with kidney problems. Also no Covenia, if that was the alternative. We, as usual, butted heads. She told me I needed to get a "curve" on his BG levels, yeah, that is new to me! Anyway, after she showed me a drawing she made of the curve, I just gave her "the look" and she waded it up and threw it on the floor. Luckily, we both laughed at that one. Anyway, she seemed to back-off of the CRF for now saying his BP is rather high, and a good reason his numbers were also. And she is convinced that if I listen to her, he can be controlled with diet and possibly BP meds. She said also his BUN and Creatinine levels should go down after the dental.
Thanks to everyone for their support and advice.

 

[pamela and tigger]

Good for you for not blindly going along with everything she said. No advise here except that if you do a Search on the Health Forum for "Dentals" you will find tons of good info if you have any questions. Hopefully, getting this dental done will help with Alley's numbers.

Here is a good link on taking blood pressure in cats:

http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/Health/Blood-Pressure.html

 

[Pam & Alley]

Thanks Pamela! That was very helpful.

 

[Vicky & Gandalf (GA) & Murrlin]

The back foot is an alternative for taking BP. My vet has to shave Gandalf's foot to do it though, so Alley may not like that either.

Does Alley have a heart murmur? If so, I wonder if it might be worth taking him to a board certified cardiologist.

Not sure I follow how a dental could bring down BUN and creatinine? It can help level out BGs because you're removing a source of infection, so maybe it's similar help for the kidneys? They won't have so much gunk to filter out? Just wondering.

 

[Marci and Buddy]

Good to hear this news.

 

[Pam & Alley]

Vicky, I didn't explain this very well. Because his BP was high, we were getting high numbers on the BUN and Creatinine numbers. After the dental recovery she will take it again to determine if he needs meds for that. She said higher BP levels are good at the time for anesthesia because they have more time to work on the tooth and cleaning before he would possibly show a drop in BP to bring him out of it. The more the vet explains things, the more scared I get. but at least she is using the gas to put him under for a better recovery. nailbite_smile


Oh, she originally thought he has a heart murmur, but after the EKG, she said no.

 

[Vicky & Gandalf (GA) & Murrlin]

That's what my vet does for Gandalf's dentals, uses gas. It's easier on them, but I guess their BP can still drop. Sounds like you have a knowledgeable vet. Hope you get it figured out.