dental procedure

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andyprchrd

Member Since 2012
Hi everyone,

I've been lurking here for a while, but have another actual question today. MY cat, Boreas, went in for a dental cleaning as well as having two teeth extracted Monday. He seemed fine yesterday, and I didn't check his glucose levels until last night (they were normal both before he went in and normal-ish - 113 - right before he was released). Unfortunately looks like they're up again to the levels I saw when he was first diagnosed, mid to upper 200's. He had been on no insulin for the week prior to his procedure - the main reason I felt comfortable bringing him in for it. Last night I gave him 1/2 unit, and today he seems to be feeling worse than ever - for the first time since I brought him home he wouldn't eat, completely listless. I'm wondering if, given that his readings were normal for the week prior, that perhaps his glucose spike is not related to his diabetes (maybe in remission?) but to the dental procedure itself - i.e. is it possible to elevated glucose numbers from stress/pain but not need insulin? I'm just concerned that giving him insulin at this point is making him feel worse than he already is, and that I should perhaps ride out the elevated numbers and see how he does in a few days? Any thoughts would be appreciated, sorry for the rambling nature of this message.
 
Did the vet give you any pain meds for Boreas? With 2 extractions, you should have been given buprenorphine (NOT Metacam/meloxicam which carries an FDA black box warning for causing renal failure in cats) for treating Boreas' pain. If you've ever had a tooth extracted, it hurts -- a lot and people are given pretty potent narcotics for managing the pain. Cats are no different. My cat has dental issues and frequently needs extractions and my vet always provides something for pain and an antibiotic. Pain can cause BG numbers to be elevated. If you weren't given meds for your cat's pain, I'd call the vet and get them. Bupe can be given as an oral med (you use a syringe that has no needle which the vet can provide and you deposit it in the cheek pouch) or as a subcutaneous injection, just like insulin.
 
Hi guys,

I'm wondering if Boreas's extraction sites could have become infected. Did the vet give you antibiotics? Infection would certainly cause a rise in blood glucose. And infections can be painful, which would explain why Boreas isn't wanting to eat. I would suggest another visit to the vet, a blood test to rule out infection, perhaps some precautionary antibiotics, maybe a pain killer, like bupe. There are many people on this board who have a lot of experience with post-dental trauma, and I hope that someone will come along to help you out.

But, given that a big holiday weekend is almost here. If Boreas were my kitty, I would get him to the vet today.

Good luck.

Ella & Rusty

p.s. Love his name: = the North Wind that blows down the Adriatic slopes to the sea.

p.p.s. I see that Sienne has just given you good advice. Do get in touch with your vet.
 
Great - thanks much. It's 7am here, I'll be calling them shortly. Yes, he has antibiotics and pain meds - buprenex, and I've been giving him both. I was mainly concerned because of the holiday, plus not eating - something of a rarity for him!

Thanks, Ella, for catching his name - everyone wants to call him Boris. It came about because he's all white and used to, in his younger days, race through the house like a whirlwind...

Andy
 
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