judy and squamee(GA)
Very Active Member
Hi all. Most of you don't know me, as I was here last year, and have been mostly gone since Aug 20, 2009, when Squamee went OTJ. I am back, now, because Squamee has serious heath problems and may need insulin again---and I think of this as our insulin home. And even if she does not go back on the insulin, we are both suffering and I need you guys to talk to (Joanna,Sarah, Ele, Terri and Bebe were all invaluable to me last time around). So here is a summary of what has occurred, (excuse the length, or just skip it)
Sept 21, 2010.
A year and a half ago Squamee developed what looked like a jaw symptom. She would start eating and then move her jaw around like she was trying to dislodge something stuck in her mouth, while pawing at the sides of her face. There was also a slight clicking noise. She would stop eating and return again a few minutes later. Sometimes she would then be able to eat. She was put on long acting steroids which resolved the problem and she developed diabetes. She was on insulin (PZI) for several months and then went OTJ on Aug 20 2009. This August (2010) the jaw symptom returned. It did not respond to oral medicam. My vet thought it might be a tooth or TMJ. I took her to a dental specialist who could find nothing amiss on oral examination, but with x-rays found a badly rotten tooth which was extracted on Sept 7. That night she was able to eat more freely (anaesthesia?) and in the following days was on buprenex, but the difficulty eating got worse.. Gave injections of Medicam and Buprenex which seemed to help for a short while. Then did x-rays of skull to look for bone spurs(?) and also sonogram of stomach which showed nothing. Said the next step would be endoscopy and if that showed nothing, a cat scan. These were with the idea that perhaps there was some form of cancer. On Sept 17 she had a seizure, which the vet believes is the result of a brain tumor, which would also account for the mouth problem. If we are willing to consider brain surgery, a cat scan is now in order. The scan would be $1000 and the surgery in the area of $5000. (and we have already spent several thousand). I am not in a position to do this, much as it breaks my heart.
So at the moment, I am testing her BG daily, and the vet says if it stabilizes in the mid 300’s he will put her on insulin. He doesn’t want to do it at lower numbers because low blood sugar increases the likelihood of seizures. At the moment she is staying in the mid to upper 200’s. He says if the seizures become frequent, he can try giving her phenobarbitol. Currently, she is able to eat, although I do see just a little of the mouth symptom. She sleeps a lot, and doesn’t really seem herself.
I don't know how to tell if she is in pain. I am listening and watching all the time for signs of a seizure (last time she fell over, and was all wet from her urine), and she does not appear to have had another. (although if it were at night or when I am at work, I don't know if it would be apparent to me when I saw her). I have it in my mind that eventually this will become intolerable and I will have to have her euthanized. I have no idea if the time frame is weeks, months or more. It kills me to have to keep guessing about how she feels and if she is in pain.
Sept 21, 2010.
A year and a half ago Squamee developed what looked like a jaw symptom. She would start eating and then move her jaw around like she was trying to dislodge something stuck in her mouth, while pawing at the sides of her face. There was also a slight clicking noise. She would stop eating and return again a few minutes later. Sometimes she would then be able to eat. She was put on long acting steroids which resolved the problem and she developed diabetes. She was on insulin (PZI) for several months and then went OTJ on Aug 20 2009. This August (2010) the jaw symptom returned. It did not respond to oral medicam. My vet thought it might be a tooth or TMJ. I took her to a dental specialist who could find nothing amiss on oral examination, but with x-rays found a badly rotten tooth which was extracted on Sept 7. That night she was able to eat more freely (anaesthesia?) and in the following days was on buprenex, but the difficulty eating got worse.. Gave injections of Medicam and Buprenex which seemed to help for a short while. Then did x-rays of skull to look for bone spurs(?) and also sonogram of stomach which showed nothing. Said the next step would be endoscopy and if that showed nothing, a cat scan. These were with the idea that perhaps there was some form of cancer. On Sept 17 she had a seizure, which the vet believes is the result of a brain tumor, which would also account for the mouth problem. If we are willing to consider brain surgery, a cat scan is now in order. The scan would be $1000 and the surgery in the area of $5000. (and we have already spent several thousand). I am not in a position to do this, much as it breaks my heart.
So at the moment, I am testing her BG daily, and the vet says if it stabilizes in the mid 300’s he will put her on insulin. He doesn’t want to do it at lower numbers because low blood sugar increases the likelihood of seizures. At the moment she is staying in the mid to upper 200’s. He says if the seizures become frequent, he can try giving her phenobarbitol. Currently, she is able to eat, although I do see just a little of the mouth symptom. She sleeps a lot, and doesn’t really seem herself.
I don't know how to tell if she is in pain. I am listening and watching all the time for signs of a seizure (last time she fell over, and was all wet from her urine), and she does not appear to have had another. (although if it were at night or when I am at work, I don't know if it would be apparent to me when I saw her). I have it in my mind that eventually this will become intolerable and I will have to have her euthanized. I have no idea if the time frame is weeks, months or more. It kills me to have to keep guessing about how she feels and if she is in pain.
