Author Topic: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors  (Read 13896 times)

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Offline Middle Child

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #15 on: September 27, 2011, 08:50:43 PM »
Actually clindamycin (antirobe) is a better choice of antibiotic for dental/mouth issues. I hope the torb can keep her comfortable, but I am sorry to hear she is not eating.  My boy lost a considerable amount of weight in the time between being diagnosed and his surgery, the first time. (there was a wait because of other health issues, then my vet was out of town)   Once I knew what to watch for, he never had to go longer that the first chatter before he was in getting the painful teeth and roots extracted.  He doesn't have many teeth left but he doesn't care.

All paws crossed for Belle.

Offline Lola

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #16 on: September 30, 2011, 12:10:11 PM »
FMM,
I'm thinking weekend vet needs to work on a LOT more than just her communication skills. 
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Offline FurMonster Mom

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #17 on: October 02, 2011, 03:05:44 AM »
Lola, I'd agree. 
But I chewed that bone pretty well throughout my conversation with our regular vet, so I'm sure the message was heard loud and clear.

MC, clindamycin was one of the antibiotics mentioned, but we tend to lean toward clavamox for a first round. 

The redness of the infection has gone down noticeably and the torb seems to be working as well.
Belle has been doing better, been eating and not hiding in her bed (crate) as much. 

Dental is on monday, bright and early (at least for me, it is).  It was mentioned that they would skip the penicillin injection as long as I gave her some clavamox before coming in.

I sent a note to the holistic vet, letting her know I appreciated her input, and that I would love to set up a home consultation sometime in the next month.  She responded graciously, saying to keep her posted.
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Offline Middle Child

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #18 on: October 02, 2011, 11:40:35 AM »
I'll be thinking of Belle on Monday.  I'm so glad she is feeling better.  Once those bad FORL teeth are gone she will be a new cat.

Offline Shadow

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #19 on: October 02, 2011, 12:55:57 PM »
So glad Belle is doing a bit better, let us know how she does after monday. I know she will feel a lot better :) grouphug
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Offline FurMonster Mom

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #20 on: October 04, 2011, 05:19:56 PM »
So, if yesterday could have a title of it's own, it would be "Timing"

Got up, fell asleep, got up, fell asleep...
Finally crawled outta bed 45 mins before "go time".
For a non-morning night owl... that's pretty good timing.

Zombie-walked around the house....
Gave Belle her antibiotic...
Pulled myself together, loaded Belle into the travel bag and into the car.

Car won't start.
So much for timing.

Luckily, we have a charger, so I call the Vet and tell them I'm running late.
Plug in the charging machine, flip the switch, and.... there seems to be no charge.
So I text hubby, and he insists that the thing should be working, tells me to check the gfi, the strip switch.. blah blah blah...
I tell him the gfi was the first thing I checked, and I'm not using the stupid strip on his workbench because it's buried under a bunch of his crap.

So, as a last ditch effort, I hook up the charger to my battery anyway, and voila!
I'm only 30 minutes late.

I get to the vet, apologize for being late, throwing her day off, and she says in all seriousness, "Oh no!  Actually it works out perfectly.  I had some other things to deal with, so the timing works out just fine."
Huh.

After dropping Belle off, I go get myself a new battery.
Now, usually, someone at the parts store will help with a simple battery swap, but this guy didn't offer.
That's okay.  I'm a self-sufficient woman.  Google is my friend, and I know how to use tools.
When I have tools.

I get home and look up a few articles on changing a car battery.  It's about as simple as I thought.
So, I clean the corrosion off the old battery with baking soda solution, and notice that the nut holding the negative clasp/connection to the terminal head is... shall we say, very beat up.  With a sigh, I look for my tools.
Hubby has them.

The vet calls to say that Belle has come through the surgery just fine.  The roots were well on their way in the resorption process, so they just did the crown amputations as discussed.  She basically "lost" 6 teeth.  Also mentioned that one of her kidney levels was a little "high normal", and her urine was a little concentrated; probably due to dehydration.  I wasn't too surprised, since she hadn't eaten much on Sunday.  The vet asked me to pick her up at 4:00.

Sure, no prob.
Hopefully, I'll have a new battery in my car by then.

So I call the parts store, and they say, "Okay, come on back 'round 3". 
Fine.  Perfect timing.
Three o'clock rolls around. 
I charge up my dead battery, head to the parts store, swap out for the new one, and go pick Belle up.

Did I mention the weather?
It was... teasing... all day long; sprinkles, sun, sprinkles, sun, clouds, sun, sprinkles...
Once I picked Belle up, it started to look more serious.
A ten minute drive home, put Belle in the bedroom, and then it started storming in earnest.

Timing.





meow meow meow meow meow meow? -woof!
Translation: "I can has my raw food? -please!"

Offline Middle Child

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #21 on: October 04, 2011, 08:17:32 PM »
Goodness, that is a day of Timing!

So how is Belle doing?  I don't understand leaving the roots to be resorpted. Won't they still cause pain until they are done, especially now that they are totally exposed, with the crown of the tooth removed?

I am not criticizing, but I don't understand the reasoning.

Keep us posted on Belle's recovery.  Does she have pain meds?

Offline FurMonster Mom

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #22 on: October 04, 2011, 10:07:29 PM »
So how is Belle doing?  I don't understand leaving the roots to be resorpted. Won't they still cause pain until they are done, especially now that they are totally exposed, with the crown of the tooth removed?

Oh!  No.  Sorry I wasn't clear on that.
The crown is removed, the nerve is killed, and the gum is sewn over it (definitely not left exposed).
Killing the nerve is the key for stopping the pain. 
Though there is of course, some pain due to the gum incision/stitches.  So, yes, we are still on Torb and Clavamox for another week.

She's not eating much, but is making a good attempt with a little coaxing.
And the others have dialed down the hissing.
So, hopefully tomorrow will be better.

.
meow meow meow meow meow meow? -woof!
Translation: "I can has my raw food? -please!"

Offline Shadow

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #23 on: October 04, 2011, 11:47:56 PM »
So glad you got Belle home safe and sound now.  Hope she gets her appettite back soon.
Sending butterfly kisses your way  kittybutterfly
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Offline Middle Child

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #24 on: October 05, 2011, 08:14:05 AM »
Oh!  No.  Sorry I wasn't clear on that.
The crown is removed, the nerve is killed, and the gum is sewn over it (definitely not left exposed).
Killing the nerve is the key for stopping the pain. 
Though there is of course, some pain due to the gum incision/stitches.  So, yes, we are still on Torb and Clavamox for another week.

She's not eating much, but is making a good attempt with a little coaxing.
And the others have dialed down the hissing.
So, hopefully tomorrow will be better.

.

OH!  That does make some sense to me, rather than going digging for the roots.  Thanks for explaining.

All paws crossed that Belle's appetite picks up.  The meds of course will affect her appetite too.  Be sure to give her a little probiotic every day to counteract the clavamox. :)

Offline Lola

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #25 on: October 06, 2011, 09:46:25 AM »
I'm waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay behind! 
What a Monday you and Belle had!   :o
How is she doing?
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Offline Middle Child

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #26 on: October 06, 2011, 10:05:03 PM »
How's Belle now? 

Offline FurMonster Mom

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #27 on: October 08, 2011, 11:48:39 AM »
Well..... the saga continues.

As you know, Belle had her surgery on Monday. 
On Tuesday, I pretty much let her be.  She hid in her crate most of the day.
On Wednesday, I noticed something going on with her eyes.  One was very dilated and didn't want to contract, the other was contracted and didn't want to dilate.  :o
So.... another trip to the vet.

The vet checked her for corneal scratches, but they were all clear.  So that left the possibility of a drug reaction.
Now, recall that we initially had her on Buprenex drops, which are a synthetic opiate.  Besides hating the drops themselves, Belle seemed kinda hyper on them.  So we switched to Torbutol in pill form.  Torb and Bup are in the same "class" of medication, as in they are both synthetic opiates that block pain by targeting the central nervous system.   

So, prior to her surgery, Belle was taking Torbutrol.  We skipped the dose on the morning of, since they were planning on giving her a Buprenorphine injection for the surgery.  Then, late that night, we went back on the Torb and continued.

On Wednesday, after clearing her of any physical issues, the vet says... "Well, since both the Bup and the Torb are meds that affect the central nervous system, lemme look up the side effects".  Now, this is one of the vets that I love, but in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "What?  You don't KNOW?".   Doh1 *sigh*

So we wait, and she comes back confirming my/her suspicions.  So she says, "Let's put her on Tramadol.  It's a different class of drug, works a little differently." 
And I say, "Yeah.  I think that's what we used for her last round of extractions."
"Oh!" she says, "You might be right.  Lemme look that up."  She hops over to the in-room terminal and confirms, "Yup, there it is."   ::)

So... now we are on Tramadol... which is what we used last time and which, in my opinion, we should have used from the get-go.   bangshead

Belle's eyes are back to normal.
But she is still not eating on her own. 
I think part of that is because she now has lost both top canines along with all her main scissor teeth.  Even when I put a small piece of meat in the back of her mouth to swallow, she mouths it around and ends up spitting it out.  Feeding time has become a bit of an ordeal, as I literally stuff food in her mouth and make her swallow it.   :(

*sigh*

Gotta go.
Gotta figure out how I'm going to get her to eat her chicken today.   :-\
meow meow meow meow meow meow? -woof!
Translation: "I can has my raw food? -please!"

Offline Shadow

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #28 on: October 08, 2011, 02:43:21 PM »
Oh dear, well glad you got her on better meds, maybe once those other meds are totally out of her system she may get her appetite back?  What about an appetite stimulant?  Or could you take the food she eats and put it in a blender and syringe feed her that and some baby food?
We are so worried for Belle....come on Belle please eat!!!:(
purring for Belle cat1
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Offline FurMonster Mom

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Re: Consultation: A Comedy of Errors
« Reply #29 on: October 08, 2011, 05:38:19 PM »
I tried blending last night.... it didn't go over very well. 
But the baby food idea might be worth a shot.
meow meow meow meow meow meow? -woof!
Translation: "I can has my raw food? -please!"

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