I am shattered. My girl who will be 11 in November, had displayed some lethargy starting late August. We had taken her to the vet who couldn't find any issue in her bloodwork. By the last week of September though, I noticed she was drooling from one side of her mouth and chattering without any noise and reduced vocalizing. Everything pointed to it being a dental issue which did not surprise me as the vet's general recommendation has been to give her a cleaning in the past although I never knew how extensively this could hurt her. What transpired since has been a nightmare.
She quickly stopped eating, and our regular vet got her an appointment and did a few extractions (Sept 30) he was comfortable with but needed her to go to a dental specialist for teeth resorption and root fragments that remained. The Specialists in a 60 mile vicinity are all booked out through end of November and into December. I begged and pleaded and found one specialist who showed compassion on my baby and took her in 8 days after her first extraction for a second set of extractions, with the goal of eliminating all source of pain. So, there were two procedures done under general anesthesia within a little more than a week. the specialist also mentioned that while performing the extractions, she noticed a lesion/sore under her tongue which she thinks was caused by an instrument during the first extractions (I'm beside myself learning this, btw !), and believes this will take longer to heal. We are past 1 week of the second extractions (October 8 - second extractions), and I feel like there is still no improvement. My baby has still not been eating and also stopped drinking water. The recovery time for dental procedures, I hear, is typically 1-2 weeks but the spot with the lesion may take longer. Still, they expected she would start eating again in 48 hours or so. They are surprised to hear she is still not eating or drinking water (today is Oct 19). For fluids, we take her every other day to give fluids under her skin to keep her hydrated. We are also syringe feeding her for three weeks now but she is not getting enough nourishment as it has been hard to syringe feed her. She gags a lot. Medication wise, we give her a mix of gabapentin, and buprenorphine for pain meds and she is on clindamycin (before and after extractions). We've stopped the buprenorphine recently since she has severe constipation now, and we stick to gabapentin alone. Earlier last week (about 4 days after her second extractions), I thought I saw a little improvement when she would walk around the house (as opposed to lie in her cat bed all day) and scratch her scratch post and groom her self a little. However, since the constipation started 72 hours ago, she seems to have lost any spark or brightness in her eye. She sits hunched, she barely moves. She is so uncomfortable, and she sometimes sits in her litterbox. Additionally, she just started grinding her teeth really hard when we syringe feed her (which she did a little before the extractions), and breathes slow and heavy, and is in bed all day. She wobbles over to the litterbox to pee.
I am so confused and I am going out of my mind. I now have two issues now I am dealing with: 1. Why does her mouth still seem to be in so much pain that she refuses to look at food or water, and related question, why is the teeth grinding back stronger than ever?? I thought any and all teeth issues would have ben resolved by now 2. How can I help my baby with her constipation naturally without subjecting her to more trauma than she has had with all the above pain and discomfort.
Also, as reference - she has lost 2 pounds since end of August. It's hard to see her become skin and bones though in front of my eyes. Her bloodwork so far is still normal. I am so worried the specialist did not remove all the problem teeth, and I get so mad thinking about it. I don't think my baby can survive another third set of extractions. Does anyone have any experience with these dental nightmares that you think may be helpful? We have a check up appointment with the specialist tomorrow, and I wanted to be prepared with any questions. I am losing my mind right now.
She quickly stopped eating, and our regular vet got her an appointment and did a few extractions (Sept 30) he was comfortable with but needed her to go to a dental specialist for teeth resorption and root fragments that remained. The Specialists in a 60 mile vicinity are all booked out through end of November and into December. I begged and pleaded and found one specialist who showed compassion on my baby and took her in 8 days after her first extraction for a second set of extractions, with the goal of eliminating all source of pain. So, there were two procedures done under general anesthesia within a little more than a week. the specialist also mentioned that while performing the extractions, she noticed a lesion/sore under her tongue which she thinks was caused by an instrument during the first extractions (I'm beside myself learning this, btw !), and believes this will take longer to heal. We are past 1 week of the second extractions (October 8 - second extractions), and I feel like there is still no improvement. My baby has still not been eating and also stopped drinking water. The recovery time for dental procedures, I hear, is typically 1-2 weeks but the spot with the lesion may take longer. Still, they expected she would start eating again in 48 hours or so. They are surprised to hear she is still not eating or drinking water (today is Oct 19). For fluids, we take her every other day to give fluids under her skin to keep her hydrated. We are also syringe feeding her for three weeks now but she is not getting enough nourishment as it has been hard to syringe feed her. She gags a lot. Medication wise, we give her a mix of gabapentin, and buprenorphine for pain meds and she is on clindamycin (before and after extractions). We've stopped the buprenorphine recently since she has severe constipation now, and we stick to gabapentin alone. Earlier last week (about 4 days after her second extractions), I thought I saw a little improvement when she would walk around the house (as opposed to lie in her cat bed all day) and scratch her scratch post and groom her self a little. However, since the constipation started 72 hours ago, she seems to have lost any spark or brightness in her eye. She sits hunched, she barely moves. She is so uncomfortable, and she sometimes sits in her litterbox. Additionally, she just started grinding her teeth really hard when we syringe feed her (which she did a little before the extractions), and breathes slow and heavy, and is in bed all day. She wobbles over to the litterbox to pee.
I am so confused and I am going out of my mind. I now have two issues now I am dealing with: 1. Why does her mouth still seem to be in so much pain that she refuses to look at food or water, and related question, why is the teeth grinding back stronger than ever?? I thought any and all teeth issues would have ben resolved by now 2. How can I help my baby with her constipation naturally without subjecting her to more trauma than she has had with all the above pain and discomfort.
Also, as reference - she has lost 2 pounds since end of August. It's hard to see her become skin and bones though in front of my eyes. Her bloodwork so far is still normal. I am so worried the specialist did not remove all the problem teeth, and I get so mad thinking about it. I don't think my baby can survive another third set of extractions. Does anyone have any experience with these dental nightmares that you think may be helpful? We have a check up appointment with the specialist tomorrow, and I wanted to be prepared with any questions. I am losing my mind right now.