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So it is day 15 since Lucy had all her teeth extracted behind the canines. (She is being treated for severe stomatitis.) Her recovery has been up and down. The "ups" were right after a pain patch and right after a low dose steroid shot. Here's the timeline....
Day 2 after surgery - seemed to be bouncing back well...possible euphoria from the pain patch. Also, she was taking Clavomox (antibiotic) which lasted 8 days.
Day 4 - less eager to eat and hiding some....ropes of drool coming out of her mouth
Day 5 - Sees vet to have pain patch come off. We tell him that she is drooling and hiding, less eager to eat. He says her mouth looks good, less inflammation than before the surgery. He gives her a low dose steroid shot to "zap" the remaining inflammation. Says it will last 3 days. He also said she could be reacting to the dissolving stitches which could take up to 2 months to dissolve. Meanwhile she started 3 days of oral pain meds.
Days 6-8 - The old Lucy is back....playful, playful, playful. I didn't realize it was the steroid shot that was helping so much until....
Days 9-12 - Slowly she started hiding again, less eager to eat, having to be tempted to eat....a little drooling. She gags as she starts to eat (possibly the drool, but I'm nervous her throat may be irritated to from inflammation which they noted had reached her throat.) She sleeps a lot more.
Day 12 - I wanted to get her microchipped anyways, so I took her in to have them take her temp, look in her mouth, etc... Nothing alarming, slightly elevated temp, but within the normal range and attributed to nerves. (Though she has been to the vet many times and never had nervous elevated temp before.) We discussed the fact that we won't really know whether the surgery "cured" her stomatitis until the stitches dissolve (up to 2 months.)
Day 13-15 - She is still hiding (not always, but it is not like her to hide at all.) She has times where she comes out and about, but not playful at all....so not her. She is having some ropes of drool. She still has to be tempted to eat but will eat 1-1.5 oz three times per day. She is preferring raw over canned so that is mostly what she is getting.
No vomiting at all, litterbox habits seem normal. No conflicts with the other cats. We see glimmers of hope that she is pepping up, but then will find her under the table drooling again.
I am taking her in tomorrow at 2:20 pm to see the vet again.
Here are some questions I want to ask him...and things I want to remember to tell him. I'd love your input and to know whether you think there are other things to consider....
* Steroids - Will intervening with steroids aid the healing, slow it down? Benefits of a steroid shot over oral meds? (I should note, I'm very leery of steroids and was really hoping the surgery would save her from a life of steroid shots.)
* It seems she needs some type of relief. Are there other options besides steroids?
* Want to describe the hiding and the personality change (before the surgery she was surely in pain but was still the happiest and most playful cat you'd ever meet.)
* The gagging and my concerns about her throat. (Also she took doxycycline before the surgery, for a URI. We were careful to give it with wet food, but I'm nervous it damaged her esophagus.)
* The vet has mentioned that gums heal quickly, so why is she feeling so badly 15 days after surgery?
I'd love any input you have or any other questions you think I should ask. Thanks.
Day 2 after surgery - seemed to be bouncing back well...possible euphoria from the pain patch. Also, she was taking Clavomox (antibiotic) which lasted 8 days.
Day 4 - less eager to eat and hiding some....ropes of drool coming out of her mouth
Day 5 - Sees vet to have pain patch come off. We tell him that she is drooling and hiding, less eager to eat. He says her mouth looks good, less inflammation than before the surgery. He gives her a low dose steroid shot to "zap" the remaining inflammation. Says it will last 3 days. He also said she could be reacting to the dissolving stitches which could take up to 2 months to dissolve. Meanwhile she started 3 days of oral pain meds.
Days 6-8 - The old Lucy is back....playful, playful, playful. I didn't realize it was the steroid shot that was helping so much until....
Days 9-12 - Slowly she started hiding again, less eager to eat, having to be tempted to eat....a little drooling. She gags as she starts to eat (possibly the drool, but I'm nervous her throat may be irritated to from inflammation which they noted had reached her throat.) She sleeps a lot more.
Day 12 - I wanted to get her microchipped anyways, so I took her in to have them take her temp, look in her mouth, etc... Nothing alarming, slightly elevated temp, but within the normal range and attributed to nerves. (Though she has been to the vet many times and never had nervous elevated temp before.) We discussed the fact that we won't really know whether the surgery "cured" her stomatitis until the stitches dissolve (up to 2 months.)
Day 13-15 - She is still hiding (not always, but it is not like her to hide at all.) She has times where she comes out and about, but not playful at all....so not her. She is having some ropes of drool. She still has to be tempted to eat but will eat 1-1.5 oz three times per day. She is preferring raw over canned so that is mostly what she is getting.
No vomiting at all, litterbox habits seem normal. No conflicts with the other cats. We see glimmers of hope that she is pepping up, but then will find her under the table drooling again.
I am taking her in tomorrow at 2:20 pm to see the vet again.
Here are some questions I want to ask him...and things I want to remember to tell him. I'd love your input and to know whether you think there are other things to consider....
* Steroids - Will intervening with steroids aid the healing, slow it down? Benefits of a steroid shot over oral meds? (I should note, I'm very leery of steroids and was really hoping the surgery would save her from a life of steroid shots.)
* It seems she needs some type of relief. Are there other options besides steroids?
* Want to describe the hiding and the personality change (before the surgery she was surely in pain but was still the happiest and most playful cat you'd ever meet.)
* The gagging and my concerns about her throat. (Also she took doxycycline before the surgery, for a URI. We were careful to give it with wet food, but I'm nervous it damaged her esophagus.)
* The vet has mentioned that gums heal quickly, so why is she feeling so badly 15 days after surgery?
I'd love any input you have or any other questions you think I should ask. Thanks.
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Oh HAPPY NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
