9/6 Charlie AMBG 76. Front tooth cracked off. Help?

This morning, I woke up on day 13 and guess what? Charlie met her BG target, but in typical, Charlie drama queen fashion, she couldn't just keep it simple.

I was wondering what was wrong with her this morning. She didn't come cuddle me in bed, and she didn't immediately run to go out and sleep on the balcony (her favorite thing to do while we're getting ready for work in the morning). I went looking for her and she was hiding behind the couch (her typical "I'm not feeling so well" spot).

So then I thought, hmm...

I looked around, and found that Charlie had cracked her entire front tooth off. You know the 2 long canine teeth right in the front (the fangs)? Well, one of those.
I read somewhere just now that if it cracks off, the cat is probably in pain. She had such a bad reaction on tramedol, and everyone warned me majorly after the 1 attempt with metacam, so now we only have a homeopathic herbal pain killer from the vet. In the meantime, I gave her one of those, just in case.

Now I am sitting here, holding on to this bloody tooth and unsure what to do. The internet says it's best to take the cat in to get the full tooth extracted so there will be no infection and less pain. I think I need to do this, but on the other hand, the last time we took her in for a teeth cleaning (see posts from July 10th-14th timeframe), she had a really bad reaction to the anaesthesia. Advice?







yesterday

 

Yikes on the tooth! My civie Theo had to have one of his canine teeth removed when he was at the shelter. I think it might have been due to a break. Can your vet prescribe buprenorphine for pain? Cats seem to tolerate that reasonably well. It's a liquid injected in the cheek pouch and relatively easy to control the amount administered. The open sore could get infected so I agree a vet visit is in order. There is more than one type of anesthetic drugs. Perhaps the vet could try something else this time?

Nice AMBG number in spite of the drama.

 

I agree that she'll need to go to the vet. Do you have any Dental Specialists in your area?
They will need to see if there is any of the tooth or root left inside that needs to come out.

Sending healing vines to Charlie and good vet visit vines.

 

Poor Charlie. I hope you can get her in to the vet soon and see what can be done. Hopefully they can give you a different pain med and use different anesthesia. Sending prayers for you and Charlie.

 

Quick update:

I gave charlie some trameel (the homeopathic pain killer that we got after stopping the metacam in July). Charlie has been resting after having it. It seems to have helped her somewhat (or maybe she is in less pain) since she is no longer hiding and has eaten her morning meal fully.

I made an appointment with the vet for 4:30pm. That's 4 hours from now and the soonest they can get her in to check her tooth.
I guess I will ask them when I get there if they have another different anesthetic they can give her (because it will definitely take something like that in order for charlie to let a vet even open her mouth). I hate putting her through this.

Can't wait until this day is over as I am working at the same time and have a very important meeting that I need to leave in order to get her to the vet again with my partner. We've learned that it's better to have 2 of us at the vet if something like this happens, since charlie can be a real tiger and difficult to manage.

Fun Friday!

 

I can't help but think:

We JUST passed day 13 of a 14 day test, and now she pulls this stunt.

Seriously, sometimes I think she is giggling inside as she watches us scrambling around her trying to get her better. :lol:

 

Oh no! What a crazy day for you all!
I hope Charlie does ok at the vet and they find an anesthetic that she tolerates well.
A broken tooth sounds painful.
Buprenorphine is the painkiller I'd ask the vet about to use at home.

Good luck!

 

Anyone know the Dutch or European equivalent for buprenorphine pain killer? Sometimes brand names are different here.

Also, please see my post from July 10 - 13 timeframe regarding the anesthetic last used. Can anyone tell me the specific anesthetic I should ask for as an alternative? They may not have it but i can try.

 

Buprenorphine is the generic name. I'd suggest Googling it since you will be drawing from European sites and it should give you brand names there. In the US, it's also called Buprenex or Butrans.

 

Thanks, Sienne. Wikipedia says this, which may be why I don't hear about it here: "In the Netherlands, buprenorphine is a List II drug of the Opium Law, though special rules and guidelines apply to its prescription and dispensation." After clicking through on the words "opium law", I get this:

"The Opium Law (or Opiumwet in Dutch) is the section of the Dutch law which covers nearly all psychotropic drugs. Most non-psychotropic, but prescription-only drugs are covered by the Medicine Act, the most well known exception being Ketamine which is covered by the Medicine Act."

I think ketamine is what they gave charlie during her last dental. And this may be part of what had the weird effect on her. Hmm.. Not sure what to do if buprenorphine isn't available and ketamine had that effect. I guess I am again in the hands of the vets, who don't seem to always understand my kitty's needs.

 

Bupe is a narcotic. In the US, it's a Schedule 3 controlled substance which sounds similar to how it's regarded in Holland. FWIW, ketamine is rarely used here any more for anesthesia or as a pre-anesthesia (induction) medication probably since it was recalled several years ago. (Propofol and valium are more commonly used now for induction from what I can tell.) Some cats have a paradoxical reaction to narcotic (as do some humans). Rather than experiencing sedation, while they may not be in pain, they become agitated.

 

Thank you Sienne. As always, you're a wealth of knowledge and responsiveness, right when we are in a pinch and need help. I will ask for propofol or valium and look for an alternative to also avoid the ketamine. If not possible, we will have to go with what they have. Ugh. I wish I was a vet myself sometimes so I could make these calls quicker and influence things faster.

 

I couldn't agree more! Paws crossed for the vetty visit. Love that AMBG. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Liz

 

I tend to think of her as Sienneikipedia. :mrgreen: Our go-to resource!

 

Paws crossed that the tooth can be easily taken care of. Tess did the same thing (but the lower jaw) and yes they did need to go in to get the root out. It can cause a lot of pain and infection if you don't. Sending soothing vines for Charlie, I hope thy can come up w/ better drug choices this time.

 

Hi friends. Still at the vet.

Dexdomitor for pre-anesthetic.

Made her vomit but it was a sedative so they could check her tooth. Half the root was still in, so they needed to do surgery to take it out.

They had propofal and the vet said she can use that for anesthesia instead of the ketamine (which had the bad effect on charlie last time).

They also had buprenorphine, which they will use as a pain killer instead of the metacam.

Score! Thank you, Chicago soul sister for your help right in the time of need. ☺
And thanks for your support friends.

Still on day 13 of the trial. I imagine charlie's test tonight (if we're even able to do one) may be elevated.

Lets see how she is in the morning.

I am still waiting at the vet to see her post-surgery. Hope she is OK! Little bit worried over here. It's taking forever.

Jill

 

Sending tons of positive thoughts, and healing vines, and wishing for Charlie to make a full and speedy recovery. :YMHUG:

 

:YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: I'm sure she will be fine. Yay for being able to get bupe. It can zone them out, i usually give Tess a little less than recommended, but ECID.

 

I third that - Sienne to the rescue!

Glad to hear Charlie's vet appt. is going well so far & all the right actions are being taken. Sending healing vines out to Charlie that everything stays on course & this is just a little 'blip' on the radar......

Good that you were able to deal with it so quickly!

 

Charlie came out of surgery. We put her in her little soft carrying case. Then while I was paying she started thrashing around uncontrollably. The vet doesn't know if it was a seizure or a panic attack. It was AWFUl.

The vet took her vital signs and all were ok (temperature, pulse, heart). Charlie started panting uncontrollably like a dog, and the vet said she thought these were all signs of panic.

She advised me to take her home and not put her back in the carry case. Lona drove us home and I held charlie in my arms the whole way home. While driving home, Charlie pooped all over my stomach and my lap.

Seriously, not a very good day.

We will cancel our dinner tonight and stay home to monitor the old girl. I have to call the vet in 15 minutes to tell her if things are calming (she hasn't panted or breathed heavily in the last 5 minutes, so that's a good sign).

If charlie has another seizure, we need to take her to the emergency vet tonight. Ugh. Wish us luck. This sweet girl was on day 13 of 14 being off insulin completely. What luck.

 

Oh my! What a day you both are having. Hopefully, she hasn't had anymore seizures or attacks and is calming down now.

Just remember you needed to get the tooth fixed. Paws crossed that she is doing well.

 

Oh my gosh! What a difficult day for you all!

I hope Charlie calms down and feels better very soon. I would think that being at home with you will help her regain her stability. Really hope the buprenorphine will keep her from feeling pain from the tooth and the surgery.

All my best!

 

Sending calming vines... and anti-reaction vines to anesthesia/pain meds so Charlie can heal. cat_pet_icon

 

Oh my, I am so sorry to hear about your rough day. I hope Charlie's mouth is feeling better soon and that she is able to calm down and rest.


My cat Jupiter, was prescribed tramadol before... He did not do well on this. He acted like a completely different cat. He was terrified of me and was running and hiding and just acting soooo not like himself.

However, Jupiter does really well with the Buprenorphine . It helps calm him down and become less agitated and he acts pain free and happy and purry when he gets the Bupe.

My vet had not explained to me how to administer the Bupe and I did not know that was a right and wrong way to give it to Jupiter until someone mentioned it. So thought I would make sure you vet explained how to give the Bupe?


Sure hope Charlie is feeling all better soon enough.... and *hugs* for you

 

What a rough day. I hope Charlie stays calm now that she's home. Sending prayers and hugs to you. :YMHUG: :YMHUG:

 

So you know if there's a next time, bring a towel! FWIW, Gabby always vomits in her carrier. (I bring paper towels and have learned to put a pee pad in the carrier so clean up is much easier!) Anesthesia slows down the gut and on top of that, Charlie had eaten so there was food in her system -- and as a result, the remnants of food all over you.

I suspected there would still be roots left. You did the right thing otherwise, there was the risk of an infection.

 

The vet actually gave a shot of the BUP while we were there (right in her muscle by her leg). She gave us 1 shot to bring home with us. Judging by the complete weird reaction that Charlie has again had to all of this, I think we will see how it goes in the morning. If she seems like she's in major pain, we'll give her the shot of BUP that we came home with. If not, we'll give her the trameel pill (herbal pain killer).

She's not heavy breathing anymore, but she does seem completely and totally spaced out and out of it. Drugged up. I hope tomorrow will be better. We did the right thing. Just hard to see her like this. Good idea about bringing the pee pad in her carrier next time. She vomitted right in her carrier within 5 minutes of the dexdomitor.

 

Another option, since she may be reacting to the bupe - is to give half the amount in the morning and the rest 8 hours later. I found this way seemed to work when my cats had dentals and came home with the bupe.

 

((((Jill)))) What a day. Sending calming vines to everyone so she can heal quickly.
Liz

 

I gave Jupiter less Bupe then prescribed because it seemed like too much.... but it was oral bupe.... not the shot kind... so i dont know if you could do that? maybe you could call the vet and ask?

 

Oral and shot are the same bupe. With a cat that's had dental work, it may be easier to give a shot than have an "argument" about putting the syringe in the kitty's mouth. Hillary does have a good point -- it's likely fine to reduce the dose if you feel like you need to. Bupe is funny in the way it works. A larger dose doesn't really provide more pain relief. Rather, it lasts longer.

And, thank you all for the very kind and unnecessary words. There are lots of well informed people here and everyone contributes in his or her own way. This is one place where it takes a village.

 

Cracked and broken teeth have to go,
Charlie and Deb both know,
that broken teeth sure do hurt,
but once they are gone we'll feel more alert.

Sending sympathy vines to Charlie. I know exactly how she feels today.

 

Sending big wishes for a GOOD DAY tomorrow!

Ella & Rusty

 

Sending hugs, vines and virtual belgian beers. Hopefully she will feel better soon!!!