From:
Melissa Litwicki
Date: 2002-10-14 15:36:05 UTC
Subject: 11 days post-surgery continuing pain - ideas?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <Pine.BSO.4.44.0210141102280.15521-100000@naughty.monkey.org>
Hello,
11 days ago now, Puff had a splenectomy and insulinoma removal. The vet
also removed a lump attached to the spleen which, upon biopsy, revealed
itself to be necrotizing tissue, probably related to an accident Puff had
two weeks before. She came through the surgery fine, but there was a
potential insulinoma in the area of the pancreatic duct that my vet could
not remove.
Puff is still in marked pain, as displayed by tooth-grinding and other
behaviors.. She is still in her hospital/recovery cage, and shows no
interest in getting out. After eating, she grinds her teeth the most,
which suggests an ulcer. However, I don't observe her as closely between
feedings.
She is getting baby food 6-7x/day, and she usually eats this without much
coaxing. She is showing little interest in her dry food. Her stools are
either dark and 'slick', or small, very dark and sticky. She gets .1ml
each of Pred, Sucralfate, and Torbutrol 2x/day, and .5ml amoxi for another
3 days. I give the Sucralfate an hour before the other meds, and feed her
before giving the Pred and Amoxi. I space out the Amoxi, Pred, and
Torbutrol over the evening, but this is hard to do on weekday mornings.
The Torbutrol makes her sleepy, and takes about an hour to take effect,
but seems to make her pain much less. This is noticeable after she's
eaten, and doesn't grind her teeth for 10 minutes post-feeding. I've only
been giving the Torbutrol for a few days now, as only recently has she
been alert and strong enough to combat the narcotic effects and wake up
enough to feel hungry and eat after getting a dose of the Torbutrol.
Her post-eating pain seems to be considerably worse the more she eats, and
the colder the food is (it's always at least room temp).
At this point I would like to finish the Amoxi and see how her condition
changes, then start weaning her off Pred - if she is still insulinomic,
she is in no condition to deal with insulinomic shock - and start
Diazoxide. She is also not strong enough to handle another trip to the vet
for a checkup, but soon, I would like to have a blood glucose done and
evaluate her further for an ulcerous condition. I would prefer not to add
more meds until she's feeling better, if possible.
Does anyone have any input? She should not still be in this much pain this
long after surgery. She gets the Sucralfate at least an hour before
morning and evening feedings, but still grinds her teeth like crazy
post-feeding unless she's also doped up on the Torbutrol. Her color and
weight are steady. If anyone can provide some enlightenment on what else
might be going on here, it'd be much appreciated. I hate having her be in
continuous pain like this.
Thanks,
Melissa