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Originally Posted by DBlain  I am so sorry for your loss of your beautiful Maezie, I love your tributes to her, was she a show dog? she had so many ribbons how proud you must be.
Thank you for sharing your story with us because I am sure it will help other pet owners. I have been contemplating a dental for my Lola so this thread has got me thinking and researching. I was surprised when you mentioned Propofol, because I have always asked for Isoflurane and that's what they told me they used. But after doing some research I come to find out that prior to the Isoflurane they use a Induction anesthetic (a pre anesthetic so to speak). This might not be news to others but it was news to me. I guess I can understand why the procedure had not even taken place since during the administration of propofol they would be just waiting to go to the next step of a more deeper anesthetic. Below is something I copied that explains it. So it got me wondering if an allergic reaction could be possible would it be prudent going forward if you had to have a dog go under anesthesia to administer allergy medicine in advance. Lola once had a reaction to some vaccines, just throwing up and not feeling well, not severe but ever since that time I give her benedryl before she gets a shot and we have not had any more problems. So I wonder if doing this before a procedure would help. I have a call into the vet tech so I will see what they say, but I was wondering if your vet said anything about that.
Induction anesthetic. As its name suggests, this anesthesia agent kicks off the anesthesia process. Propofol is the name that most owners will be familiar with, but, again, there are a variety of choices, depending on the veterinarian and the situation at hand. Induction anesthesia is administered intravenously (that is, with a needle); the idea is to administer a fast-acting anesthetic to pave the way for the more powerful inhalant anesthesia. The catheter that dispenses the induction agent also gives the veterinarian a conduit to provide supportive fluids – and immediate access to the bloodstream should other drugs need to be administered in response to the patient’s condition.
Because propofol works so smoothly and quickly – and can be reversed just as speedily – it is typically used to anesthetize a dog as a preparation for general anesthesia. Your vet is unlikely to use it alone during any major procedure. |
Maezie was sort of a show dog I guess I could say. I got her as a pet and she was spayed. But here in Canada some dog shows will have the altered class where you can compete with an altered dog. So I figured why not. So we did do some dog shows just as something to do for a new experience and to have fun. It’s actually a very competitive class with stiff competition. Most the dogs in that class are champions or grand champions and often tend to be a little bit older and obviously aren’t used for breeding anymore, but are known to really like showing and I think that’s often why their owners will compete in that class. I found out very quickly that I was one of very few people who will compete with a dog they got as a pet. But it was fun and I enjoyed it.
My understanding of allergic reactions is that they are possible with pretty much anything. Drugs, food, bee sting, vaccines, etc. The big concern is an anaphylactic reaction which can cause death. Propofol is known to very rarely cause anaphylactic reactions, same with the other drugs that are often used at a vet clinic. But it is possible. I spoke to a vet couple weeks ago about it and she gave me the odds of 1/100,000. I’ve come across that number reading online as well. And another number a little bit lower but still unbelievably rare. I think the truth is that exact odds aren’t really known because it is so rare. I’ve spoken to nearly every vet in town about it and there was only one person, a vet tech, who saw it happen once before years ago at a clinic she worked at. It’s just one of those really rare things. I know there exists certain drugs that will consistently setup the stage for anaphylaxis to occur on subsequent exposures, but the drugs used at clinics are rare for anaphylaxis.
I think giving allergy medicine in advance is a little bit contentious. Perhaps it might somewhat conceal the signs of an allergic reaction happening. I don’t know. A vet would probably be the best person to give advice on that. Truthfully it probably wouldn’t make a difference if anaphylaxis were to occur. When anaphylaxis occurs from a drug that is injected into the body, the reaction is always very severe and comes on very suddenly, precisely because it’s from an injection as opposed to a bee sting, food, etc. The one vet tech who saw it once before told me it happens basically instantly and their heart just all of a sudden stops beating. It’s thought that the blood pressure rapidly drops. That’s the same thing I was told happened to Maezie. Just boom and all of sudden she was dead, and couldn’t be brought back to life.
About vaccinations, I was told by my new vet that I have now decided to be my main vet because I do have one dog left, she said that if an allergic reaction happens to a dog from a vaccine, that they won’t give that dog anymore vaccines. And, because I have a new concern about anaphylaxis and I don’t ever want to experience losing a dog that way ever again, for my dog who has never had a reaction to anything in his life he is now on a different vaccination schedule where he only gets vaccines once every 3 years even though they’re the type of clinic, like basically every clinic, where they recommend vaccinations done yearly. The vet told me she was saying it “off the record” but that there isn’t a need for vaccinations every year. At least for where I live. If I lived in eastern Canada where parvo is thought to be more prevalent, maybe I’d get different advice. But basically I no longer do yearly vaccinations.
Odds are that your Lola won’t have an anaphylactic reaction to any of the drugs she’d be given on her dental. But those are just odds. I do believe dentals are really important for health. I wish there was an effective type of test for potential allergies to anesthetic drugs, but my understanding is there really isn’t. It’s known to be unpredictable.