I lost Maezie during a dental

[sandy simpson]

I am crying tears as I read about precious Maize.She was a beautiful dog. Some things in life we just cannot understand. Dogs to me are family and it breaks our heart to see them go. I have to hand over all my pain to the Lord Jesus. He promises me comfort. The dogs I had are in that heavenly place waiting for me. Prayers for you. I used to read the kids book Dog Heaven. So sweet. Maize is there!

[airplane]

The results from the autopsy, or necropsy I suppose I should say, revealed that her heart was good, liver was good, there was a little bit of lesions on her pancreas that they say is related to a metabolic disorder but they said that that wouldn't have played a factor in her dying, her lungs were congested and were filled with fluid which I believe I was told is what would have happened after her blood pressure rapidly dropping. The conclusion and what I'm being told is that she had an anaphylactic reaction to propofol. Which how I'm understanding it is a very severe allergic reaction, and some reactions are more severe than others but its a very serious thing that can cause your heart to stop beating.

To me that seems to fit how this all happened with what I've been learning about it. I'll probably be spending many hours reading all the research on this and the vet has offered to let me call her to have a very thorough discussion about it cause we only spoke briefly today. With Maezie it happened very soon after induction, and it happened suddenly, apparently that's the way most cases of a severe anaphylactic reaction to a drug works. I'm upset that even with Maezie being right there in the clinic on the table and the doctor and staff being right there when it happened and immediately taking action, they did give her adrenaline I believe it was or some other drugs to get her heart start beating again and did compressions and all that stuff, but it didn't work. I'm upset that it didn't work to help Maezie get through her anaphylactic reaction. I don't blame them. I'm just upset. And I know its next to impossible to predict when a reaction like that to a drug is gonna happen. From what I'm understanding its a very very rare thing. And she had been given that same drug before for her spay and previous dental, so obviously previous anesthesia is not a good predictor of it. Maybe her system could have become allergic after being exposed to propofol. I don't know. But that may be a possibility cause reactions don't always happen on first exposure and you can develop an allergy to something over time. I just don't know. I'm glad I have an answer and its not the answer I was expecting. But I still have more questions and just trying to understand it. I will say that I'm glad I had the necropsy done. I really wanted an answer badly and I'm just glad I have it.

[nanajoy]

Thank you so much for sharing the results. I know that you will still have questions...I hope that having the information will help you get closer to a sense of normalcy and closure, and that you may begin the mourning process in a way that will ease your mind. My hope is that you will get to the place where you may remember your beloved Maizie through happy memories of the joy that she brought to your life.

[KatysMom]

Originally Posted by airplane

The results from the autopsy, or necropsy I suppose I should say, revealed that her heart was good, liver was good, there was a little bit of lesions on her pancreas that they say is related to a metabolic disorder but they said that that wouldn't have played a factor in her dying, her lungs were congested and were filled with fluid which I believe I was told is what would have happened after her blood pressure rapidly dropping. The conclusion and what I'm being told is that she had an anaphylactic reaction to propofol. Which how I'm understanding it is a very severe allergic reaction, and some reactions are more severe than others but its a very serious thing that can cause your heart to stop beating.

To me that seems to fit how this all happened with what I've been learning about it. I'll probably be spending many hours reading all the research on this and the vet has offered to let me call her to have a very thorough discussion about it cause we only spoke briefly today. With Maezie it happened very soon after induction, and it happened suddenly, apparently that's the way most cases of a severe anaphylactic reaction to a drug works. I'm upset that even with Maezie being right there in the clinic on the table and the doctor and staff being right there when it happened and immediately taking action, they did give her adrenaline I believe it was or some other drugs to get her heart start beating again and did compressions and all that stuff, but it didn't work. I'm upset that it didn't work to help Maezie get through her anaphylactic reaction. I don't blame them. I'm just upset. And I know its next to impossible to predict when a reaction like that to a drug is gonna happen. From what I'm understanding its a very very rare thing. And she had been given that same drug before for her spay and previous dental, so obviously previous anesthesia is not a good predictor of it. Maybe her system could have become allergic after being exposed to propofol. I don't know. But that may be a possibility cause reactions don't always happen on first exposure and you can develop an allergy to something over time. I just don't know. I'm glad I have an answer and its not the answer I was expecting. But I still have more questions and just trying to understand it. I will say that I'm glad I had the necropsy done. I really wanted an answer badly and I'm just glad I have it.

Thank you for sharing the results--I learned a lot.

I don't know how allergies to propofol develop. Personally, I have an allergy to Bermuda grass, but didn't show symptoms of it for six or so years after moving to Arizona. At the time, doctors said it may have been triggered by the then modern flooring when I began working in a high-rise building.

I'm so sorry this happened to your little one.

Again, thank you for sharing. --KatysMom

[matese]

Thank you for sharing this information with us, it may help others. Although the necropsy will not bring back your baby you now have answers, as hard as it was, it was a wise thing to do. I do hope it will bring you some peace of mind.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by matese

Thank you for sharing this information with us, it may help others. Although the necropsy will not bring back your baby you now have answers, as hard as it was, it was a wise thing to do. I do hope it will bring you some peace of mind.

Joan said it so well that all I'll add is I'm hoping and praying your future takes a turn for the better and life gets easier one day very soon. You deserve a break.

[airplane]

Thank you all again for your kindness and support. It means a lot to me. With my dogs, my goal has always been to just enjoy them to the maximum and to be happy with them, and with Maezie, as with all my dogs throughout my life, I can say I achieved that goal and it was very gratifying to have her be such a huge part of my life. I can say that this has been one of the biggest losses of my life. It's definitely right up there with losing a family member or a close friend. It really hits you hard to the core. It's been unbelievably hard. I've attached a picture of Maezie, this was a pic of her after she got a haircut when I decided that we were done showing and I just wanted her to have a nice short haircut. That pic will probably be one of the pics that I include in the framing of all of her rosettes, her favourite toy, her show bow, pic of her in a calendar, etc. I'm hoping by Christmas I'll have it all figured out and a nice box frame of it all together. Something that I can keep forever and display very proudly on one of my walls. I miss her so much. And I'm still going through a lot of pain thinking about how I'll never see her again. Life can be so unfair.

[wemple2]

Beautiful Maezie, you have amazing memories of a girl loved and missed. I thank you so much for the information you've shared...I pray it somehow eases your mind and helps heal your broken heart. My thoughts are with you.

[rhondah]

I am so sorry to hear this . Praying you get some answers and sending hugs your way ! Once again I am so sorry..

[airplane]

Just to say what all has been happening, I did a long trip throughout BC and Alberta to scatter Maezie’s ashes at vacation spots that we’ve been to and have meaning to us. I just got back home. It was a two week vacation of sorts I guess. I also kept a small amount of her ashes to be kept in a piece of memorial jewelry, a pendant, that I can always keep with me and wear. I never thought I’d ever have something like that but I just feel like I was robbed of so many years with her, so at least I can keep her close with the pendant. And I got the pendant engraved too. I bought it in Victoria.

I don’t know how much my experience will help others, but I will say that it’s changed my opinion about anesthesia. We all know the odds of risk of death with it and how the circumstances are often cases where a dog would’ve died with or without being put under anesthesia. And just how it’s so rare for a young healthy dog to die under anesthesia. For what specifically happened to Maezie - a fatal anaphylactic shock in response to one of the drugs used (propofol in Maezie’s case) that happens suddenly during the induction phase of anesthesia - the odds aren’t even known but as far as I understand are assumed to be 1 out of multiple tens of thousands.

For me now, even if my vet recommends a dental, I’ll say no unless the circumstances are something like the jaw bone is rotting away or it’s so painful your dog can’t eat or something along those lines. I think I’d almost rather wait for it to be that bad. Because they say the benefit has to be worth more than the risk, so to me it’s gotta be an absolute necessary procedure otherwise it’ll never be worth the risk. I had one person tell me that I won the lottery that nobody wants to win. It seems to me the easiest way not to win that lottery is not to play or limit your playing as much as possible.

I asked for, and received, the necropsy report. So I can see why I was told it was anaphylaxis that happened to Maezie. Although I am upset with my veterinarian for not being able to suspect anaphylaxis when I first questioned her about what she thought happened. I pressured her to tell me and she actually stomped her foot and said she didn’t know. She was very upset too and her eyes were very red I assumed from crying. But just the circumstances of when it happened, how it happened, how quickly it happened, and also I did recognize when Maezie was brought in to the room as her face as looking a little bit more puffy than normal (which I now know thats cause there was congestion in the oral and ocular membranes), I think the vet should’ve suspected anaphylactic shock and told me that without there needing to be a necropsy done. So I’m upset about that because the research is pretty conclusive about that stuff. There was plenty of clues pointing towards anaphylactic shock that I think she should’ve told me she suspected Maezie died from. Beyond that though, it is documented the life saving efforts they took, including giving epinephrine, but it obviously didn’t work in Maezie’s case. But I’m happy they did do that. But maybe it didn’t happen quick enough and I also understand that anaphylaxis, especially severe reactions, can still lead to death even when properly treated. It can be a very serious emergency.

My other dog, Théo, the only dog I have left after losing Bijou and Maezie, for 3 weeks he was noticeably depressed. Just moping around and acting very distant and sad. I’ve heard many people say dogs live in the moment, but he has noticeably been grieving. Just this last week I can now say he’s coming around. But at the same time he’s different. He shows more insecurity in situations that he never did before. I always thought he had a healthy bond with Maezie. They were close but not in too much of a way or an unhealthy way, but he’s been different. They’ve been with each other their whole lives and he definitely has to be feeling a big adjustment.

It’s now been a month since Maezie died. I’m lucky I still have a job cause I’ve only worked 4 or 5 days since her death. But I still got my job so I’m ok. It still hurts just as much today as it did a month ago. I’m upset that my mom has made comments about me grieving too long and that I need to get over it. She was very upset too and was close to Maezie, but in just a couple weeks she seems completely over it. I envy that a little bit because I don’t know if I’ll ever just get over it. It’s really tough to talk to anybody about it because I’ve even received a couple comments that kind of diminish Maezie’s life or how big of a loss it is for me. Things like “Is this the worst thing to happen in your life” or “Could you imagine if it was a person”. Just comments like that that make me upset. I devoted so much love, effort, and time into Maezie as well as all my dogs throughout my life, and to have one die at such a young age of just over 3 years old, that’s hard for me to take. I kinda have just been chalking up peoples lack of understanding of that to maybe a lack of their social skills. We can all recognize it when a person dies but when a beloved pet dies it seems some people can’t recognize that loss as being a big deal as well. But there was one lady in particular who I know who was nice to speak with and understands the grief and the hurt. Maybe we’re both just histrionic people, I don’t know. Lol. But it has been nice to have someone to talk to who understands.

All that’s left for me to do that I want to do, is to memorialize Maezie with a box frame of some of her stuff. I normally wouldn’t do something like a big frame but she’s got so many rosettes from dog shows that I gotta do something with, plus her favorite toy, her wrapping jacket, a beautiful scarf she received as a gift, harness, leash, show lead, one of her bows, some pics of her, etc. Lots of stuff to put into a frame and I want to have something on my wall that I can keep forever. I have a drawing of Bijou on my wall and I want something for Maezie too.

Lastly, if I could go back in time and do it over again, I would’ve skipped her previous dental where she had a lot of teeth extracted. I think about half of her teeth were removed at that time. I would’ve said that, since the vet had told me she had already recognized her as being the type of patient that is going to end up with all her teeth needing to be removed, why not just wait until they can do all or most of the teeth being extracted at once. That’s my one regret. I could’ve saved one occasion of her being put under anesthesia, and possibly even her life. The plan was to have all her teeth removed in order to avoid doing a dental every year, I just wish that would’ve happened previously. The vet recognized that and told me her suspicions of that. So I wish we would’ve acted on that from her dental from last year. But at the same time who could’ve predicted an anaphylactic reaction, especially such a severe one. But like I said it’s a lottery I want to limit my playing of. That’s probably the best advice I can give based on my experience.

[nanajoy]

I am so sorry to hear that your loss is still weighing so heavily on you and Bijou, but we all take that journey at our own pace. The steps that you have taken to memorialize Maezie are beautiful, and I am sure that she is looking back from beyond the rainbow bridge with gratitude.

As you may remember, I lost my baby Tucker under anesthesia when he went in for his neuter almost three years ago now. Our little poodle, Beau, had been with another dog for his entire life, and he was as bereft as my husband and I. We decided to open our hearts to another little one, and then added yet a third! When it came time for their neuter, we became almost physically ill with stress...but they both did well with their procedures. Our loving vet was wonderful in helping us deal throughout the day, and gave us hourly updates. He also let us pick them up at the earliest possible time after the procedure.

Although we can never "replace" our beloved companions, I have found that bringing a new, unique little one into our home has helped us heal. Tending to the needs of a new little life is consuming, and offers stretches of time when our thoughts were forced to look forward, rather than dwelling on what could have been. Throughout Ty and Gus' babyhood we have had opportunities to remember happier times with our beloved Tucker..."remember when Tuck was so proud the first time he mastered the game of fetch?", etc. He holds a special place in our hearts, and our history, and will never be forgotten. My hope is that you soon begin to get to that place with your Maezie. Please know that she would have wanted you to find peace, and happiness, and to remember her with gratitude for the love that you shared.

[Dana1965]

So sorry for your loss (hugs)

[DaveD345]

So sorry for your loss. Although every case is different, I know a little of what you are going through. I just lost my sweet Gracie a little over 8 weeks ago due to kidney failure. She was 12yo. :'(

[yorkietalkjilly]

Try not to react to 'mom'. She obviously has never had a special relationship w/any dog & can never understand. People out of the loop like that cannot ever get how much our special dog can mean to us and never will, never understand the grief at losing them. Likely everybody on this forum gets your reaction entirely and thank goodness your boss does, too. You've been through hell.

I have had a Yorkie, my tiny 3 lb. Scotty, whose tooth abscessed through his face, found blood and rushed him to the vet who was open, where he had a tooth extraction w/in q couple of days of antibiotic coverage. One of Tibbe's teeth did, too, last year, a Saturday evening, despite his regular brushings with C.E.T. chicken flavor pet toothpaste and regular vet dental cleanings. Found blood on his little face while cleaning his face, ER vet correctly Dx'd. it as abscess, started antibiotics, but my vet was out of office and fill-in vet missed it, said tooth was healthy. Dx'd imbedded foreign object she couldn't find on probing or x-ray, kept him on anti-biotics and daily inspection of the wound . After 4 wks., failed to heal the wound, my vet, now back, said it was an abscessed tooth root, that the tooth itself was fine but base of root was infected, but still had to put him under and remove the tooth and root, I&D and lavage, continue antibiotic coverage. Cleared the weeping face wound within days, scab gone.

Tibbe, now aged 11, has regular yearly dental cleanings, too, since age 9 mos., but some of these little dogs have such awful congenital predisposition to heavy dental bacteria, they often develop severe, painful dental issues so that cleaning underneath the gumline and dental tartar, dealing with early decay, is critical to their comfort, overall wellbeing & responsible healthcare. I can't imagine how little Scotty & Tibbe suffered until I noticed their abscesses. Makes me sick to my stomach to even think about it.

God bless and lots of hugs to you.

[Animal_Lover]

I just lost my sweet girl today to cancer. I know how deeply it hurts. I don't think I will ever stop grieving for her. I loved her so much and she was my constant companion. I will hold her in my heart forever and miss her always. God bless you during this time of pain and sorrow. God bless me, too.