Mouth breathing after dental surgery

[chy]

I don't think her mouth breathing is getting any better, unfortunately. She's now also making noise while running around. But not always when she's lying down or sleeping anymore? I'm not exactly sure. It feels a little random when she's doing it, but I can definitely hear it more often now. Other than that, she's doing great, though. She has a great appetite and wants to go outside her cage a lot! She doesn't seem very bothered by the breathing, but I have trouble ignoring the noise. I'll keep giving her the medicine and hope that it gets better. I don't really know what else to try...

Also, thank you Bouncy for suggesting the product! I will definitely give it a go after her antibiotic treatment 

[teemu]

What is the noise like? Is it like a wheezing/whistling breathing sound?

[chy]

Feb 13, 2024 16:41:54 GMT teemu said:

What is the noise like? Is it like a wheezing/whistling breathing sound?

It's that typical "sucking in air through the mouth" noise. You can replicate it pretty well by having your mouth a little open, your tongue placed on the roof of your mouth, and then trying to suck in air through the mouth. 
Sometimes it's very quiet, sometimes a little louder. But usually pretty quiet. 

It looks like the antibiotics didn't do anything for her, unfortunately. I'll probably have to take her to the vet again, but I honestly don't know what else they could try with her.
She looks fine over all, but this can't just go on forever. This will become a big issue at the latest when she has to go in for dental work again.

[moletteuk]

I can't think of anything else other than a steroid, but this would only treat the symptom, not the cause. They can be very effective though, might be enough to settle things more rapidly after a dental. I think you need vet advice for your next step.

[chy]

Back from another vet visit! This time, I went to the vet I usually go to. He gave me melosus/ meloxicam and seemed very sure that this would be the solution for her breathing issues. He instructed me to give it to her once a day until there are no more symptoms, and then continue for 2-3 days to make sure it's really gone.

Let's hope it helps!

[teemu]

Alright, let's hope it helps her! Melosus seems to be an anti-inflammatory with meloxicam in it. Did he have any comments about her overall condition, or if there were any clear issues developing?

[moletteuk]

I thought she had been on meloxicam since the dental work?

[chy]

Feb 15, 2024 18:30:46 GMT moletteuk said:

I thought she had been on meloxicam since the dental work?

She was on animeloxan for 4-5 days, I'm not sure if it's the same.

[chy]

Feb 15, 2024 18:05:50 GMT teemu said:

Alright, let's hope it helps her! Melosus seems to be an anti-inflammatory with meloxicam in it. Did he have any comments about her overall condition, or if there were any clear issues developing?

He didn't seem concerned at all about her condition. He did a test with her, where he applied pressure to her chest and listened to her breathing. I don't know what exactly he was listening for, but he said it sounded good. (He explained it to me, but I tend to forget these things immediately :,)  )  We weighed her too, and she's still at 240 g. She's doing really well, besides the breathing noises of course.

I'm thinking that maybe she didn't get the animeloxan for long enough? I only had one tiny plastic vial with animeloxan, which was hardly enough for 5 days 

[moletteuk]

I think you said the second vet gave you some more with a different brand name, I think this is worth checking.

I suppose it's reassuring that the vet isn't concerned, but I would say medical professionals have been known to minimise things when it's a reaction to something they did.

[chy]

Feb 16, 2024 16:24:19 GMT moletteuk said:

I think you said the second vet gave you some more with a different brand name, I think this is worth checking.

I suppose it's reassuring that the vet isn't concerned, but I would say medical professionals have been known to minimise things when it's a reaction to something they did.

I know it's very confusing with all the different vets... I'll stick to one vet for now, as long as it's possible.

Vet A, the dentist, gave her Animeloxan after working on her teeth. 
Vet B, the substitute because vets A and C were on leave that week, gave me an antibiotic and Meloxoral.
Vet C, who is her usual vet, gave me a whole bottle of Melosus/Meloxicam now. (This is the only thing I'm giving her right now, as everything else is empty)
The names all sound pretty similar, but I don't know any details. I'm not going back to vet B because he's far away, and honestly, he didn't seem like he knew much about degus 

[moletteuk]

I've checked for you and those are all meloxicam, although the concentration may vary.