Dog Community

Nervous- Gingerbread getting neutered this week. Dvet, opinions?

Posted : 7/17/2006 4:50:06 PM

Gingerbread is getting neutered this Thursday and I'm really nervous. [

] He just turned 1 year old and we actually took him to be neutered when he was about 7 months old. They did the bloodwork and his potassium level was high. His heart also showed an arrythmia on the EKG. Sooo, they called me to come get him.

We took him back a couple of days later and this time his potassium was normal, but the sodium was slightly off. The vet said that it should be fine to go ahead and schedule the neuter and also that an arrythmia could be "normal" for Gingerbread. Needless to say, I've haven't been able to bring myself to schedule that neuter until now. Gingerbread is my little angel and I'm so scared to lose him! He came from a petstore (not doing that again) so I don't know anything about his medical history. [&o]

He's scheduled to be neutered this Thursday and of course they'll do bloodwork again before the surgery. I haven't been going to this vet for long, but I chose them because they have all the latest equipment and seem very responsible. Bloodwork is actually mandatory for ALL animals before surgery, they have a heated surgery table, an iv in place during surgery, heart monitor, respiratory monitor, etc.

I feel sick to my stomach thinking about him being neutered 4 days from now! So I guess what I need to know is whether I'm overreacting and I could really use some words of encouragement. [&:]

jones

Posted : 7/17/2006 5:05:13 PM

If it makes you feel any better, my pup was found to have a slight arrhythmia in his pre-op exam too. It scary for me to hear that and I was worried sick about it... the vet couldn't really tell me it wasn't a big deal or that the surgery would probably go fine, I imagine for legal reasons... but she did say she felt it was due to stress and wasn't very severe. I went ahead and just to be on the safe side she used the anaesthetic that is gentler on the system. He came through just fine. If you feel confident in your vet, just put it in their hands and try not to worry. Think of all the dogs before Gingerbread who have come through this just fine! [

]

Luvntzus

Posted : 7/17/2006 5:20:43 PM

Thank you Jones! That's good to hear that your guy had an arrythmia also and came through the neuter just fine. [

]

I think one problem is that I read the "my dog died after being spayed thread". I'm a worry wart by nature, so that thread + Gingerbread's bloodwork being "off" before = one nervous me! lol

dvet

Posted : 7/17/2006 5:34:51 PM

with the blood picture you posted I don;t think you should have any problem at all..If the vet is worried about anesthesia then he/she will do him under light sedation and local anesthetic...Neutering a male is one of the safest surgical procedures that is (are) done...As I always state, the most dangerous part of any surgery is the trip to and from the office....You might ask your vet to give you a call immediatly after the surgery...I know you will worry but i suspect there is no reason to do so especially at the age of your pup...Relax, sit bak and enjoy the scernery and if you have no scernery make some up in your mins.,..

Luvntzus

Posted : 7/17/2006 6:43:45 PM

Thank you dvet for responding to my post and talking some sense into me! [

]

The only bad thing is that I'll be getting cavities filled at the same time that Gingerbread is at the vet to be neutered. Due to scheduling issues, that's the only time I could schedule those things without having to wait another month for the dentist visit and I want Gingerbread to be neutered at least a month before my new Shih Tzu puppy is coming home, which will be mid August... whew, probably more info than anyone ever wanted to know! lol

But anyway, it'll be an "unfun" day for both of us. I just realized that I can ask if the vet can either do Gingerbread's surgery first or last so that I hopefully I won't be in the dentist chair when he gets done....

dvet

Posted : 7/17/2006 8:03:03 PM

I can athink of nothing that will take you mind off your dogs surgery that sitting with the drill buzxzing inside your maouth and tryin to be brave....that is a good outlet...enjoy, or enjoy as much as you can being drilled

bragg1120

Posted : 7/18/2006 12:30:02 PM

Hope all is well with Gingerbread! (btw, what a cute snugglebug!!) I called my vet this morning about spaying our 1 yr old shih tzu and have to say that I'm extremely nervous about it. So I'm going to ask a dumb question with the hopes that this will sooth my fears a little...

During this pre-op exam, will the vet also test to see if the dog will have any problems with anesthesia or will I have to request that? Since the scare we recently had, I'm hesitant about spaying BUT I know to help her with demodex, she has to have it done. I think most of my anxiety stems from having to leave her there... wondering if she'll make it thru the surgery... and the biggest fear is losing her.

Luvntzus

Posted : 7/19/2006 3:16:54 AM

ORIGINAL: bragg1120

Hope all is well with Gingerbread! (btw, what a cute snugglebug!!) I called my vet this morning about spaying our 1 yr old shih tzu and have to say that I'm extremely nervous about it. So I'm going to ask a dumb question with the hopes that this will sooth my fears a little...

During this pre-op exam, will the vet also test to see if the dog will have any problems with anesthesia or will I have to request that? Since the scare we recently had, I'm hesitant about spaying BUT I know to help her with demodex, she has to have it done. I think most of my anxiety stems from having to leave her there... wondering if she'll make it thru the surgery... and the biggest fear is losing her.

Thank you for the compliment! I'm passing it along to Gingerbread.... [

] He's getting neutered the day after tomorrow and I'm still a little nervous. It's no fun being a worry wart!

As far as testing for problems with the anesthesia... It's been awhile since I worked for a vet, but the only thing I'm aware of that they can do is run bloodwork. The blood panel measures A LOT of different things. What the vet does is look at the results to see if the numbers are in the normal range for different things, like calcium level, potassium level, etc. The kidneys are especially important because they filter toxins (like the anesthesia drugs). Hope I explained that okay...

And I forgot to include the link that explains typical bloodwork:
[linkhttp://www.bichonfriseusa.com/caninebloodwork.htm]http://www.bichonfriseusa.com/caninebloodwork.htm[/link]

My biggest fear is also losing Gingerbread, so I can definitely relate to that! Honestly I think your girl will be fine.

bragg1120

Posted : 7/19/2006 11:55:19 AM

Thanks for writing back! I talked to my vet last night and he said the same things. He will do the blood work just to be sure how she'll handle the anesthetic. He also wants us to wait at least 3 weeks before making an appointment for her spaying since the recent overdose of Ivomec. Those two things made me feel better about it.

I didn't have FeFe spayed out of fear of something happening to her, even though I know I should have. I don't want to make the same mistake with Trixie & Gracie. Hope all goes well with Gingerbread! Keep us posted!

Luvntzus

Posted : 7/20/2006 12:13:23 AM

That's a really good idea to wait several weeks after any sort of chemical treatment. Sounds like a great vet!

Gingerbread goes in tomorrow morning to be neutered. I'll report back how he does- thanks for caring! [

]

Luvntzus

Posted : 7/20/2006 6:41:19 PM

Well, Gingerbread is home from being neutered and thank goodness everything went okay with the surgery! This time, with his bloodwork, his liver values were off. [&:] The vet said it's something to be monitored every 6 months or so. I'm kind of worried about that and I'll be doing a little research on my own.

Anyway, I feel sorry for Gingerbread, his scrotal area is red and a little swollen (I called the vet, they said it wasn't anything to worry about unless it started bleeding). I think he's still feeling weird from the anesthesia too- he's been whining and restless. [

] The vet said he'll probably feel a little groggy until tomorrow. He's finally sleeping and hopefully he'll sleep it off.

I'm going to have my next puppy neutered way earlier; Gingerbread is a year old and I think this would have been a lot easier on him at 4 or 5 months...

dvet

Posted : 7/21/2006 12:16:28 PM

Glad it worked out and that your teeth are done..I do beleive this is another reason for early neutering...far less stress and far less surgical invasion....glad it worked...now you can orry about something else..

Luvntzus

Posted : 7/21/2006 6:26:14 PM

I totally agree- my next puppy will be neutered by 6 months! I didn't actually get my teeth done though... I had worried myself sick about Gingerbread, so I rescheduled. [

]

dvet

Posted : 7/21/2006 8:30:04 PM

sheesh , so now you got to look forward to that...for shame