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Sounds like it was a very peaceful painless way to go.....is that what the ether does I guess?, just makes them go off to sleep at first?
I just did a little more research on the matter and Ether, though I don't think used anymore to date as such, was used as an anesthesia agent. So - in reading the article, it induces sleep first then respriatory arrest. So, in essence - she fell asleep, went unconscious, and stopped breathing. She never felt a thing. Glad I looked it up. She did not exhibit any of the first to "stages" - I got this info from a University of Minnesota web site - pertaining to research.
Stages of Anesthesia
These stages occur (when using inhalation anesthesia alone; other drugs added will modify these stages.
Stage 1 (Induction, aka voluntary excitement). Excitement and struggling are common. Usually accompanied by ephinephrine release with associated rise in respiratory rate and heartrate.
Stage 2 (delirium, involuntary excitement). Voluntary centers and loss of consciousness begin. Exaggerated reflexive responses to stimuli are common, as is vomiting (in species that can vomit). Breath holding may occur. Common hazard: self-injury.
Stage 3 General Anesthesia
Plane 1Light anesthesia. Most reflexes (pedal, corneal, palpebral) are still present.
Plane 2 Medium anesthesia. Most surgeries are conducted at this level. Muscles are relaxed. Most reflexes (pedal, palpebral, corneal) are absent.
Plane 3Deep anesthesia. Intercostal muscles are relaxed; ability to maintain respiration is endangered. Pupillary light reflex may be slow or absent.
Plane 4Too Deep. All muscles, including diaphragm & intercostal muscles, are paralyzed.
Stage 4 Irreversible Anesthesiarespiratory arrest, followed by circulatory collapse. Death within 1-5 minutes.
Inhalation Anesthetics
General
Inhalation anesthesia is superior to most injectable forms of anesthesia in safety and efficacy. It is easy to adjust the anesthetic depth. Because the anesthetics are eliminated from the blood by exhalation, with less reliance on drug metabolism to remove the drug from the body, there is less chance for drug-induced toxicity. Inhalation anesthetics are always administered to effect, because the dosage can vary greatly among individual animals and different animal species. The disadvantages to inhalant anesthesia are the complexity and cost of the equipment needed to administer the anesthesia, and potential hazards to personnel. All inhalant drugs are volatile liquids. They should not be stored in animal rooms because the vapors are either flammable or toxic to inhale over extended periods of time. In particular, ether must be stored in a proper hood or cabinet for flammable materials.
Inhalant Agents Drug MAC Response Toxicity Comments
Ether 3.2 slow liver Pre-medication with an anticholinergic may be necessary to reduce excessive respiratory secretions. Induction and recovery can be rough. Flammable and can become explosive with prolonged storage. Ether must be used according to appropriate safety guidelines.
Chloroform A hazardous agent (carcinogenic) and cannot be used at U of M.
Methoxyflurane 0.2 slow nephrotoxicity- is potentiated by tetracyclines It has good analgesic activity, but there is significant metabolism, ++ respiratory depression and + cardiac depression. This drug is not currently being manufactured. For a replacement, consider ether or diluted isoflurane.
Halothane 0.9 moderate hepato- and nephrotoxicity if the animal is hypotensive ++ cardiopulmonary depresssion, and a risk of malignant hyperthermia in some breeds/strains
Isoflurane 1.5 fast none ++ respiratory depression and + cardiovascular depression
Enflurane 2.0 fast none ++ cardiopulmonary depression and minimal respiratory depression
Nitrous Oxide 180 very fast hepatotoxic Cannot be used as a sole anesthetic agent. Do not exceed a 50% mix w/ oxygen and other inhalant agent to prevent hypoxia. Moderate analgesia is provided by nitrous. In general, use of nitrous oxide in animals is discouraged.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 50-70 very fast cerebral anoxia Can be used as an anesthetic for brief procedures and as a euthanasia agent. It has antinociceptive activity and causes unconsciousness prior to hypoxia. It is necessary to monitor carefully and work quickly, as animals die quickly (1-2 min) after losing consciousness, and likewise they wake up quickly when exposed to room air. Appropriate for quick procedures such as tail snipping, ear marking and orbital bleeding. Poses minimal hazard to personnel and can be used in laboratories or animal room
MAC: This is the % concentration of the drug needed to anesthetize 50% of animals. It does vary somewhat by species and by individual. 1.2X MAC is an approximate vaporizer setting for maintenance of anesthesia. Induction generally requires 2-3X MAC. MAC listed here is for rats (ether), mice (CO2), goat (enflurane) and dogs (all others).
Response. This refers to how rapidly concentrations in the blood change when the lung alveolar concentration is changed. Slow anesthetics have slow induction and recovery times.
Toxicity: Drugs that are metabolized by the body can cause toxicity, especially if a pre-existing organ dysfunction exists.
http://www.ahc.umn.edu/rar/anesthesia.html
Interesting......and it certainly sounds like the way to go, just fall asleep and Im glad she didn't have any reaction that some might, that helps....so sounds like you did the right thing for her and now she is up in chicky heaven running around
