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How I just got ripped off at the vet!!!



 
 
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  #1  
Old May 9th 05, 08:41 AM
Mike Wolf
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default How I just got ripped off at the vet!!!


Yesterday, as I was preparing my 2
greyhound's their supper, my female vomited a little clear liquid and
grass that she had eaten from the yard, onto the rug! (she hadn't eaten
her supper yet) No big deal, but then she started to pace around and dry
heave and gag every minute or so along with labored breathing and funny
moaning sounds from her throat. First thing I thought was that she was
going into bloat! So I rushed her to the vet. The vet examined her and
x-rayed her stomach and said her vital signes were normal and that the
x-ray showed that she was not experiencing bloat (thankfuly) BUT her
liver looks a little small so he would like to do a full blood panel to
see what is going on. He said I could take her home after the blood
draw. I left with a $350 bill! When we got home, she started having the
same symptoms all over again with the gagging and panting but the
moaning in her throat was worse. It sounded like an obstruction. Her
gagging was like she was trying to get something out of her throat. She
seemed distressed so I took her back to the vet. They examined her again
and wanted to x-ray her lower abodomin to see if there was something
going on. I asked them if they had looked down her throat and they had
not. I asked if they thought if she could have something stuck in her
throat and they said she might but it wouldn't cause that much distress.
They said although the x-ray wasn't real clear, there appeared to be
some air in her small intestine and they felt she had pancreatitis! They
would need to do the bloodwork in house (more expensive) and keep her
overnight on fluids to determine if she had pancreatitis. This morning
they called and the blood tests were normal but they would like to do a
ultrasound on the pancreaus and check the liver. The ultrasound came
back showing everything looked good. So they x-rayed her esophogus and
couldn't find anything. They said that she seemed to be panting a lot
(which she does when she is nervous) and wondered if she could have a
blood clot on her lung! they recommended a blood gas test. I refused
saying that she is probably nervous. I picked her up and paid a $923
bill and brought her home. She quit panting after being home for about
15 minutes and fell asleep. Bottom line, for $1200 they found nothing!
does this sound like overkill? I wish I would have never brought her
back last night. But I was so worried about bloat or that she had
injested a poison or something. It probably was just a grass blade stuck
in her throat! The vet kept scaring me with new possibilities; It's not
bloat but it could be her liver. It's not her liver but it probably is
pancreatitis. It's not pancreatitis but it could be a clot in her lung!
If they had only looked down her throat with a flashlight then she
wouldn't of had to have all those unnessessary x-rays and tests and she
wouldn't have had to go through such a stressful ordeal! She is totally
wiped out!

  #2  
Old May 9th 05, 04:31 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

HOWEDY mike,

Looks like you GOT YOUR JUST DESSERTS again, eh?

BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAHAHAHAHHAAHAAA!!!

  #3  
Old May 10th 05, 02:52 AM
Spot
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I would have insisted that they examine her throat especially since you
stated she threw up grass. Sometimes you have to be a bit pushy in
situations this sounds like one where you should have.

Celeste

"Mike Wolf" wrote in message
...

Yesterday, as I was preparing my 2
greyhound's their supper, my female vomited a little clear liquid and
grass that she had eaten from the yard, onto the rug! (she hadn't eaten
her supper yet) No big deal, but then she started to pace around and dry
heave and gag every minute or so along with labored breathing and funny
moaning sounds from her throat. First thing I thought was that she was
going into bloat! So I rushed her to the vet. The vet examined her and
x-rayed her stomach and said her vital signes were normal and that the
x-ray showed that she was not experiencing bloat (thankfuly) BUT her
liver looks a little small so he would like to do a full blood panel to
see what is going on. He said I could take her home after the blood
draw. I left with a $350 bill! When we got home, she started having the
same symptoms all over again with the gagging and panting but the
moaning in her throat was worse. It sounded like an obstruction. Her
gagging was like she was trying to get something out of her throat. She
seemed distressed so I took her back to the vet. They examined her again
and wanted to x-ray her lower abodomin to see if there was something
going on. I asked them if they had looked down her throat and they had
not. I asked if they thought if she could have something stuck in her
throat and they said she might but it wouldn't cause that much distress.
They said although the x-ray wasn't real clear, there appeared to be
some air in her small intestine and they felt she had pancreatitis! They
would need to do the bloodwork in house (more expensive) and keep her
overnight on fluids to determine if she had pancreatitis. This morning
they called and the blood tests were normal but they would like to do a
ultrasound on the pancreaus and check the liver. The ultrasound came
back showing everything looked good. So they x-rayed her esophogus and
couldn't find anything. They said that she seemed to be panting a lot
(which she does when she is nervous) and wondered if she could have a
blood clot on her lung! they recommended a blood gas test. I refused
saying that she is probably nervous. I picked her up and paid a $923
bill and brought her home. She quit panting after being home for about
15 minutes and fell asleep. Bottom line, for $1200 they found nothing!
does this sound like overkill? I wish I would have never brought her
back last night. But I was so worried about bloat or that she had
injested a poison or something. It probably was just a grass blade stuck
in her throat! The vet kept scaring me with new possibilities; It's not
bloat but it could be her liver. It's not her liver but it probably is
pancreatitis. It's not pancreatitis but it could be a clot in her lung!
If they had only looked down her throat with a flashlight then she
wouldn't of had to have all those unnessessary x-rays and tests and she
wouldn't have had to go through such a stressful ordeal! She is totally
wiped out!



  #4  
Old May 10th 05, 03:41 AM
Michael A. Ball
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Mon, 9 May 2005 01:41:50 -0600, (Mike Wolf)
wrote:


Yesterday, ... my female vomited a little clear liquid and
grass that she had eaten from the yard, onto the rug! ...Bottom line, for $1200 they found nothing!
does this sound like overkill? I wish I would have never brought her
back last night. But I was so worried about bloat or that she had
injested a poison or something. It probably was just a grass blade stuck
in her throat! The vet kept scaring me with new possibilities; It's not
bloat but it could be her liver. It's not her liver but it probably is
pancreatitis. It's not pancreatitis but it could be a clot in her lung!
If they had only looked down her throat with a flashlight then she
wouldn't of had to have all those unnessessary x-rays and tests and she
wouldn't have had to go through such a stressful ordeal! She is totally
wiped out!


I'm very glad your dog is okay. I wouldn't have become quite so
concerned, quite so fast; but close. I think the treatment sounds like
overkill, but I consider you partly to blame. [By the way, the thought
of bloat terrifies me. I'll never forget the case I saw.]

Your vet has an obligation to cite the "possibilities", and eliminate
them, in a logical sequence. Most customers arrive uninformed, and the
vet has to worry more about putting their mind at ease, than about
treating the dog. I don't know how well you had done your homework, but
I believe, if you were up-to-date, you could have contested such an
exhaustive regimen.

Looking back, you now wish they had looked down her throat with a flash
light. You could have done that; couldn't you? Couldn't you have simply
asked your vet to look down your dog's throat. My vet and I sort of work
as a team. I am usually prepared and able to discuss my dogs' treatment
on a level approaching his. He respects me for that, and feels at ease
because its much like having a partner in the exam room.

In my humble opinion, the best way to avoid this sort of situation is to
learn about canine anatomy, physiology and pathology.


When I die, I want to go where dogs go!
  #5  
Old May 10th 05, 10:49 AM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Michael Ball wrote,
"I'm very glad your dog is okay. I wouldn't have become quite so
concerned, quite so fast; but close. I think the treatment sounds like
overkill, but I consider you partly to blame. [By the way, the thought
of bloat terrifies me. I'll never forget the case I saw.]"

First of all, this was not my regular vet but an emergency animal
hospital because this happened after hours on a Saturday.
I don't think I became concerned too quickly. I have never seen her in
this much distress before. I observed her for about an hour before I
decided to take her to the emergency. She was gagging violently and
pacing and trying to lye down only to get up and heave. It was only
after looking bloat up on the internet and finding out a dog can bloat
even if it hasn't eaten anything, that I made the decision to take her
in.

"Your vet has an obligation to cite the "possibilities", and
eliminate them, in a logical sequence. Most customers arrive uninformed,
and the vet has to worry more about putting their mind at ease, than
about treating the dog. I don't know how well you had done your
homework, but I believe, if you were up-to-date, you could have
contested such an exhaustive regimen.
Looking back, you now wish they had looked down her throat with a flash
light. You could have done that; couldn't you? Couldn't you have simply
asked your vet to look down your dog's throat."

I feel I am more informed then the average dog owner but when you have a
vet showing you an x-ray that shows your dog is not in bloat but he
"thinks" the liver looks a little small, what am I suposed to do? They
are the experts! When I asked him if she could have something down her
throat he felt that she would be coughing if she did. I did look down
her throat with a pen light before I brought her in and I couldn't see
anything but it is hard to see when the dog is squirming and I don't
have an endiscope! When I pressed for him to look down her throat he
said that to him she just wasn't acting like there was anything there.
Since it is an emergency vet, they take to pets away from the owners to
examine them, which I don't like. He had me all scared there was
something wrong with her liver. Then they had me scared it was
pancreatitis and then a clot in her lung. I felt kind of stupid at the
time when I kept asking about her throat.

" My vet and I sort of work as a team. I am usually prepared and able
to discuss my dogs' treatment on a level approaching his. He respects me
for that, and feels at ease because its much like having a partner in
the exam room.
In my humble opinion, the best way to avoid this sort of situation is to
learn about canine anatomy, physiology and pathology. "

With my regular vet I have that kind of a relationship. But as you know
these kind of things always happen either in the middle of the night or
on the weekends. I wish it would have happened during his office hours.
If I wouldn't have looked bloat up on the internet and found out about
that it can happen on an empty stomach I would have never taken her in!
DAMN YOU INTERNET!

  #6  
Old May 10th 05, 01:53 PM
PawsForThought
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


Mike Wolf wrote:
Yesterday, as I was preparing my 2
greyhound's their supper, my female vomited a little clear liquid and
grass that she had eaten from the yard, onto the rug!


Has your grass, or perhaps your neighbor's grass, been sprayed with any
chemicals/fertilizers? If so, could be your dog got sick from it.

  #7  
Old June 2nd 05, 03:39 AM
sophie sophie is offline
Junior Member
 
First recorded activity by DogBanter: Jun 2005
Posts: 1
Default

Has your dog had any additional episodes?

Our golden retriever essentially had the same thing as your dog; three episodes over the last three weeks. Symptoms: Very sudden onset of drooling, diarrhea, vomiting, extremely sensitive stomach area, lethargic, etc. We thought she was going to die.

We also had the following tests performed performed: X rays, ultrasound, blood work.

Three vet visits later, the suspected areas we bowel blockage, pancreatitis, liver shunt, Intussusception of the intestine, object in her stomach. The bowel blockage, pancreatitis, and liver shunt were ruled out. As always, nothing concrete could be found

She was put on a low protein diet and seems to be fine now.

What kind of food is your dog on?

Thanks,

Sophie


Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Wolf
Yesterday, as I was preparing my 2
greyhound's their supper, my female vomited a little clear liquid and
grass that she had eaten from the yard, onto the rug! (she hadn't eaten
her supper yet) No big deal, but then she started to pace around and dry
heave and gag every minute or so along with labored breathing and funny
moaning sounds from her throat. First thing I thought was that she was
going into bloat! So I rushed her to the vet. The vet examined her and
x-rayed her stomach and said her vital signes were normal and that the
x-ray showed that she was not experiencing bloat (thankfuly) BUT her
liver looks a little small so he would like to do a full blood panel to
see what is going on. He said I could take her home after the blood
draw. I left with a $350 bill! When we got home, she started having the
same symptoms all over again with the gagging and panting but the
moaning in her throat was worse. It sounded like an obstruction. Her
gagging was like she was trying to get something out of her throat. She
seemed distressed so I took her back to the vet. They examined her again
and wanted to x-ray her lower abodomin to see if there was something
going on. I asked them if they had looked down her throat and they had
not. I asked if they thought if she could have something stuck in her
throat and they said she might but it wouldn't cause that much distress.
They said although the x-ray wasn't real clear, there appeared to be
some air in her small intestine and they felt she had pancreatitis! They
would need to do the bloodwork in house (more expensive) and keep her
overnight on fluids to determine if she had pancreatitis. This morning
they called and the blood tests were normal but they would like to do a
ultrasound on the pancreaus and check the liver. The ultrasound came
back showing everything looked good. So they x-rayed her esophogus and
couldn't find anything. They said that she seemed to be panting a lot
(which she does when she is nervous) and wondered if she could have a
blood clot on her lung! they recommended a blood gas test. I refused
saying that she is probably nervous. I picked her up and paid a $923
bill and brought her home. She quit panting after being home for about
15 minutes and fell asleep. Bottom line, for $1200 they found nothing!
does this sound like overkill? I wish I would have never brought her
back last night. But I was so worried about bloat or that she had
injested a poison or something. It probably was just a grass blade stuck
in her throat! The vet kept scaring me with new possibilities; It's not
bloat but it could be her liver. It's not her liver but it probably is
pancreatitis. It's not pancreatitis but it could be a clot in her lung!
If they had only looked down her throat with a flashlight then she
wouldn't of had to have all those unnessessary x-rays and tests and she
wouldn't have had to go through such a stressful ordeal! She is totally
wiped out!
 




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