Vet bills. Ouch!

[Monkeyleg]

On Wednesday our dog seemed very sick. He wouldn't eat, and had a hard time even standing. It was in the evening, so we took him to an emergency vet clinic. He was there for until Friday night. They did blood tests, ultrasound, x-rays, and all sorts of things. Total tab was $1600, but they couldn't really say what the problem is.

Well, he's still weak and can barely stand. He ate a little today and went outside, but he still has a hard time even standing up or walking.

I called the clinic and talked to the vet. She said that they did all the tests and couldn't find anything other than a low platelet count, and wanted to see the dog again. I told her we'd just spent $1600 and the dog isn't any better. She then got all huffy and defensive.

Is it unreasonable to expect some results for that kind of money, or at least an explanation as to what's wrong?

[Chuck Dye]

Seems to me you got results:  the tests were inconclusive.  My mother's occasional syncope took several decades and two near fatal car crashes to diagnose and she is fluent in English and more than capable of describing her symptoms and recent history leading to the syncope.  (Do a search on long QT if you are curious.)  Vets do not have that luxury.

(The sister's Lab was almost renamed Argyle for the  Argyle sock pattern clearly visible in the x-ray as the intestinal blockage.   Nearly $2k has gone into that vet's till for easily diagnosed problems.)

[Monkeyleg]

Well, my wife took the dog back to see the vet an hour ago. The vet decided the dog might have cancer. My wife, of course, is a wreck.

How is it that they could have the dog for 2 1/2 days and not know what the problem is, but after 15 minutes in the exam room today the vet comes up with a cancer diagnosis?

We've never been to this clinic before, as we've taken the dog to the same vet for many years. On Monday I'll have that vet look at the lab results. This isn't the first time the dog has behaved like this and, in the past, whatever the vet did for this problem made the dog better.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

wanna feel better about those bills?  get a horse  have it get sick 

[roo_ster]

wanna feel better about those bills?  get a horse  have it get sick 

Aren;t these the proper pills for a sick horse:

[Sindawe]

Is it unreasonable to expect some results for that kind of money, or at least an explanation as to what's wrong?

Yes. 

Remember, you and the Vet are attempting to diagnose a living creature just as complex biochemically as you are.  This is not a simple mechanical contrivance like a car, but an intricate organic system that is still only partially understood.  Many many systems are in operation, each which can and do influence and respond to other systems in play.

Just to interject some perspective, eight years or so ago cat Uther developed bladder stones (Calcium Oxylate), repeated cathiderizations, change in diet and in the end a sex change operation fixed the problem.  Final tally was beyond $5k, but no more issues and even now as I type the fraking cat is howling in the kitchen for his dinner.

While we each have our own perpective, to me $1600 is not extreme for a first round of tests and examination of a sick and suffering pet

How is it that they could have the dog for 2 1/2 days and not know what the problem is, but after 15 minutes in the exam room today the vet comes up with a cancer diagnosis?

2.5 hours is not enough time to get test results back, since most vets do not have the equipment in house to run tests beyond looking in a microscope for cellular morphology, pH on urine and blood and the like.

And even with all the data at hand, its can still be a guessing game.  Cat Bastubus was off her feed several months ago, puking up what she did eat and occasional pink vomit (from blood) when she did not eat.  Blood work showed exemplory for her age of 18 years, and after a good subucatanious bollis of lactated ringers solutions she has been back to her normal grumpy and hungry self.

The diagnosis?  A mild stomach bug resulted in dehydration and lack of desire to eat or drink.  At best, a guess as too what is going on.

This isn't the first time the dog has behaved like this and, in the past, whatever the vet did for this problem made the dog better.

Sometimes it just runs that way.  Your regular vet likely has more records than the emergency clinic, and will be better able to figure out whats up with the pup.

I do hope this is just another minor oddity with you dog Monkeyleg, one that he/she will quickly recover from.

[Doggy Daddy]

Amber (laying by my side as I type this) had symptoms similar to your dog a few years back.  We took her to the vet, and after several hundred dollars' worth of exams we were told it was gas.  We took her home, and she was achy and lethargic for the rest of the day. 

Next day she farted.  She's been fine since.  We don't change her dog food any more either since the vet felt the change precipitated the gas.

<<< That's her on the left, there.


DD

[grampster]

Tubby our cat, lost weight, wouldn't eat, no pooping or peeing.  Took him to the vet for x-rays and tests.  Vet was stymied.  After a couple of days, the vet gave him an enema and he crapped out a half shell from a pistachio nut.  It was blocking his colon and he backed up.  Bill was nearly $1,000.00.  Upon reflection, I decided, after thinking about various times we'd had both cats to that vet and the fact they seemed to get sick every time they went in there for a minor thing like a shot and bills piled up, that the vet was incompetent and we've never taken him back to her.

You might want to think about the dog having some kind of intestinal blockage, Dick.

[Harold Tuttle]

Kind of amazing that James Herriot did his work sans high technology...

[Chrissy]

How old is the dog?  I guess its possible they did all kinds of tests and still couldn't find anything, but to all of a sudden come up with a cancer diagnosis seems odd.  What are they basing that on?  Usually even with cancer, there is something that shows up in the blood work, a mass shows up on x-rays, they can palpate a tumor, etc. 

If it were my dog, I'd go somewhere else for a second opinion.  Also, the symptoms sound like it could be Lyme disease, so if they did blood work, did they check the blood for Lyme?  That is curable with simple antibiotics and nothing would show up on x-rays or ultrasound, so that would jive with them not finding anything.

[Monkeyleg]

He's 12. My wife is now preparing herself for him to die, which I think is very premature. I'll see what the dog's regular vet has to say.

BTW, Sindawe, they didn't have the dog for 2.5 hours. They had the dog at the clinic for 2.5 days.

[AJ Dual]

Was it Crawford by chance?

They're not the best.  We've had similar experiences to yours there.

I'd recommend Phale or Spirit of 76 clinics.

[Monkeyleg]

No, AJ. It was the 24 hour emergency veterinary clinic on Highway 100 six blocks south of Oklahoma. It's the first time we've taken him there, although he's been to more emergency clinics/rooms in the last 12 years than I have.

His regular vet is at Greenfield Veterinary Clinic on south 27th Street. That's a good place.

[jackdanson]

Sorry about your troubles though, hope he gets better..  I've considered that "pet insurance", but I've read that it's a bit of a ripoff.

[Chrissy]

Again, I urge you to check into Lyme Disease.  I do dog boarding and MANY of my clients' dogs have had this and your dog is displaying CLASSIC symptoms of this disease.  Not sure what part of the country you're located in, but here on the east coast its prevalent.  My horse has had it quite a few times too and the first thing she does is back off her feed.  She was just about crippled, couldn't walk, was constantly laying down.  A course of antibiotics had her good as new.  The important thing, though, is if the dog isn't eating, it will get weak fast.  Again, see if a Lyme test was included in the blood work they did, and the dog may need IV fluids to keep up strength until the antibiotics take affect if that ends up being the diagnosis. 

[BMacklem]

I feel your pain Dick....I really feel your pain.
I have a beautiful flame point siamese cat that I adore, and one day she was sitting on our bed just lethargic, and breathing heavily, I took a look at her after my wife asked me to, and I noticed that her nose and gums had turned a very pale grey color, I immediately decided to rush her to the emergency vet clinic on Silver spring near Greenbay rd, and they put her on oxygen right away.
 After a battery of tests and no frackin' idea of what was wrong with her they decided to put her on plavix as they thought it might have been thrombosis and kept her overnight. Bear in mind this was after nearly $1200 of tests, with no idea of what was going on. So I know your frustration.

 They had no idea what was wrong, and wanted me to put her down after that kind of problem, and lemme tell you, I was *this* close to agreeing to just let her go, as I was already strapped for money at that point.
 I'm glad that I decided to just let her stay in the oxygen overnight, as she is now healthy and happy, and one of the oddest cats I've ever owned, and that's a good thing.

I also had a cat a few years ago that was one of the sweetest cats you'd ever meet that we had to put down after a couple of years of problems. She had started to vomit up all her food periodically, and we took her to a vet down the road from us (76th just north of Bradley) multiple times, and all they did was check her blood, and perscribed antibiotics each time.

 Well about a year later she was still vomiting her food, and was really losing weight, and losing all her energy, we took her to a different vet in Brown deer, and the vet there immediately felt her abdomen and found a softball sized tumor, took an x-ray and realised that the tumor was pushing all her organs into her chest, so any food she ate had no place to sit and be digested.

 So I'm never taking any animals to the vet on 76th EVER again as all it would have taken a year earlier would have been an x-ray or a competant vet feeling something abnormal in her belly.
 I feel that because of his incompetance she ended up dying needlessly.

[Monkeyleg]

He's been eating and drinking a bit more today, although my wife still has to carry him to take him outside to pee.

Here's the weird part. For as long as I can remember, he's always gone nuts when my wife or I do dishes. He barks and jumps and is generally a pain in the neck. He calms down after several minutes, and then everything is fine. I have no idea what this behavior is all about.

Anyway, my wife did dishes this afternoon, and he went through his usual barking and jumping routine. It was like the dishes were a Divine Healer or something.

My wife thinks he's dying, I think his problems are less than fatal. Of course I'm always more of an optimist.

[Monkeyleg]

I guess my optimism was misplaced. Zach died during the night.

[PTK]

Dang. Sorry to hear that. 

[AJ Dual]

My condolences, especially for your wife, who I'm sure is taking it the hardest.

[Sawdust]

I'm sorry that you lost Zach, Monkeyleg.

Sawdust

[AmbulanceDriver]

Sorry for your loss, Monkeyleg.  I still remember having to put our lab down a few years ago.  She'd been diagnosed with cancer, and was doing ok on the meds doc had prescribed for her.  Then I was woken up at 0400 by her whimpering and whining, and found she was having a seizure, and that she'd had a stroke.  We knew she was sick, and we knew that this day was coming, but it didn't make it easier.  I can't imagine how much harder it must be to have it come out of nowhere like this.  Our thoughts to you and your wife.  My thoughts to you and your wife.

[roo_ster]

12 years?  Man, that's rough.

RIP Zach.

[Monkeyleg]

Thanks for your condolences.

I took the dog to the vet right away this morning to have him cremated. Things were pretty emotional around here, and I forgot to take a check or credit card.

The office manager at the clinic said the cremation would be $122. I explained that I'd forgotten check or credit card, and asked if I could pay when I picked up his ashes. She said that they needed the money up front.

We've been taking Zach to this vet for over ten years. My wife has been in there every other week for meds, and Zach's been in there several times each year. We've spent several thousands of dollars there. So, I was a bit upset that they would make me drive back home to get a check. Instead I reiterated all this, told her to go * herself, and took him to the pet cemetery at the cemetery where my dad is buried.

[AJ Dual]

Sorry, I should have suggested Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control.  They're over on Burnham street, just west of 43rd where the big new-ish Journal Sentinel printing plant is.

When our last dog went down with some sort of irreparable brain-damage from seizures, that's where I took him. It's no different than any other vet I've been too in terms of apperance, and they were very kind. And were much, much cheaper.

Oh, and "Six blocks south of Oklahoma" on Hy 100, if it's the new place between  the Greek Custard/Burger restaurant and the Budget theater across from the Walmart, that is Crafword's new location.  Although 24 hour emergency vet services are often a different group run out of a normal daily clinic.

I've never had good luck with emergency vet services. They hemm and haww, and don't give you straight answers, essentially waiting on you to guilt yourself into sparing no expense on tests and procedures. And that's why I disliked Crawford to begin with, they'd do that to you even on regular visits.