yeah go slowly do you have the purina ha already ?

i am picking it up tomorrow; weird they asked me do u want wet or dry; i said it only comes in dry; they said no
i bet she meant the ultra z/d or maybe something else; i hope not
if not i have to wait for next week
do u give dex any vitamins besides this food; i know i will be adding probiotic

You talked to a vet online? And he was willing to diagnose an animal he'd never even seen? And he even recommended medications and diet for her?

Is this normal for vets to do?

The lab results you posted meant absolutely nothing to me, and maybe it was enough for him go by, but it just seems odd IMO. Too much potential liabilty for a legitimate veterinarian, I would think. Anyway, just curious.

i didnt ask him to diagnose her; as she was already diagnosed
i only asked for insight and opinion; and since he's an internal medicine specialist i believe he can say his opinion; especially if i asked him for it.
it's not like i am going to change her treatment. she's going to stay on the same medication but i had a choice between EN and HA and he said hydrolized will be better for dogs with IBD; he also told me to go see a specialist as he thinks ava needs to be on another medication; but i am not going to do that right now. no big deal and i am greatful for his insight.

yeah there are vets and vet techs online that help pet owners understand things and educate us.

On my maltese group there is a wonderful vet and a vet tech that always help us out.

I am on two vet groups on yahoo where it is pet owners, vet techs and vets. I have emailed them xrays of dd leg, blood work, pics of what is going on with her etc. They have been wonderful at helping me out and explaining things. They do not give doseages out just try to help in figuring things out and explaining things.

Even Dr Tobias' assistant is on a yahoogroup and helps people with liver disease.

These yahoogroups are amazing and some very sharp people on them who donate their time and expertise to help pet owners.

Ann is on the cushings group and really likes it as well.

I do not discount anything in dealing with a sick dog.

no dex ONLY gets purina ha bc if it is not broke i do not fix it. He is too sensitive to anything and it scares me to try anything with him.

DD gets probiotics

I'm glad you had someone to ask for more insight. Everything helps.

Sorry if I upset you - I was honestly curious. I didn't realize there were forums with vets on them like that.

u didnt upset me; no worries. i am just so overwhelmed. yes deb told me about the yahoo groups; so far they are helpful. nothing major but at least similar experience.

I can tell you that the vets I use, including board certified specialists, would never get online and advise people.

To each his own. I see far too many people using these groups as a way to avoid vet bills. They do it and then diagnose their own pups with the information they receive. I shudder to think what could happen to some of these pups.

Call me a naysayer. I am off of this thread now for good. I have found it not to be much of a learning experience, but one that scares me. Very depressing to me.

Yes, you are overwhelmed...if I was given all of the advice that you have been given, I would be totally lost and overwhelmed myself.

I will pray that the answers that you think are good will indeed be good for Ava. I made my suggestions and clearly, you feel that a vet is not in order. I hope you are right and she does well. :)

so are you saying Ann who is on the cushings group is trying to diagnose her own dog lollll ?

How about Dr tobias who is well known on here for liver shunt surgery? Her assistant is on the yahoogroups.

People are not diagnosing their dogs on these groups they are gathering information to help their dogs which is a good thing. These are mostly pet owners that see specialists all over the world for certain conditions their dogs are going through and are helping others with the information in trying to understand what their vet does not have time to explain many times. I have read many times and just read it the other day on the GME group my dog would have died had I not been on this group to learn about the current protocol by Dr Sisson so i think these groups are saving some dogs lives. They are also a great means of support for people who are dealing with a certain disease with their dog.

They are also not avoiding vet bills on the groups as many have spent thousands like myself. If they did not care about their dogs they would not go on there to learn and would just put their dogs to sleep like many pet owners do with dogs with illnesses or turn them over to rescues. I commend people for trying to learn to take care of their dogs and put them down for doing things such as this.

linda i talk to her vet everyday; i am listening to opinions but not necessarly taking advice. i am not going to treat ava myself as she needs medical help. i am following the exact treatment her vet prescribed.
those groups are out there to support and help people and they are allowed to express their opinion. i am not understanding why you are getting so defensive. i am just trying to gather as much knowldege as i can about this disease; i want to hear people who went throught the same thing and what approach their vet took; so i can question my vet. ava got this bad because i didn't research and ask around. so these groups and advice actually help believe it or not; especially if opinions are coming from certified internist and specialist. and no it's not to avoid a vet bill; because i went monday and i spent 250 for famotidine and dexamethasone injection; and i don't have further information about this disease. to me that was to mask the symptoms not really to treat the disease.
i am not forcing anyone to post their opinion or stories.

meant to say and will not put them down for doing things such as this

Did you not say that you use these groups to help you figure out what is wrong with your dogs? Isnt that diagnosing. Didn't you also say that doing this cuts down on vet bills? Or, am I misreading and misinterpreting again? I don't want to misinterpret anything...just trying to understand is all. :)

Oh...you have joined GME now? :)

I honestly don't care what you think and do and suggest...that is entirely up to you....I do it differently and I disagree with much of it and I suggest what has worked for me. My pups are all in great shape and their illnesses and skin conditions are nipped in the bud early before they are out of control from me playing around trying to find the answer which is what a lot of people do. By the time they get to a vet, the condition has worsened. Have you not seen that on YT? Or even on the Yahoo groups? I certainly have.

After seeing the one diagnosis made on Roriee by the LS group.... I was stunned and it clinched my previous thoughts about some of these people on these groups. Her problem figured out....and was constipation and Lactulose helped??? Did you happen to see that? :rolleyes:

Anyway....that is my opinion. You can LOL all day long..I will still have the same opinion. I don't care who they are...if they are diagnosing, I believe they are going out on a limb. Assistants...techs, vets..whoever they are or say they are. They don't even know for sure that they are being given accurate information by the owners.

i agree; different groups are there for different reasons. the ones i joined in yahoo has vets and nutritionists. i dont necessarly have to take their advice but it helps to see what works for other people with similar stories.
today i learned something new about ava's blood work. her vet didnt go over the results with me; but this internist looked it over and told me his opinion. i researched him and he's a famous internist. so i was greatful that he took his time to explain to me and answer my questions. he also told me to go to a specialist; so he's not trying to diagnose or treat her over the net, he just told me i need to see a specialist; because her vet is good but maybe overlooking some things.
so we are not forcing people to give advice; they are free to do whatever; but we can't influence or stop people from helping either.