Ava is sick and in hospital again; GI problems

[dwerten]

over using antibiotics is a bad thing and why probiotics should be given while on antibiotics as it kills the good and bad bacteria and probiotics put good bacteria back in so may be why he did not do the metronidazole and i am not a big fan of over using antibiotics myself and probiotics have always worked for dd diarhea episodes of clostridium and colitis so i always use those first.

[ally173]

because her vomiting blood he wanted to rule out as much as he can; he took blood tests when she was admited and he didnt know if she has pancreatitis or not; and he wanted to make sure; i am happy that he was thorough but he's very expensive; i thought he would cut me a break; but he charged for every little thing. he loves his money i know that for sure.

[ally173]

the bena bec gel they gave me is only for 15 days for $20 that's expensive. so i was looking at the purina fortiflora probiotic; anyone here uses it; any reviews on it?
purina has this GI HealthPack that has purina EN canned food and fortiflora. i think i should give it a try. the vet did suggest purina EN next if iams low residue didnt work. ava is not liking the low residue, so i think i might give purina EN a try. but not sure about the fortiflora

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by ally173

because her vomiting blood he wanted to rule out as much as he can; he took blood tests when she was admited and he didnt know if she has pancreatitis or not; and he wanted to make sure; i am happy that he was thorough but he's very expensive; i thought he would cut me a break; but he charged for every little thing. he loves his money i know that for sure.

yeah your area and mine stink as they charge top dollar sad

the tli though did not rule out pancreatitis only epi the cpli rules out pancreatitis - epi is when a dog loses protein through diarhea and they have greasy stools she never had that so honestly that test was a waste and i am sure you paid at least $70 for that test alone

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by ally173

the bena bec gel they gave me is only for 15 days for $20 that's expensive. so i was looking at the purina fortiflora probiotic; anyone here uses it; any reviews on it?
purina has this GI HealthPack that has purina EN canned food and fortiflora. i think i should give it a try. the vet did suggest purina EN next if iams low residue didnt work. ava is not liking the low residue, so i think i might give purina EN a try. but not sure about the fortiflora

nope just had a pm today though from the 4th person on here i referred dds plus to that it stopped diarhea in their dog that had been battling it for a while that stuff works great used it for over 2 years and now that dd is back on it no diarhea love that stuff. 100 capsules for $17 and non-dairy

[dwerten]

here is some info on blood work you had

Understanding Blood Work: The Complete Blood Count (CBC) for Dogs

in reading that looks like infection was present - was that test run before the others for sibo?

[ally173]

Originally Posted by dwerten

yeah your area and mine stink as they charge top dollar sad

the tli though did not rule out pancreatitis only epi the cpli rules out pancreatitis - epi is when a dog loses protein through diarhea and they have greasy stools she never had that so honestly that test was a waste and i am sure you paid at least $70 for that test alone

250 for the GI panel
i am telling u he's very expensive

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by ally173

250 for the GI panel
i am telling u he's very expensive

Elly, I am going to give you the same advice I gave you after the last problem that Ava had. I understand that you are fearful of changing diets and that has kept you from going to a new vet; but, you really need a vet that you can depend on when Ava becomes ill. This was a last minute decision out of necessity....it was this one or the emergency clinic. If you are unhappy with this vet, it is important that you start looking for another one immediately if not sooner!

[ally173]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

Elly, I am going to give you the same advice I gave you after the last problem that Ava had. I understand that you are fearful of changing diets and that has kept you from going to a new vet; but, you really need a vet that you can depend on when Ava becomes ill. This was a last minute decision out of necessity....it was this one or the emergency clinic. If you are unhappy with this vet, it is important that you start looking for another one immediately if not sooner!

all vets in this area are expensive; so it wont make a difference if i look; plus i dont know anyone that could recommend a vet; so it will all be trial and error; and to be honest i dont want to keep taking her to different vets and stressing her out. so for now i will keep going to this guy and hopefully she will get better.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by ally173

all vets in this area are expensive; so it wont make a difference if i look; plus i dont know anyone that could recommend a vet; so it will all be trial and error; and to be honest i dont want to keep taking her to different vets and stressing her out. so for now i will keep going to this guy and hopefully she will get better.

Oh, I surely hope she does as well, Elly. I think of her often...and of you. I know how hard this has all been.

I just want you to be sure you trust this vet! Also important is that you can talk with him.... and discuss options for Elly.

[ally173]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

Oh, I surely hope she does as well, Elly. I think of her often...and of you. I know how hard this has all been.

I just want you to be sure you trust this vet! Also important is that you can talk with him.... and discuss options for Elly.

i can talk to him; but he doesnt know much about diet; that's the only thing; he even told me; i dont know what diet will be best for her; we just have to try
and my problem with that is i dont want her to keep getting sick everytime the food is no good for her
at least she doesnt need anymore tests; now we know what she has; so if this god forbid happens again; i will just take her for iv and meds for few days.
he gave me an emergency cell phone just in case; the nurse will be able to meet me at the hospital
i just wish he wasnt so expensive; oh well i have to find a part time job

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by ally173

i can talk to him; but he doesnt know much about diet; that's the only thing; he even told me; i dont know what diet will be best for her; we just have to try
and my problem with that is i dont want her to keep getting sick everytime the food is no good for her
at least she doesnt need anymore tests; now we know what she has; so if this god forbid happens again; i will just take her for iv and meds for few days.
he gave me an emergency cell phone just in case; the nurse will be able to meet me at the hospital
i just wish he wasnt so expensive; oh well i have to find a part time job

i know you just spent a ton but once you save up a bit you may want to consult susan davis Holistic Veterinarian Pet Nutritionist Holistic Pet Care and many really like her on this group and she will analyze all blood work and put together a diet for you and work with you - I think she is $90 for a consult but many who have used her like her so worth a shot but you will have to most likely home cook or she will instruct a diet. It may be worth it to see what she says regarding diet. You do not have to follow but she is a good source of info to gather. I believe she has a degree in nutrition from ucdavis as that is a nutritional vet school.

luvmysissy on here consults her and she is very sharp so you may want to pm her as well she is very helpful and nice

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by ally173

i can talk to him; but he doesnt know much about diet; that's the only thing; he even told me; i dont know what diet will be best for her; we just have to try
and my problem with that is i dont want her to keep getting sick everytime the food is no good for her
at least she doesnt need anymore tests; now we know what she has; so if this god forbid happens again; i will just take her for iv and meds for few days.
he gave me an emergency cell phone just in case; the nurse will be able to meet me at the hospital
i just wish he wasnt so expensive; oh well i have to find a part time job

I am sure you will find a food that works! Lots of suggestions on here.

And...wonderful that you can call them if there is an emergency....hopefully there won't be any more of them!

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by ally173

250 for the GI panel
i am telling u he's very expensive

yeah he is and i pay top dollar here and it stinks but luckily after spending so much i figured out who is good and now have a good team of specialists that work with me and do not charge me as much now which is nice as i try to as much of my own homework before meeting with them and they appreciate it and we work as a team

This vet sounds good just very pricey i just think he shot with a shot gun doing everything at once instead of really focusing on what was really critical and minimizing costs for you since you are in a financial situation I wish he would have been more sensitive to that situation is all. I emailed my friend in New Jersey and asked her to send me a recommendation from her specialists for your area and i googled your area last night and you do not have a ton of options The garden state facility is too far which is what my friend recommended Just to make you feel a little better loll my friend has 6 dogs and is probably 70k in vet bills in your area she has been through the ringer too with her dogs so i know your area is very expensive too like mine

for now stick with him try to work with him and keep educating yourself and ask questions but best to fax all your questions on one sheet of paper to receptionist and have her ask him and call you back with answers as sounds like he is busy and rushed and does not have a lot of time this is what i do now and it works great and i think they appreciate it as you are not calling for each little thing - if he has an email or online website with email that might be even better as I email a few of mine and one i have two i have to fax as they do not have email or online websites with email. Hang in there you have some answers and future treatment should be less costly -

just a suggestion as another friend of mine did this if you are looking for pt work you may want to consider a vets office or er 24 hr hospital as then you can get reduction in treatment for her just a thought as that is what i would do first

[kjc]

Originally Posted by ally173

...they did give me an itemized bill; and i did ask questions about some fees; adn they seem to have an answer right away; which makes sense but i dont think it's fair

added 250 for extra anesthia; kept her longer to clean the teeth
200 for an extra biopsy site
250 for usign the endoscope a little longer
and goes on and on like this; fees that dont make sense but i have no say; nothing i can do
he already took blood and send for the allergy test; before i got to the office and had charged 200 for that...

If I may... What is the original anesthesia charge, how much do they charge for a teeth cleaning alone, and did you approve the cleaning before hand? Original charge for the endoscopy? Did you approve a second biopsy site? How long did they keep her under? And what gas did they use? If they used Halothane, and she survived... cancel the bile acid test. Did they do pre-op bloodwork (before anesthetizing?) Anything amiss with her liver enzymes?

Those add-ons sound like original charges, and I would def question them... the person who put that together on your bill could have been mistaken (usually not the vet). Usually additional charges are fractions of the original charges, like hourly for anesthesia (teeth cleaning takes 20 miutes at most and $100-$150 for an hour anesthesia. Normally would charge less as she was already under for different procedure) Tell him my vet could have pulled all her teeth and put in dentures for that amount (with a gold K-9 or 2)! For the endoscopy additional charge, tell him it's his fault he's slow, you shouldn't have to pay that much extra... usually $50 -$100 for an additional sight and no extra charge for use of the endoscope, and that includes lab fees to process it! Time for taking an additional biopsy: no more than 5 minutes including prep and handling/packaging for sending it to the lab. PS: Ask him if he's in the market for a new endoscope?

As for the allergy bloodwork... couldn't that have been added on to the bloodwork they already had? Some can some can't...worth asking about.

You do have a say and if they won't give you a refund you may be able to at least get a credit on your account for future services.

Also Nutrigest for Dogs and Cats - Pet Health Supplement - Nutrigest Pets you can buy it online cheaper. contains vitamins, minerals, and probiotics.
IMHO, the vitamins/minerals may not be necessary bc with the probiotics/enzymes alone her body will get more out of the food she eats.

I use Nature's Farmacy - Store - Product Details recommended to me by Wylie's Mom. This can be dissolved in liquid and given orally via syringe, or sprinkled on the food. No need to give it prior to feeding. They also carry Probiotic 911 for animals under stress, maybe better for her. Also, the amount given of the first product linked can be doubled for animals under stress.