Vets and their Meds

2186 Views 25 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Jeanie, Sep 10, 2003

Newt

Discussion Starter · Sep 5, 2003

[Rant on]
What is it with Vets and their meds? My cat has been on no less than 4 antibiotics, two versions of an antihistamine, eye drops, nasal sprays, and an appetite stimulant. All of which have done nothing. Twice I have asked for a prescription, to help with costs, and I get, "Sigh...you won't save that much.".

I'm sorry, but after spending $600 in one month and seeing a result of NOTHING, NADA, ZIP, ZILCH...who is the one who needs consoling? Me who has a sick cat who is losing weight or the vet who doesn't get a few more pennies for selling her stock (or overstock).

I asked today what she thought we should do, since my cat is still ill and she wants to TRY a steroid...thinking maybe it will help. I am so pissed right now. TRY, TRY? After a month you would think she would have a better decision. After a month and two vets, why am I the only one who has any slight idea on what's going on? How many vets do you have to go through until you find one that is interested in helping your pet?
[RANT OFF]

Am I out of line here? We go to the vet expecting some sort of tests to be done to zero in on the problem. Our vet looks at the cat, tests temp, checks wait, writes it in the chart and says, "Lets try this antibiotic.". Three days later, same routine but, "Lets try this more expensive one.". Three days later we switch vets, new vet reviews the charts and tries a third antibiotic that has "no conclusive results" but worked well for other cats. My Dad, a pharmacist, says that the drug she prescribed is not normally taken orally and he was not sure it had any healing power taken that way. We pursue on and today she says, "Lets try prednisone." I told her no. The only positive sign that has come from the cat, was from giving him the appetite stimulant. He was becoming more vocal, eating and drinking more, and beginning to show signs of recovery. We only had 4 pills and ran out...now he is back down again. Sorry for the rant, but were getting pretty sick of this treatment.

People take your money, don't offer any type of discount after spending several hundred dollars with them, then give you grief when you want to get your meds elsewhere.

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Newt

Discussion Starter · #4 · Sep 5, 2003

Thanks guys! It's causing a lot of strain right now. The pill is bitter and makes him drool excessively once he tastes it (just like the anihistimine did), then he fights so it really frustrates me that I cannot give him this pill by myself. I have tried for up to an hour with several methods (in food, in liquid, pill gun, fingers, etc). We go to the vet once a day to have the vet give him the pill then get the usual, "oh, you can't pill the cat?". So I have to get to work late while trying to give him medicine and get him to eat, then leave work early to get him to the vet. We don't live near a pharmacy, so more trips away from work to get prescriptions filled. I'm really getting to my breaking point. Wish I could just say, "Well, eat when you want." but I know that is not possible. The bum advice just infuriates me, lets try this and lets try that with what seems like no background into THIS cats problem at all...just hindsight on other cats. Then you add in all the food we are throwing away because it just sits out and rots.

How do you deal with this? How do you handle doing everything you can only to realize it isn't helping anything? The money is no big deal....if it helped but I cannot flush $600 a month down the drain for this cat who is also my best friend.

The only thing that has worked has been the appetite stimulant, he eats, he drinks and he is almost 100% (just skinny). How can you find a good vet? How can you tell when they're any good? If I do go for a third opinion, how do I get the all the lab tests that were done from my other vet?

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Newt

Discussion Starter · #6 · Sep 6, 2003

Were going in tomorrow to get the vet to give him his pill. What type of questions should I ask the vet (or the new vet)?

I already asked if she could do a culture and was told she did not think that would be a good idea just yet because he would have to be anesthetized for the procedure. Other than blood tests, what type of tests should I expect for the vet to track down this problem?

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Newt

Discussion Starter · #9 · Sep 6, 2003

I'll ask about this today. So far he has had:

FELV/FIV bloodwork = negative
Pre-Surgical bloodwork = slight anemia/increased protein in blood
autoimmune panel = negative
multichem = not sure what this is

I've been taking him in the shower with me since last Tuesday because his nose was so stuffed he was breathing out of his mouth all the time. There was a smell of BO coming from his mouth. Today he is breathing out of his nose almost 90% of the time. We have been giving him every known cat food from grocery store brands through pet store through whats found at the vet (Hills A/D and Purina Pro Plan Ocean). The cat was always finicky but did eat his dry most of the time with very little wet. Now, his throat hurts so he does not touch the dry. We are giving him 2mg of cyproheptadine once a day to stimulate his appetite. This seems to work but leaves him a little wired for a few hours after taking it. So far, this is the only positive we have seen while he hase been sick. I also started giving him the clavamox once a day to fight any infection that may still be present.

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Newt

Discussion Starter · #16 · Sep 8, 2003

Newt is at his third vet today, an animal hospital for all sorts of pets. The hospital is recommended by the AAHA and has a vetrinarian that served as VP for the area Vetrinary Association. Hopefully they know what they are doing.

The vet I met with said he seems to have something wrong with his abdomen area. Newt was very frisky and vocal when she was feeling his stomach. They are taking X-rays now and are going to call when he is ready. She also disagreed with the abundant use of anti-biotics but did say the L-Lysine was a good idea to help his immune system kick in. I told her I wanted to have them look at his former blood tests and run an x-ray on him. They are also going to do an FIP test and some other test that he has not had yet.

Please say a prayer for him. She sounded like she thought he may have FIP. She said that this can lie dormant and come about due to stress or sickness. This is what the other vet had mentioned, however he does not have all the signs of FIP (fluid leaking/buildup, ulcers, etc). The symptoms are:

Gastrointestinal and eye ulcers
Jaundice
Mild anemia
Neurological abnormalities
Severe conjunctivitis

I believe they gave him an FIPV test, but am not sure. Please say a prayer for him...we will know shortly.

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Newt

Discussion Starter · #17 · Sep 8, 2003

Don't know whether to put a smiley or a frowny on this one. Newt is very close to meeting all the requirements for FPI (wet). He now has slight jaundice from not eating. The only positive thing that came from today was that there is no fluid in his abdomen. The vet even used a needle to try and draw fluid but there was none there.

With his breathing getting rough at times (sounds like he coughs after meowing) I was certain the x-ray would show fluid and that would be that. He is now 5.5 pds (was 8 pds) and is still not eating or drinking. They have sent out bloodwork to test of FPI which my vet is pretty certain he has. In the meantime, were going to give it one last shot this week. Here is my plan:

1/2 can of Hills I/D
1 TBSP Energel (Like Nutri-Cal)
250 mg L-Lysine (amino acids to kick start immune system) (this was also recommended by the new vet)

This concoction is mixed up in a blender and given to him in 6ml increments by syringe every hour until all of it is gone. I have beleived since this began, that if he could put some weight on he could fight this, he has always been really healthy. The tests for FPI are not very accurate, as my vet told me, so we are going to try and do the best we can for as long as we can. I will not put him through misery nor my wife, but I will try and save this little guy...he is my best friend. Please keep us in your prayers, they do work. I am keeping a journal of his health, weight, food intake, water intake and will report my findings back to the board as we progress. Thanks again.

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Newt

Discussion Starter · #23 · Sep 10, 2003

That's awful. :x

I got that feeling from my two previous vets as well. You have to remember, this is a business for them. With the economy in the dumpster pet owners are putting expensive treatments and tests on the back burner and buying what they can from Petmeds.com. This leaves Vets out in the cold, they have stocks of medicine going bad. This doesn't mean that YOU have to pay for that problem though.

My 2nd vet was prescribing but not doing the necessary tests. I want a vet to test, review the results, give me there opinion, give me my options and let me decide. Period. On my 3rd vet I told her exactly this. The 3rd vet said she would probably have prescribed what the 2nd did. My response was that I want to know what the test say first, then you can prescribe and I can decide.

At the conclusion of the third vet visit, she told me the tests for FIP and x-rays were going to be expensive and she apologized but said that was the only way. I agreed to it. She gave us some Hills I/D for no charge due to the $256 bill for his visit. Since then she has called daily to check on him and give me his results and her opinion, that is the difference. The other vets just called and said, "based on this were prescribing this come by to pick it up and pay."

How do they know? There are tons of different medicines to take for something and if one doesn't work, switch to another. This is the equivalent of changing car parts for a ticking noise...it gets expensive.

Have your vet perform the tests, give you the results and then you decide, do the research. Take your meds by prescription only. If they give you any lip find a different vet. It won't be cheap, but you will get the answers you are looking for and not waste anytime and tests can be transferred from one vet to another to avoid re-testing.

We are lucky Newt has only been sick a month and has been eating off and on. Could you imagine what would happen if we went another month or two "trying" different meds? Good luck, sorry for the rant but that is why I started this thread.

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