Dog Update

kris356

Since you all were so nice the other day, I thought I would update you.

So it is glaucoma and the dr can see a mass. The question remains if it is from the seizure, and is trauma/blood cot from when he collapsed and hit his head or if it is from a tumor. His pressure readings are in the 60s when they should be in the teens.

We were given the options of having are vet treat it or going to the opthamologist at PVSEC. We are going with the vet for now, two different meds and revisit it next week.  Last nights fun: getting a prescription filled at GE for your dog then attempting to put not one but two different eyedrops in a 125 lb dog.

PVSEC scares me because when you try to get a cost estimate, they won't give you any info until they see you and it is by referral only. DH is hesitant to go there because his mom spent $8000+ treating her dog's cancer and he died within a month.

sundaygirl

Awww, poor Bruce.  I hope things look better at his next appointment.  Eye drops do not sound fun!  At least the eyes on a bigger dog are a bigger target? 
:o3

AmandaJLewis

Poor Bruce! I hope the vet treatment is successful and you don't have to entertain going out to PVSEC. Which is a great facility, but I totally get your hesitation. 

waltsgirl102503

I hope the treatment with the vet helps!  Poor Bruce!

kris356

sundaygirl said:

Awww, poor Bruce.  I hope things look better at his next appointment.  Eye drops do not sound fun!  At least the eyes on a bigger dog are a bigger target? 
:o3

Well, if you can get him laying down with that eye up, it is good cause he can't see you.

Meghan&Rich

Poor Bruce!  I hope the treatments are successful!

lala5507

I hope the treatment works.  I cannot even imagine giving a dog eye drops!  Good luck!

gwennythepooh

Aw, Bruce:( I hope that this works well for you, though, and things turn around!

amyjoy18

Good luck with the treatment!  I hope Bruce gets well soon.

egpitt22

Poor little buddy   I hope these treatments help him.  hugs to you!

billiburrows

 i hope the treatment works but if you do end up going to PVSEC, you don't have to follow all of their recommendations. you can talk to them about your options.  i take my dog to the cardiologist there since he has congestive heart failure/heart murmur.  i like that he is seeing a specialist so i can be sure he is being looked at by the right people but i also do not want to spend a fortune. the visit is $50 so that's about the same as a regular vet visit. they always suggest going the cautious route of xrays, cardioecho, etc. i always ask if that is 100% necessary or can we say try the medication and if he gets better we can presume that's what it was? or if it doesn't get better than we should try the other medication instead?, etc. as long as the doctor is ok with it and i'm ok with not being 100% certain of things then that's what we do to save $. so far it is working out good.  just an idea/suggestion for you. we may end up doing those things in the future if we all feel it is really necessary but for now i'm glad to have it under control without spending a fortune. 

kris356

billiburrows said:

 i hope the treatment works but if you do end up going to PVSEC, you don't have to follow all of their recommendations. you can talk to them about your options.  i take my dog to the cardiologist there since he has congestive heart failure/heart murmur.  i like that he is seeing a specialist so i can be sure he is being looked at by the right people but i also do not want to spend a fortune. the visit is $50 so that's about the same as a regular vet visit. they always suggest going the cautious route of xrays, cardioecho, etc. i always ask if that is 100% necessary or can we say try the medication and if he gets better we can presume that's what it was? or if it doesn't get better than we should try the other medication instead?, etc. as long as the doctor is ok with it and i'm ok with not being 100% certain of things then that's what we do to save $. so far it is working out good.  just an idea/suggestion for you. we may end up doing those things in the future if we all feel it is really necessary but for now i'm glad to have it under control without spending a fortune. 

Thanks! That is good to know because I have a feeling we will be there next Friday.

 I was just trying to get an idea of what they charged for the initial visit. From my research we would have to pay an emergency fee on top of the office visit because we are being referred and it wouldn't be an issue we could wait to see the dr. Our vet said it would be him calling and getting us in today ASAP. Plus he would need to be sedated because you know, dogs don't like people poking around in their eyes. Ugh, it is so hard because you want to do the right thing but he is a strange dog and he never lets you know that he is hurt or in pain.

northhillsbride

Hugs to you and Bruce!

PS: Reach out to Heather (Nestie) on FB. She works at PVSEC. If you're not sure who I mean, let me know and I'll shoot you her info.

billiburrows

i'm not sure what our initial visit fee was since we sort of came in via the ER if i recall correctly. before i made the follow up apt i called to ask the price and they said it was $50 and that was accurate.  maybe call them to see if you can make an initial apt and what the cost of just the apt itself is.   that's ridiculous you would have to pay more b/c the doc called for you and called it an emergency (unless he really needs to get in asap). otherwise, maybe they could get you in in a few days? when i made the follow up appointment i was able to get in there easier than i could my regular vet so i was very happy.

kris356

My husband says we should just let him smoke some marijuana!  :P

It would be an "emergency" because it really is a time is of the essence thing because of the pressure.

ryanthegirl

I missed your other post. I'm sorry to hear about your pup. I hope he's feeling better soon.

denalea

I was also going to say reach out to Heather.  I know she works there.  Here screen name was uptonogood (or something like that.) 

Just a thought...would you be seeing a specialist or a specific doctor?  Could you call now and make an appt with that doctor for late Friday or early Saturday as a non-emergency, and then cancel if you get good news on Friday?  Would that help to avoid the emergency fee?  I have no idea if that would work with their cancellation policy...but it wouldn't hurt to look into!

Hugs to you and your Bruce!

kris356

denalea said:

I was also going to say reach out to Heather.  I know she works there.  Here screen name was uptonogood (or something like that.) 

Just a thought...would you be seeing a specialist or a specific doctor?  Could you call now and make an appt with that doctor for late Friday or early Saturday as a non-emergency, and then cancel if you get good news on Friday?  Would that help to avoid the emergency fee?  I have no idea if that would work with their cancellation policy...but it wouldn't hurt to look into!

Hugs to you and your Bruce!

Unfortunately, no we have to be referred by our primary vet.

denalea

kris356 said:

denalea said:

I was also going to say reach out to Heather.  I know she works there.  Here screen name was uptonogood (or something like that.) 

Just a thought...would you be seeing a specialist or a specific doctor?  Could you call now and make an appt with that doctor for late Friday or early Saturday as a non-emergency, and then cancel if you get good news on Friday?  Would that help to avoid the emergency fee?  I have no idea if that would work with their cancellation policy...but it wouldn't hurt to look into!

Hugs to you and your Bruce!

Unfortunately, no we have to be referred by our primary vet.

Bummer.

I hope you are seeing some improvements this week (if they are discernible!)  Hugs.