MP_the4pack

VPI is very picky about pre-existing conditions. They didn't insure Diamond because she had erhlichia before I got her. They excluded gastritis for Opal because I gave her a pepto bismol. And they don't cover lacerations because she was stitched up once already.

WHAT??!!! I can't believe what I just read. Oh God. I'm so sorry to hear this.

My condolenses on the loss of Macgregor. It is never easy to lose a furkid. Sometimes it seems to take forever to start to heal. By the way, if you haven't already, introduce yourself in one of the other forums (like EVERYTHING, or CUTE AND FUNNY) and pix of Will are a must.

Aw crap.

I was going to pass by this thread until it hit me that this is another "olive" thread and they usually end up incredibly funny. Nothing beats the original olive thread though!

Would one of those heated beds help Alan? Keep him warmer than normal on these cold snowy days?

Don't feel like you're cheating on your vet. I take my girls to specialists all the time and my "GP's" know this. They still get a chunk of my money and I believe are actually relieved not to have to worry about the tough stuff. (one of my vets did misdiagnose as abscessed tooth as myocytis.) Besides, Beau's health is more important that vet's feelings.

My old Lady Onyx had a tieback 2 yrs ago. She's now 13 and going strong. I noticed a change in her bark, raspy panting during walks, etc when I took her in to be checked. Other than no crumbly food, there's little maintenance. Good luck.

I'd go to another vet. I really don't believe Tylenol is safe for canines. At least get a second opinion on this whole thing if you don't want to drop the first vet entirely.

Even though IBD can be fatal if he just doesn't eat. At least it isn't cancer. I hope he feels better soon!

I'm sorry the diagnosis was hemangio.

Hey I'm lucky.......it was almost 2 yrs. There are people here who have lost 2, 3 ....more all in the same year!

In Dec of 1999 Topaz was diagnosed with liver disease. Just trying to figure out what was wrong costs $3000 (different doctors, different hospitals). She was only 5 when she died. In Jan my 6 yr was sick, being so gun shy from losing Topaz just weeks earlier I took her immediately to the hospital. $1000. In April, the 6 yr old had bruising that was possible hemangiosarcoma. Turned out to be only a bruise. Another $1000. In July she had a fever of unknown origin and a spontaneous pneumothorax. Spent 2 weeks at U of Penn. $7000. Brindle survive but I still lost her a year and a half later to (of all things) hemangiosarcoma. She was 8.

Want him to feel REALLY good? Between Dec 1999 and July 2000 I spent $12,000. (Man, what I could do with that kind of money!)

Praying that's it's just IBD and just rest with bland food will fix it.

Well to be fair, we went to an expensive dentist instead of a regular vet. Pearl is high risk anesthesia. So she just about sees only specialists. tbhounds....thanks for the reassurance about the surgery at RB. We've done both ultrasounds and CTs and they can't see it. Granted the CT was 2 yrs ago. We won't do it agan until we get back some more test results. But all the symptoms seem to point to a pheo.

Poor Beau, he's been thru so much. I hope you find an answer and it's one that you can work with.

Pearl's dental last June was $3200. sigh.......... And if it's pheo, she's going to have surgery at heaven knows HOW much.

Bloat isn't always gas in the stomach or torsion. I lost one girl to liver disease 4 weeks after her tummy looked bloated. I lost another girl within hours when her tummy filled with blood from hemangiosarcoma. A distended tummy is never good.

Glomerulonephitis is kidney disease where protein can leak out thru the glomeruli (a part of the kidneys). Both kidney disease and adrenal tumors can cause hypertension.

We went to Red Bank to see Pearl's internist once we got her BP down a bit and her out of immediate danger. I am waiting to hear back from all the tests we did to see if it's her GN or a pheo. Dr Ward is her physician there. She said that Pearl's general health is excellent. (no weakness or hind end issues. No liver problems, or neurological problems. No breathing or joint issues either. She's active and basically feels good). I came right out and told the vet that if it's a pheo I'm going for surgery because I'd rather her die on the table trying to correct the problem than me come home from work one day and find she stroked out earlier in the day and maybe suffered for hours. She said that although an adrenalectomy is a risky surgery, they do enough at Red Bank that she feels Pearl would have a good chance. But.....that's if it's a pheo. If it's glomerulonephitis, we only can manage it with meds. She's on 18 pills a day now (7 different meds). And unfortunately, with the increase in dig and the addition of atenolol, her appetite is dropping. So, as soon as we get the dig level back, I'm hoping it's a tad high so we can drop it back down. I'm thinking that might help her appetite. So far I've spent $1300 . Good thing I have insurance. I hope they cover a good chunk of that! It's a good thing I wuvs you Pearl!!

Do you have a Stop N Shop near you? They are currently advertizing on the TV antibiotics free until March. I don't know if they have certain terms like human only or children only. They don't say on the advertisement. Poor boy. Feel better Monty!

I lost my Brindle to hemangio. I cannot offer anything positive or hopeful if this is what she has. I'm so sorry. Basically, if you catch hemangio before the first tumor bursts, there is a high success rate. Problem is, there are no symptoms at that stage. You find tumors only by accident. Once it bursts, then all the internal organs are covered with cancer cells. My girl seemed fine in the morning, but there was a suspicious spot on her skin I wanted removed. They called late that day saying she wasn't waking up from that minor surgery and that it looked like she was bleeding internally. I picked her up, and rushed to U of Penn. She went into emergency surgery at 1 AM. They came down to me and said that she was loaded with cancer and that there was no way to stop all the bleeding. THey put her to sleep. The spleen, liver and mesenteric cavity were all loaded with tumors. Once again. I'm very very sorry and I hope someone else can give you better news or that it's not hemangio. Brindle was 8.