Vet Visit

[Guest benson]

I would stop giving it while she's battling the UTI. If she wasn't incontinent before you found the UTI then why give it now.

[Guest SillyDog]

PPA has also been linked to stokes in both dogs and people. There are several of us here on GT who won't even give it for incontinence.

 

 

I'd wondered about that....thanks for posting it. I mean, I knew humans sometimes have problems with it, but I wasn't sure dogs did. I didn't want to post something I was unsure of!

[Guest Tigonie]

First of all:

 

Please don't EVER feel awkward asking for a printout of lab results from any vet. I always ask for a copy, because 1) I paid for the tests and want to have the results, an 2) my husband is military, so we move a lot--it's just easier to get test results upfront than to collect records every time we move. I have never had a vet who had a problem with it, and it's usually one of the receptionists who take care of it, anyway. Just tell them, "I'd like a copy for my records."

 

I'm wondering about the IV he's recommending. Is it an actual IV or what they call "fluids"? If it's fluids, that means they stick a needle under the skin and insert fluids, but it is not in a vein. Fluids are something you might be able to do at home very inexpensively. I give my cat, Bill, fluids for less than $20 a kit (for a 1-liter bag of fluids, the tubing kit, and 10 needles. Also includes bio-hazard needle disposal afterwards).

 

I also wanted to say that my greyhound, Emma, was diagnosed with kidney problems around 8 years old (about 6-8 months ago). She was perfectly fine like you describe your dog, and I actually took her in because one of her back legs had puffed up. When x-rays showed that the leg was not broken, we did some bloodwork and discovered the abnormal values for kidneys. I wound up springing for an ultrasound at a specialist (~$350) to confirm kidney problems. I guess what my point is, is that your dog might seem ok or only have subtle signs of kidney issues, and it's possible the vet is dead on.

 

That being said, if you are not comfortable with this guy, by all means, change vets!! There are a lot of vets out there, and, like doctors, different people have different philosophies. If this vet isn't in the groove with your way of thinking, there are others out there who would be better for you and your dog. My personal opinion is that this vet sounds high, but it is a high-rent area. I do recall getting Emma treated once for diarrhea about 4 years ago when we lived in Baltimore. I paid about $80 ($50 for the office visit, $30 for the meds), so $400 for that sounds really high to me.

Edited August 22, 2007 by Tigonie

[Batmom]

Great. I did not know that PPA was for incontinence. She's not incontinent, she has a UTI! I've already started giving it to her, so I'm not sure what to do. *sigh*

 

That's easy. Just stop giving it to her.

[Guest paulamariez]

Please be careful and don't overlook the possibility of something truly being wrong with your hound. Our seven year old Bandit was acting fine and being his normal old self. We took him in for his teeth cleaning and our vet did routine blood work and found out that he was in kidney failure! We didn't even know that he was sick. We had to leave Bandit at the vet and they flushed his system with IV's to try and get the kidneys flushed out and hopefully get him well. They ran some tests to check for infection, poisons, illness etc and found nothing. The vet said it must have been something genetic he was born with. Bandit never did recuperate. Whatever it was, destroyed his kidneys and he ended up dying a couple weeks after we found out. So please, do something right away! I hope and pray it's nothing like our situation. But, be careful anyways. Sending lots of prayers, love and light your way and lots of doggie kisses from my three boys.