Hi Dustin & welcome.....I'm sorry your living this nightmare...You sound like a wonderful pet Dad & Bella is lucky to have you.....
I'm concerned about this latest battery of tests....The reason is, for this price, she could have already had the surgery to fix the problem.....
If she has the surgery, they WILL do all of these tests again, so I think your defeating your purpose.....I question the Spinal Tap! Why do they want to do a Spinal Tap? Do you know? Are they possibly checking for Tick Borne Disease? That DOES need to be ruled out, but regular bloodwork for like $100 would answer that question.....Through all of this, has no one done a regular Blood Panel?
Hasn't she already been diagnosed with a Cervical Disk (Neck) problem? It sounds as if all these Drs. are taking advantage of you....Am I reading this wrong?
Have you checked into Care Credit? You can apply online at CareCredit.com.....It's a credit card for Animal & Human Medical needs.....Surgery Centers accept it as form of payment.....
While you wait, I would suggest getting her to a Holistic Vet for Acupuncture....I mean someone LICENSED to practice it, Not a Chiropractor!....He/she will be able to help you & steer you in the right direction......Plus, provide pain relief for Bella....I'm not kidding!!!
I will have to go look up the link to search for one in your area...You want This Vet to also be licensed in Chinese Herbal Medicine....Most Holistic Vets do both......I'll be back.....Karla
It's the AHVMA websight...Stands for American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association....On their webpage, there will be a link to search by state.....See if you can find one close to you......The initial fee is usually about $90 here (Oklahoma), but after that it's around $45.....The first consultation is lengthy and he/she will go over everything (Including what she eats), to form a plan to help Bella.....I KNOW they will help you with your decisions.....Please, let me know what you think....Karla
thank you so much, first person who actually gave me answers that I look for when I browse all the message boards... no, no one has done any blood work on her ever.. maybe when she got fixed not sure tho.. thats what we were thinking accupuncture, cool ill check out that site right now
your a lifesaver
and the spinal tap, they said was to pull some fluid out and see infections i think ( I'm not too good with terminology) I'm not sure if theres a way to upload pictures to this thing, but I can try and email you the scanned estimate or invoice and whatever else we have..
by the time i checked out the site yesterday everybody was closed, so i am going to start making calls right now.
Hi Dustin....Here's what you need to do while you find another Vet...
1. Go back to the vet where you had the xrays done....Request that you want them...(You paid for them and they belong to you)! Tell the Vet you need them to take to a Specialist....This will save you money as any Dr. is going to want to take xrays.....Go get your originals to take with you or the next Dr. is going to charge you to do them again....
2. I'm alittle surprised that through all of this, no one has done a Full Blood Panel.....A blood test will show infections....This should come way before a Spinal Tap which I still think is too harsh right now! Ask your first Vet if bloodwork was done.....If it was, tell them you want a copy of the results....Again, this will save you money....
3. Your dog needs to be checked for Tick Borne Diseases....Have you ever found a Tick on her? Ever? You really need to rule this out....This is done w/ a blood test....
Let me know what you find out......I'm hoping you can get this resolved.....Karla
P. S. Did you check into "Care Credit" to see if you qualify, yet? I think you should.....It couldn't hurt!
hey, we have an appointment for acupuncture, but an earlier opening came up, so were going in about an hour, any tips on making sure were ready? shes almost acting like her front paw is broken the way she walks n cries when trying to get up, its weird all the pads on that foot are really soft..
not sure if i answer all ur questions ...
yeah care credit turned me down, yesterday my mom told me she would co-sign for me with care credit... but we both got turned down, not sure how that works
and we have her x ray
thanks
Hi Dustin.....Make sure you ask this Vet about Tick Borne Disease and if he/she thinks it may be possible.....Tell them that your dog has never had a full panel bloodwork.....ALot of things can be ruled out just with a blood test.....
Did you find a Holistic Vet? I'm so excited that your on your way.....Thank you for letting me know.....Please, come back after your appointment and let me know what happened.....
About Carecredit: Seems like everyone gets turned down! :( But, I don't know why....I'm not sure what the criteria is for that...When I have time, I'll check....
Tell the doctor about the front paw.......Good luck.......Karla
Okay, im not too sure whats going on, seemd kind of like i got absolutely no where today... k we were getting ready to run to the holistic vet we found on that AHVMA website. Bella was not doing good at all this morning, only heard her cry a couple times but as usual they were loud cries, and lasted a while as shes trying to get up or trying to get comfortable etc... she spent most of the morning standing up, limping with a hunch back around the house wanting to lay down and get comfortable but she couldnt, too much pain.. so i get her in the truck, we run to this holistic vet, the whole ride bella was panting heavily(more wheezing like she had asthma) and finally laid down.. when we got there she cried loud and forever trying to get up and me helping her down,
after discussing the situation w/ the vet, she told us she doesnt think its a disc bulge into spine, that xrays kinda suck, and possibly meningitis or inflamation or somethin else and that she probably definitely needs the spinal tap. .. so no acupuncture, she told us to run over 2 murietta to get that done, i call them and they say no carlsbad does it, i call carlsbad they say well u should get ur dog 2 emergency by u to get her stabilized that we do spinal tap but right now its just emergency and u hafta make apt...
after the run around, we headed home so i could drop her n my girl off and then go get meds since she ran out today. got back n situation same or worse,
i feed her some wet food, we take her out and finally she gets comfy in her spot on top of all the soft flowers in garden.. she doesnt wanna move so my girl n i go 2 orange festival and tell my dad bellas outside dont forget about her...
we get home
and its like jesus came over and chilled with my dog... shes got a straight back, shes movin fast to us, laying down, acting like my dog.
i just took her outside 4 bathroom and i dont know situation same, shes acting like her old self(which no one has seen since before february.)
im scared that in the morning its probably not going to stay as good as it is right now
man that would be great
thanks 4 ur help and havin someone 2 write all this 2
I am sending the link to this conversation to some rescue groups and random people
kthx
wow... so yesterday for the most part was good, til night time she started showing pain again, now it seems shes back to constant pain and uncomfortableness
hey i havent been on in a while...
so things have well i dont know where i even really left off but okay holistivet wouldnt do acupuncture she insisted we needed to run to murieta to get CATSCAN... we got the rujn around and find out no they cant do it but even tho stupid vet could do it she had already left for the day until 4 more days..... i spent all time trying trying trying to a little avail i guess... got a couple more grants for her from groups who previously turned me down:) but yeah finally holidays were over and i contacted original vet in san b who was supposed 2 do acupuncture on her to get the price of spinal tap... she says like 7something for spinal tap and blood work... asked if i wanted to do that .. wtf i couldnt afford it I asked said i had to see about my money and what i could do... ive exhausted all my resources ahh. so she says so are u going to do it? i told her i only have about 200 dollars and that I get 2 or 3 paychecks a month and that it could ALL go to them til payd off .. she says so ur not going to do it. i told her no im calling around and seeing my money...
later that day the humane society shows up at my house... i thought they were here for licensing(shes not licensed) so i told my girlfriend to put her in kennel in room... bella hears me talking to the guy at the door and she starts howling like a wolf. so my girlfriend lets her out, she meets officer I show him meds which we just filled and he sees her disposition says theres no problem and he checked up with us periodically for the next week or so...
we got blood work done and turns out her liver is ****** so no more steroids like i thought.. im glad we stopped steroids ourselves already
she has all kinds of highs and lows on her blood work and she was having bloody diahrea for a couple weeks that stopped with antibiotics pretty much 1st day... since then we've gone in for check ups and the other holistic vet i had an appointment that i couldnt keep cuz i had no money at all ... now were schedueled again for the 19th of this month
this *****..
she has been doing really good lately tho... not like when i posted b4 saying how crazy it was.. but we have been staying with my girlfriends uncle helping him move past couple weeks and keeping bella cool cuz my house is way too hot and theres AC here! she still cries when she gets up and acts like her foots broken but all our vet tells us is that spine will bla bla bla
shes still on pain pills... donno how much thats doing.. are we allowed to up her pain pills cuz i seriously dont think they are doing anything.. i mean shes been on since like feb same dose...
we watch old videos .. stuff makes me cry
if interested check out youtube just look for videos by sMOKEoUTtHEnINJA(old old screen name account i dont smoke much weed anymore)
Hi Dustin....Glad to hear that Bella is doing alittle better.....I'm sorry your getting the run around everywhere....I'm hoping your appointment on the 19th will be productive.
Now for my motherly instincts: (Don't be offended) "LOSE THE POT!"
Here's why:
#1- If you get busted, there will be NO ONE to care for Bella (And no one else will want her!).......Don't let that happen!
#2- Save the money you spend on pot (Even if it's a tiny bit at a time). Let it add up till you can purchase a window unit airconditioner for your bedroom....If you are renting a house, the air conditioner would be yours to take with you....They don't cost an arm or a leg & not too hard to install. At least You, your friend & Bella would be comfortable at night....Please, do this for me! I have a son your age & I can't bear the thought of No Air!
Now, I know your thinking I'm being an Old Prude! However, I'll have you know that I'm still wearing my Peace Sign Tees & dangley, beaded earrings! :)
Good luck to you & Missy Bella....Glad to hear from you....Please, let me know about your appointment....Take care & Thank you so much for checking in......Karla
P.S. "You can't stay forever young, but you CAN stay forever COOL!" ;)
I just read about your Bella.
My suggestion may be totally impossible I realize. But there is an amazing veterinary orthopedic specialist in the UK. There have been a number of tv programs about his work. He does some pretty close-to-the-edge pioneering surgery, is a very hard worker, and totally dedicated. He has had many success stories with "hopeless" cases of terrible injury and deformity in animals, who have gone on to live happy lives.
There may be no way you can get help from him and his clinic. If so I am sorry to offer false hope. I know it's thousands of miles away, but you may be interested to check it out.
This is his website:
http://www.fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk/staff/clinicians/noel-fitzpatrick
I am so sorry, I didn't read this thread properly. It's obvious you are finding cash very difficult right now. Are there any ways you could think of to do some fundraising? Could you start a blog about Bella, really get it moving, and ask for donations for her treatment? You never know, that could work.
i think we have to put bella down today, it's a long story, sorry i havent updated anyone...hopefuly i'll write it all later,
but i wanted 2 share this thought with someone
im pretty sure she knows whats going on.. and its like she's ready or whatever, she seems scared or worried or whatever for Sommers and Me
none of that came out right
I read all you have tried to do for Bella, and with all the effort and money you've put out, I wish you had better results. She had a great owner, and you should at least find some peace knowing you did everything you could. She was a very lucky dog, even if it was just for such a short time.
We are going through something right now with our labradoole! He can't look left and has pain in his front left paw! We have advocated for him at the vet and they insist it's a bulged disc and he needs to be seen by a neurologist. He is the toughest dog, and this concern is the second time we've ever heard him cry (he's six). He's the most gentle dog and loves to give kisses :) He is my best friend, and it's terrible seeing him in pain. He's on tramadol, and methocarbinol (spelling?) , but it's not helping. Our vet thinks he needs an MRI ($2000) followed by surgery to alleviate the pain. My husband thinks we should approach it less aggressively...chiropractic care...PT....ect. I have a difficult time accepting treatment that seems to be a maintaimce regime, and fearful of it happening again, but his body being to week for surgery in the future. Amy similar experiences? Medical vs holistic?