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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2013 22:24:02 GMT -5
Wow....I just feel like I've been lied to and hurt and what's worse is it's Meeko whom is affected. The only other vet. in the area honestly without driving to Mattapoiset** which is on the Cape (2~hr drive) which I wouldn't mind but our fear is that the drive is too long for Meeko, I mean all he does is sleep but I still feel it might be too long? Opinions? That's the ONLY other vet besides Tufts! (which I hate...) whom has a specialist there that my vet is adamant about me seeing, but as mentioned above she STILL feels that they're going too 100% want to do an US or the panel, no if ands or butts... so I'm just broken....I don't know what else to do but keep hand feeding him As for the bottle she said she can't order those amounts...she doesn't want to take the time to go through the different vendors to try and find a good deal etc. so she wants us to go somewhere that most likely HAS lupron on stock and handy... but as mentioned I just don't feel it's going to be that cut and dry. even though we have blood work and fecal and etc. she still feels that more should be tested... Can vets. really just refuse to allow treatment? I mean I understand if there's a potential for abuse and or misuse or harm done but I've read everything that all of you great people have pooled together in terms of treatment of lupron to see how it works and when I told this to my vet. she said yes, that MAY be true but since Meeko is already sick she feels that it might do more harm than good if we just did the treatment, this is after I too told her I'd be running min. of 3 months etc. So again at a standstill until tomorrow when I can call Tufts and make an appt. for double the price for everything ......I hate this, truly, utterly...almost all optimism is going....
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Post by Sherry on Feb 12, 2013 0:59:33 GMT -5
I'd drive the two hours. Take all his reports, and then maybe that vet can talk to your closer one and tell her where to order from.
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Post by Heather on Feb 12, 2013 1:20:41 GMT -5
We have a vet listing here....maybe there's one you aren't aware of on that list. Sherry would know where that list is. This is all so horrible. The time for testing is done, she should be doing something. If she wants to continue with the tests then give the wee boy a treatment and test beyond that. Even pred would help him feel better but this would definitely skew the results of any further testing. Does your little one enjoy car rides? All my guys enjoy car rides and after the first few minutes curl up in a hammy and sleep. The ones that are tense I give a dose of RR (rescue remedy) and off we go. Maybe, seeing this other vet would be the best way to go. You don't trust Tufts....basically I won't go to someone I don't trust because I will second guess them anyway. Take all your tests, paperwork and results take this drive down to this other vet and see if you can get satisfaction. I can only tell you what I would do, this may not be for you but it's an idea. This can be so frustrating. I found myself dealing with a situation where I was having to deal with a vet whom I didn't trust, working within a corporation that I couldn't work with. I got the number of a vet who might see my boy. I called them, told them what happened. They couldn't arrange an appt that day but I could come get some pain meds. By afternoon I realized that there was no way that my guy could wait for the scheduled appt. I drove down, walked in the door with him. This is not a good way to deal with a vet but I was so upset, his mouth was a bloody mess, he couldn't eat (he had broken a upper canine tooth at the root in a cage war, the bottom tooth was tearing his mouth apart). I walked in with him, she was just coming out from seeing a patient....she took one look at him...and we were ushered into the back room, he was bump sedated and dealt with. I've been going to her ever since. It's a 2 hr round trip for me to go there (my other vet was 10 min away)...but she has been the most wonderful vet I've ever dealt with. I trust her. That is so important. I really hope you find answers for your little boy this is so unfair. His healing candle still burns but I will light a candle for discovery as well. May you find your solutions, may he find his health. Good luck. ciao
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Post by darlene on Feb 12, 2013 2:50:38 GMT -5
I'm so sorry you're going thru this with Meeko,(you both are in my prayers) I would drive the two hours. Sherry and Heather have given you some great advice.
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Post by katt on Feb 12, 2013 4:21:36 GMT -5
Ugh. I agree that it would be worth the 2 hour drive. I would call them in advance and see if Lupron is an option (do they have it, can they order it, etc) first though. As for can vets refuse treatment? Absolutely. Veterinary medicine isn't human medicine. Even in human medicine things can be refused for a wide variety of reasons. Coming from someone who worked at a vet clinic and workS at a human health clinic now, patients cannot just Demand treatments. It is the Dr's responsibility and (in general) they know much more than the patients. Coming from someone who has been in the patient position as well, I also know that sometimes (esp in vet medicine) there are things that patients know that the drs do not. In vet medicine exotics are a huge wild card. Even a vet who specializes in exotics may not have say a ton of experience in one particular exotic (ferrets for example) and thus may not be as knowledgeable about the very species specific issues, having not dealt with them as often or researched them in as much depth. Unfortunately many vets get into the mindset of "I know more than you" and refuse to be open to learning. It is in these cases (cases that happen far too often when it comes to exotics unfortunately, especially ferrets ) that you really must PUSH and challenge and stand your ground. Don't NOT listen to the vet, I would even recommend repeating what they say so they know you listened (basic communication tool Okay so you want me to do an ultrasound for XY and Z, but I feel..... and am requesting...). In the end, YOU make the decision on what can and can't be done, but THEY can also refuse treatments if you don't do ABC first. It should be a team approach, not a battle. Unfortunately battles happen, and they happen far too often.
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Post by katt on Feb 12, 2013 4:23:43 GMT -5
Also, as an added note. It may very well be beneficial to continue testing. But DURING treatment! Lupron shouldn't alter any testing other than the Tenn panel, so they should be willing to start Lupron and continue testing in the meanwhile. As severe as he is, you may need to see a specialist in the end anyways. I think the Lupron would certainly improve his quality of life though. And I do strongly suspect allergies are involved, but to what I wouldn't know...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2013 8:39:49 GMT -5
Did you guys call the clinic I linked? They're a lot less than 2 hours away. Westford MA I think. My old vet works there on a rotating schedule as an emergency vet, or I can link you Dr. Purcell's schedule who is supposedly a great ferret specialist, recommended by other MA ferret owners. Even if you had to drive to Hudson NH on the MA border, it'd still likely be closer than the cape. westfordveterinary.com/dr-amy-earl/www.equiwebs.com/purcell/
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Post by katt on Feb 12, 2013 15:06:41 GMT -5
Oh I thought the one you had suggested WAS the one 2 hours away. In that case, I would go to Yurei's vet!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2013 15:34:36 GMT -5
According to google maps it's about 35 minutes from Worchester to Westford.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2013 19:47:30 GMT -5
Well we had a call from our vet stating that she was unable to order the Lupron for us.... So we are thinking about trying to find another vet... but my concern is that we are just prolonging Meeko's life for ourselves. ... Because last night he was very unresponsive to anything, movement or sounds. So we discussed maybe putting him to sleep( which we would like to avoid ) and then today he has spurts of energy. He was scaling the cags and playing and jumping around.... But this activity only happens when we have any type of discussion like this( i swear he understands what w are talking about ) I'm not sure if this is his way saying not yet or what? We would rather not put him through any more test or poking and prooding * if it isnt going to help him.... i dont think he is strong enough to handle much more , and our current vet said that she highly doubts that anywhere we go will just try the lupron without ding anymore tests on him. weather it be blood work or an ultra sound... So my question is do we try to continue his life to the best of our abilities or do we put him out of his missory*... Any and all help is appreciated ~ MOM~
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Post by Sherry on Feb 12, 2013 20:10:58 GMT -5
Contact the vet Yurei has suggested! What have you got to lose?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2013 20:22:10 GMT -5
Try another vet - tell them that you dont want your baby to suffer , and hopefully you can get some answers.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2013 20:38:10 GMT -5
this kind of sounds like what I was fighting with when our toy poodle was 1yr. her skin got like that then started falling off. we ended up having to take a multi-step approach. the combination our vet finally got cleared her up was benadryl, predislone, and nightly oatmeal bath mixed with Joba oil. the Joba oil makes them on the greasy side, but it seemed to make her feel better and cleared it up. we tried these items individually, but it only cleared up when used together. we switched EVERYTHING used to clean to hypoallergenic and she hasn't had any more problems. I know our dog started refusing food due to all the discomfort she was in.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2013 20:42:57 GMT -5
Sorry all, my girlfriend whom had posted earlier didn't see the link, nor did I for that matter.. I just arrived home from work so tomorrow we'll try and contact the vet.
Yurei - which vet would YOU recommend? Dr. Amy earl or Dr. Karen? I got confused as to which one you suggested, we'll be calling for sure.. as mentioned we're just evaluating his quality of life at this point in time and he obviously isn't having that GREAT of a quality at the moment considering he's starting to HATE being force fed more and more, this is fairly new and hasn't happened in the past so this is again estranging me...
As for trying things, we're obviously 100% open to ideas, only those that we* ( hard to communicate with him to make choices and trust us we do talk.. ) feel will improve his health, and at this late stage in his poor health we feel that ANY delay or prolongation of his current health won't lead us anywhere good and the idea of him not being happy or suffering through any of this because of our feeling of empathy for him and his survival well to me as an animal owner is not fair... so we're taking it hour by hour with him as his health is not at a good point~
Thank you all very much truly~
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2013 22:08:50 GMT -5
Dr. Amy Earl was my vet, for whatever reason she left her clinic in NH and now does rounds at this e vet in Westford. She's not perfect, a little antibiotic crazy, not a big fan of raw, but she does say that if you go raw, she prefers a commercial diet and approves of high end grain free kibble for kibble eaters. So it's better than a lot of vets. She seems to genuinely care about the animals, and she generally cared for mine pretty well. I don't know if she will help you with lupron without testing, but if you present your case with as much knowledge and information as possible she should listen to you, she would listen to me if I gave her facts. You can also tell her Murder's ferrent sent you, and she may be more willing to listen- she knows I take goods care of my ferrets and have a good idea of what I'm doing, even if she doesn't agree.
Dr. Karen Purcell I have never met or worked with, but several MA members I trust speak highly of her. She seems to do rounds in several clinics in southern NH. Not sure about where else she goes.
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