ktgrok Posted February 11, 2020 Posted February 11, 2020 At least, good veterinary care 🙂 My border collie is a senior, and has steadily gained and gained despite me working on his diet diligently, has a history of skin problems, etc etc. He LOOKS like a dog with low thyroid, but every senior panel came back normal. Well, this time around we have a different vet, and at the exam she expressed that even with a normal T4 she'd think he was hypothyroid, asked if he'd had more in depth labs done. I said no, and was grateful for her approach. Well, labs this time came back, and it was low normal, same as before, BUT he also has borderline low hemoglobin and slightly elevated blood glucose, both of which can go with low thyroid. So she said she can run more labs, or we can just go ahead and start him on meds and recheck levels in a few weeks! She also has me feeding him more canned and people food, and did the most thorough exam I've ever seen. Instead of writing off his slipping on hard floors as age/muscle loss/furry pads (he does have furry pads) she also found back pain (which I suspected) and also knee stiffness/pain. She put him on two different pain meds, and he hasn't slipped getting up ONCE in the week and a half since! I am flabbergasted. he was slipping and falling several times a day, and now not at all. She did also say we could order surf board wax to help his paws have more friction, but that may not be needed! Anyway, with all the discussion of treating symptoms not just numbers regarding thyroid, thought you all would appreciate that. 15 Quote
Kanin Posted February 11, 2020 Posted February 11, 2020 That's great! Awesome vets are worth their weight in gold. 🙂 I would totally go see my cat's vet for my own care, if only they took human patients 😄 1 Quote
Slache Posted February 11, 2020 Posted February 11, 2020 Do... Do you think she'd be willing to see a human? 3 1 Quote
Teaching3bears Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 I have kids with special needs and health problems. Through my interactions with researchers through the years I have gotten the impression that the veterinary sciences know a lot more about health than doctors for humans. Maybe I should dress my kids up in fur and bring them to a vet ... 1 Quote
Carrie12345 Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 Yup. My cat’s thyroid management has been pretty easy peasy.  My vet does labs in 15 minutes (except for the time the spinner went insane and shot blood everywhere, so we had to wait another 15 minutes), and we had his first pills right then and there at his first visit. We tweaked dosages in 1.25mg increments to find his sweet spot. I generally pay about $45-50/visit (Several while tweaking, then once a year unless he seems off), and $20-something for two months worth of pills. I wish my vet would see humans! Quote
Caraway Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 My pediatrician: You should give your kids 5 vaccines today because it is easier for the office staff. My vet: You should only give your dog this one vaccine so if she has a reaction we know which vaccine caused it.  🤯 Quote
ktgrok Posted February 12, 2020 Author Posted February 12, 2020 26 minutes ago, Caraway said: My pediatrician: You should give your kids 5 vaccines today because it is easier for the office staff. My vet: You should only give your dog this one vaccine so if she has a reaction we know which vaccine caused it.  🤯 Yup. I only give my kids one at a time because that's how we did it in the clinics I worked at, at least if they hadn't had them before or were under a certain weight. But if I say something about it to people they assume I have zero science knowledge. 1 Quote
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