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new member - heidianne - 09-15-2016
Hi, my name is Heidi and I am Seamus's mom. Seamus is a three year old rescue Chocolate Lab/Weimarener mix. Three months ago, he began losing weight. He became listless, withdrawn and his appetite went from voracious to nearly nonexistant. He had gone from 74 lb to 54 lb in three months. At the vet, we started with basic labwork. Blood tests showed protein down to 2.6 and low cortisol as well. The vet said to keep feeding him the same things while we wait for test results. By that time he had watery diarrhea. I didn't listen. I put him on plain boiled lean chicken and rice. He began to perk up. The abdominal bloating stopped and his appetite returned. By the time we returned for blood test to rule out pancreatitis, he had regained almost a pound. Cooking fresh lean chicken and rice everyday when you are working 10 hour days and commuting an hour each way presents a challenge. I fed him one meal of his regular canned dog food because I had run out of chicken and rice, and it was back to bloating, malaise and diarrhea. Now I am getting up at 530 am to cook his food for the day before going to work. It is so great to see him back to more normal energy level and back to being himself! He has dollies that he had been ignoring and is now back to bringing them with him on car rides. Subtle things that tell me things are heading in the right direction.
So, the labwork for pancreatitis came back negative. Now the vet wants me to bring him back for ACTH level and ultrasound. I am a nurse practitioner. I get it. The diagnostics do help. But I am laying out $200 each time I cross that threshold, and he is getting better. HE IS GETTING BETTER...for now. There is no definitive cure or treatment. I would rather forego the testing and put my money toward buying him what he needs for food. I can put out hundreds of dollars more and I am still going to come back to where I am now. It still comes down to working hard on his diet to stabilize him and put some weight back on him, and ultimately to give him a happy life. When people don't have medical insurance, we don't not treat them. We find a way to make it work, and that is what I plan to do until it doesn't work and then, maybe, I will try it their way. I am grateful that someone put their hard work into making this forum happen. I would be lost without you! Thanks so much!
RE: new member - DivasMom - 09-19-2016
Welcome to the forum. It was helpful to read your story. It seems like so many of us have the same problem(s) with our vets. They do a battery of expensive tests and then throw up their hands and say they don't know what is going on. It is very discouraging, to say the least. But important to keep a positive attitude. Best of luck to you and your Seamus.
Diva's Mom