Vet Honesty?

[IndigoMonkey]

I was sitting here going through my vet folders for all the boys and just realized how much money I have spent on vet visits in my 5 WHOLE years of adulthood :p and for the basics. I haven't really had to deal with any major medical issues.
BUT! I got to thinking about some vet visits that still irk me to this day. Needless to say my house is a revolving door for pets. Mostly dogs..and cats and some guineas. We tend to take in when people just don't want to be bothered anymore which is not exactly easy on the wallet. You can't try to find a good home for an animal if you know they need their shots or they have heartworm etc etc. But back to the vet visits:rolleyes: About a year ago we took in a dog. We took her to our vet (at the time) and they told us she had heartworm. We did not commit to treatment before we left that day so we could figure out how to pay for it. That night a family friend called and ended up wanting to take her in. they live on a big farm and she is a sheepdog mix and fits in perfect there. They decided they would take on getting her heartworm paid for and when they took her to their vet she was heartworn negative...4 days later. How is that possible:confused: I also had a Chihuahua that I had got at 4 weeks of age. He was from a puppy mill and had a slew of health problems. At about a year old he developed a skin irritation that my vet told me was sarcoptic mange. $300 later he still had the same irritation and I changed his food and bought him some $7 oatmeal shampoo and voila! problem solved. I question the mange because this new puppy Charlie Sprinkles had mange and it looked nothing like Cooper's (chihuahuas) skin irritation. Has anyone else ever questioned a diagnoses from a vet? I changed vets after the heartworm issue and I have not had a problem.

On an unrelated note my little baby Cooper lived for 4 fabulous years and got me through some tough times in New York when it was just me and him. He passed away this past April and it was the hardest thing for me. I miss him soooooo much.

[lindsayanng]

I trust my vet whole heartedly and he knows it, but i STILL always question him.. And he knows it. I am ALWAYS asking for explainations and suggestions of what ELSE it can be.. and the great thing is, the vet office i go to has TWO vets, and if its something that i am not comfortable, the vet seeing him will go and get the other vet to get a fresh pair of eyes.. I trust them and their suggestions.

See, i ONE of the vets there will suggest the most aggressive forms of treatment and the other will suggestion a different means of treatment, but I LIKE THAT! I will always get TWO sides of everything along with thier educated opinion and this way i can make my own decision,

For instance. My chili cat had a broken pelvic bone. it happened when she escaped one day and she was missing for 2 weeks. When she came back it was half way healed.. One vet suggested re-breaking, putting a pin in, and letting it heal normally.. The other vet said that it MIGHT be possible that she would walk fine with it healing the way it was.. NEITHER of them were "arguing" their issue, but they both had different thoughts on it, and i appreciated the vet bringing in the other guy for his opinion.. I chose to not have the surgery and everything healed just fine.

I do 100% agree that you HAVE to trust your vet, because we (as uneducated pet owners) can NOT make those kinds of diagnosis, otherwise EVERYONE would be their own vet! So even though we second guess and question their experitise, you still HAVE to trust them.

If my vet URGES me to have something done for one of my animals, I will do it.. If i had an emergency with one of my animals, i would hand the animal over to the doc and say "YOU DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO"

[nanamouse]

[QUOTE=IndigoMonkey;293426] I changed vets after the heartworm issue and I have not had a problem.
QUOTE]

Like any other profession there are bound to be a few bad apples in the veterinary field. Sounds like you had one, and are better off rid of them. For the most part though, I'd say that most are competant and honest.

[tiffers]

and when they took her to their vet she was heartworn negative...4 days later.
Not in defense of the possible bad apple, but there are a few reasons why this might be.

No vet practices the same. For instance, any dog that has not been on heartworm prevention is tested via a direct heartworm test. A direct heartworm test is basically looking at the blood 'directly' under the microscope to scan for microfilaria (baby heartworms). If you find some, the dog is labeled 'heartworm positive'. Some vets in the area don't do this. They go ahead and test with the antigen/snap/occult test. This test picks up on the female heartworm hormones and if they are present, the 'positive' reading appears. So, perhaps your vet tested for the direct first...found microfilaria. Dog is positive for heartworms, they are just not grown into adults yet. The dog is taken elsewhere, where they do not check for microfilaria, and behold...the dog is negative because there are no adult female worms in his/her heart. Does that make sense?

My advise for this dog is to be sure that the vet has checked for both adults and microfilaria. If so, the vet you saw is dangerous. Treating a dog for hearworms that doesn't have them can be lethal...but, who's to say he even would have treated. He may have just taken your money and boarded the dog for the day, so you thought he was being treated. I am thankful you have not returned.

At about a year old he developed a skin irritation that my vet told me was sarcoptic mange. $300 later he still had the same irritation and I changed his food and bought him some $7 oatmeal shampoo and voila! problem solved.

Once again, not in defense of a potential bad apple...

Sarcoptic Mange is EXTREMELY difficult to find on microscopic exam. There are many, many patients who are just 'assumed' to have the mites. That is not necessarily 'bad' medicine, in my opinion. Potentially faulty, but we are all merely humans. Sarcops is very itchy, and generally starts on the ears and hocks/elbows/knees. Skin is a funny thing, and very tricky to diagnose.

Has anyone else ever questioned a diagnoses from a vet?

I always question the doctor, it's my job. I am supposed to make sure she is doing her job correctly so that I can do mine correctly. :)

However, you should always question what you don't understand. Always. Always. ALWAYS. If you don't trust the answer you've got, or you don't like it...go somewhere else and get a second opinion. I cannot stress that enough.

But, do also keep in mind...we're all humans and we always make mistakes.

[jacko]

its really hard to develop a good relationship with vet... so when you found the right one, stick to it..

[IndigoMonkey]

Tiffany you made some good points! I always make it a point to ask questions especially after those incidents. I think most of us think that because they are a medical professional that they are required to be ethical, but like with most professions there are always those exceptions to the rules. :D

[tiffers]

I find that a lot of the pet owners who are angry or think they are being screwed over by a vet, simply don't understand what the vet is telling them. What is common knowledge for me, is rocket science for most when it comes to veterinary medicine. But, as you said...there are also bad apples who don't make it clear for a reason, and that's so unfortunate.

[IndigoMonkey]

Exactly ;) My current vet is AMAZING I ask questions all the time and he is always really great about answering them. I definitely don't pretend to know everything when it comes to my pets but I want to make sure they are being taken care of properly. I learn something new every time I go to the vet lol.