My girl pug (confirmed Cushings & confirmed calcinosis cutis) / Tobey has passed

Well I wonder what happens to everyones drugs over winter as I would imagine they would all spend a bit of time in the cold in transit, be interesting to hear what Dechra say about it when you can get hold of them after the holidays.

Oh no, a cracked tooth, poor Tobey she has had enough on her plate lately without this new problem!! I remember ages back when Flynny cracked one they did not need to take it out unless more than a 1/3 (???I think) was broken off or if it was obviously exposing a nerve and causing pain. x

Molly has a chipped tooth at the back, we're just watching it, but doesn't look like anything exposed. If the area were to turn red and look angry then would have to do something but just a bit cracked off it looks like. It's been that way for awhile.

I Think heat would be more of a danger to drugs than cold but I don't know, so I too will be interested to see what they say.

Dropped Tobey off for her stim test today. Lord, she was hyper. :rolleyes:

I wasn't able to talk with the vet when I dropped off, so I will catch her when I pick back up. I need to talk about the broken tooth and her seizure.

Then, I was reviewing the bill estimate, and for the first time ever, they are charging me $26 for a 'hospitalization' for her stim testing. Really? I spend so much money there; not only for my dogs, but nearly 100 rescues a year as well. I am cranky to say the least about that.

Renee -- I totally share your dismay about the "hospitalization charge". My vet charges me $29 for a "half-day" --- wonder how two hours translates into a half day ... I haven't questioned it but it does bother me. Between Abbie and Maggie's medical issues, I have definitely paid for a couple of years of college for one of his kids. I hope Tobey's test results are good!

We found which tooth was broken off, and it's one of the front ones on top. The tooth looked pretty dead anyway and does not appear painful or anything. Given what's been going on with Tobey the past month, my vet is not comfortable doing a dental anyways, unless it was an emergency. We are going to re-evaluate in 6 weeks. Nothing to do about the seizure, so we just recorded it in her file and will continue to monitor. I know seizures can happen randomly, but I'm also watching for any signs of her tumor becoming a macro.

I did say something about the hospitalization fee, and they waived it. I don't know if they will in the future, but it irritates me that I was charged $26 for her to be there an hour. Damn, the freaking acth alone is $265 -- can't they eat the cost of cleaning her kennel?

So, I bought the entire bottle of cortrosyn today, and my vet followed the dilution protocols to get 5 doses out of the bottle. It's good for 6 months. Unless I get a stim test every 6 weeks, I will be wasting at least some of those doses. I am so frustrated by this stuff right now. :mad: My vet does not have any other cushings patients, so I can't share the cost of it either.

Boo. 2015 is not starting off very well!

What did Dechra say about the medication being in the cold?

I know that is frustrating. There is always something it seems and definitely times when it is so frustrating to look and see additional charges tacked on to the bill, which is already so high. :(
I've been looking for ways to try and keep the costs down too, but it's not easy when there are some things that have to be done, like the tests. :(

I figure the whole industry, from the vets, specialists, pharmacuticals are making a fortune off pet owners who are just trying to do their best for their animals.

There was an article in our local paper the other day about how much would you spend on your pet and for what kind of things. The majority of people will spend thousands on their pet's health and accessories from pet stores for them. So, if you figure the majority will if they can, and it's an unregulated industry, in that they can charge whatever they want, then most probably do so.

Not the way I want to start out the year either. Molly has a back tooth that is chipped that we are keeping an eye on. It doesn't seem to bother her, but they don't want to put her under anesthesia if not absolutely required either.

Hoping to hear good results on the tests!

Stim results are perfect!!

Pre 2.3
Post 4.0

I'm very happy!

Good news!

Renee, that is SUPER good news!! :) :)

Hope it helps make up for some of the aggravation you've been saddled with!

Marianne

Oh Renee!! Those ACTH stim numbers are great!!