A lesson learn....for me - Page 1

I thought I'd share this ....

A few months ago my 2 year old GSD started limping. I first thought maybe he just over did it one day, but as the days went by it got worse. So needless to say I took him to my vet. They jumped into x-rays right away ( I guess they thought , a GSD, it must have problems ) well they diagnosed him as having elbow dysplasia/severe arthritis and referred him to a specialist. So I got an appt. at the specialist the next week, and he too confirmed that he needed surgery, and the proposed fee was about 3600 bucks give or take. MY gut feeling wasn't feeling the same as theirs. I took him to another vet, and she first did a blood test to rule away lyme disease, which came back level 4, he went on meds. for the lyme and hasn't been lame since. But she too, after seeing his x-rays( which took forever for the other vet to send them to her ) said he most likely needed surgery. So I debated on what to do, go to another vet but since 4 vets- 2 from the first pratice and 2 different ones, I thought they all can't be wrong. A friend at work told me about his dog having hip replacement at Virginia-Maryland Regional Veterinary College aka VA Tech.( I live in Virginia) and the cost was much lower then here in Northern VA and they did a terrific job. So I made the appt. It took 2 months to get in, but well worth it....The cost would have been est. from 1200 to 1500( thats a BIG difference!!). We went yesterday 3 1/2 hours 1 way, and to my surprise, they didnt suggest surgery. Which is good and bad....yes he has severe arthritis and elbow surgery is fairly new and since there is no cure for arthritis, there wasn't much sense in doing surgery. He will be in pain weather or not surgery is done.  So I opted no surgery and just keep my boy as pain free as I can. Reminder he hasn't been lame since I first took him to see the vet. So this was a lesson for me....don't always believe what the vet suggests and go w/ ur gut....plus get a 2nd, 3rd or even 4th opinion ( in my case it took a college of veterinary medicine  to see and point out that he was going to be in pain regardless of what I decided on,  plus that it wasn't about money or a happy go lucky vet wanting to do surgery.

I just wanted to share this with everyone

Good for you, kellbme4.......I think erring on the side of caution is always a good thing unless of course its an emergency.... I think nowadays we have such technology we think we can fix everything and sometimes we just need to make it as comfortable as possible.

You may want to look into gold beads, they have been known to help in such cases.. and way less expensive.. have to find a less conventional vet though..someone who practices chiropractic and acupuncture - which may also help.

Good luck

cool, thanks so much, I will check on it!!

You are right VA Tech is an excellent choice for a second opinion (or first one) - they are a vet teaching hospital, so that is where you will find the specialists in their respective fields (there to teach vet students) as well as the most up to date equipment and vets with knowledge to use them.  Can't get better than that - I always recommend going to a teaching hospital if possible.  You have to wade through the vet students who are there to learn using your dog, but eventually the specialist steps in and the costs are MUCH lower because they are using your dog for the purpose of teaching their students.

As for your dog, sorry to hear about elbow problems in such a young dog.  I agree that arthritis can't be cured by surgery - they would just go in there, fix whatever caused the arthritis in the first place (UIP or other elbow "dysplasia") and maybe clean out the existing arthritis, but pretty soon more arthritis would develop, maybe worse due to the surgery, plus scar tissue from the surgery that would further debilitate the joint.  So yes, try to mantain his comfort as much as possible for as long as possible.  Eventually there will be a lot of pain and loss of function in the joints - and the elbows are a weight-bearing joint so that makes it even worse.  I have a friend who had an old labrador with debilitating elbow joint disease, she eventually opted for "elbow fusing" surgery - they literally went in there and fused the elbow joints so they wouldn't bend at all.  No bend, no pain.  She got along fine enough (had some trouble with stairs and couldn't jump) until she was 14 years old.  Her movement was 'stiff" but she got along well enough and seemed happy and comfortable for a very long life.  Something to think about for the future, anyway.

molly

That was awesome that you went with your gut!! Some vet's are just money hungry and try to get you to do things for your pet when it's not neccesary to do. I agree about the chiro and acupunture, but I would also look into www.springtimeinc.com My old girl has severe arthritis in her right elbow, and I use Joint Health(Everything on this site is all natural,and no I do not sell it) , as well as add some Raw into her diet. Papaya{spelling} and mango are really good for the joints. I've notice since I added those 2 things in her diet she is doing a lot better.

Good Luck

Kel

VIRGINIA TECH IS ABOUT ONE OF THE BEST PLACES EVER!

can you tell I am a Hokie?  I love my school.

And on a more serious note : Eichenluft is right...the Vet School here is amazing, and very accomodating in my experience.  Our mix is coming up here for a neurological consult in another week (seizures).  They'll also work with you on payment plans.  And because this is a Research University there are alot of things about this Vet Hospital that are way ahead of the curve.  One of the Reproduction Specialists is in my SchH club with her Dobes....admitedly...Tech does horses better than anything else, but they are really awsome with alot of things in general.

I am really sorry to hear about your pup, that must be hard.  My boyfriend has a mix with arthritis, and it is bad enough that she can barely bend her rear legs (she walks almost like she is on stitls)...but they give her a supplement from GNC and it helps to manage the pain some...I cant think of the name of it...but I will ask about it and post later.

~Cate

It is guclosomine condroiten...I forgot he was on AIM O.o

~Cate

Glucosamine (HCI is better than KCI)

Chondroitin (marine is better than bovine)

MSM

Vitamin C

Fish Body Oils

Natural (not synthetic) Vitamin E

All the above will help