Question:
I'm so very sorry to hear so much sickness and death happening lately with all these wonderful pets. My heart goes out to you guys. I'm about to struggle with my own emotions soon.

Fantasia is about to have a MRI. For a brain tumor /cancer (which she was seen 2 months earlier for problems related and nothing was said of what it could be related too) eye infection..eye pupil small..soft muscle tissue (which is now totaly gone on right side of her face)

Kipper to be tested for Cushing. (Has been to the vet back and forth for this infection that infection / boat

Money is about exhausted now being tested for other crap leading up till now.
You'd think by now doctors/vets once a person or pet complains of an illness they'd investgate it further( right then -tell me the worst possible first so we can chose)and instead of picking the lesser problem, give a drug and send you home. I feel like a doo head for taking their word and not making them confirm 100% what is wrong.

Sorry, if this is in the wrong area. I just needed to vent.

I'm a cancer survivor (or a lucky person that I had a big mouth and kept pushing for a for sure result)

Answer:
Ronnie,I am sorry for all yours and your doggies troubles
I think we've all dealt with the frustration,heartbreak and financial hardship of trying to find out what's ailing our pets.
Often a simple bloodtest can tell and I believe many vets give antibiotics hoping whatever is ailing the pet will be cured.
If not,the seriously expensive tests(MRI's,etc) begin,hopefully with some positive results for you and Fantasia and good luck with Kipper.

Answer:
I am very sorry, Ronni I am also also a cancer survivor almost 25 years now.

Three years ago lost one of my dogs to osteosarcoma a cancer that there is no cure for it took 3 sets of xrays over a 2 month period before it became apparent she went thru a lot of immense pain during the time, I let her go once I knew what was wrong, she was a trooper right up to the end,part of the reason it had not even be suspected was the location, it occured in an very unusual area of the limb, due to a fall at the time initial thoughts were she had damaged the hip, but x-rays proved otherwise so because there was a lot of bruising the next logical conclusion was that she had torn a muscle only and treated as such only because the pain was continuing and damage had also occured to the knee was x-rays were continually being done, another dog of mine had what appeared to be an agressive type of cancer of the spleen, a few thousand dollars later along with lots of testing and worry along the way I learned it was a condition called hyperspleenism in which the tissue is health the spleen still is functional it just grows to very unusual sizes sometimes interfers with other internal organs, he still has his spleen but has x-rays done regularily to check to make sure it is not impeding other organs,
my other dog has Lupus and VWD I did have other tests run to check to see if tick disease was the root cause like cushings there is no cure it has to be managed, the diagnosises for all 3 came with months of each other, so I do understand the fear, worrying, frustration and concern about finances. my prayers are with you and Fantasia(beautiful name by the way)

Sadly medical science is not an exact science, symptoms present are only clues, a doctor then has to play detective to figure out want the clues mean and there could be a couple dozen different possible causes for that symptom to occur, starting with testing for worse case senario is not always logical and could could result in a $5000 bill for a soft tissue injury or viral infection/bacteria that could have been tested and treated for around $100 instead a vet must go with most logical/likely causes and go from there, using a process of elimination, in some cases it can get very expensive and frustrating, maybe in time you will come to realize that your vet was doing their best at trying to solve with what clues they had to go by.

Answer:
So sorry to hear about all the health issues with Fantasia and Kipper.

When my kitty had cancer we saw three vets before getting a diagnosis. The third one knew within about an hour and it was not costly. All the running around beforehand was what ran up the $$$$. The first vet really should have seen it and taken into consideration his age and other symptoms. I guess every situation is different but I don't doubt that vets and Dr's are also in it for the money. We do have to watch carefully and advocate for ourselves and our pets to get the service we need. I think sometimes you almost have to learn how to "manipulate" a bit. For example I had been going in for over two years with swelling on my back and soreness. They'd look at it and tell me I had a fat deposit, tell me it was common in older ladies even though I'm young etc. Then I went in and said I injured my back and I am in pain all the time, so finally they sent me for an x-ray. It showed quite a bit of damage so at least now they're like okay we don't know what's wrong, go see a specialist:P It was indeed swelling not fat. I had to be more dramatic in my complaints to be taken seriously I guess. Now in retrospect I would have dramatized things for my kitty as well. There isn't always a lot you can do though because they have a certain amount of control.

Originally Posted by Ronni52565
I'm a cancer survivor (or a lucky person that I had a big mouth and kept pushing for a for sure result)

Just wanted to say you must be very strong, good thing you kept pushing. Not many people are willing to stand up to the authority of medical professionals.

Answer:
Ronnie:
I am so sorry our thoughts are with you. I hope everything turns out. We have only had our dog for over a year, and I cannot imagine how I would feel if she was sick. This forum is great because we can all relate. Once again our prayers are with you and the family. Let us know how things go.

Answer: