Irregular heartbeat......

[subeeloo]

http://Hello again
Well, unfortunately OH is going to work on Monday (he works offshore) and so i will have to cancel Sammy's appointment on Tues...but....I am taking him to the vet's again on Monday at 4 so that they can check his heart again and see if it still is irregular as it was last Monday OR that it has now righted itself to a lesser complaint. The reason being is, that he has been running around with his friends and having a whale of a time and not once has he been out of breath or unbalanced etc. I spoke to the vet yesterday and SHE said it would be a good idea to look him over again, as we thought that the trip to Kings Lynn (a 150mile roundtrip) would distress him even further as he hates to travel at the best of times, even a short 3 mile trip he cries and trembles. Anyway, when OH gets back we will make another appointment then, as we still want him to be given a thorough examination to ease our minds. Some of you up in Scotland may know on your local news about the RMT strike, hence the reason why OH has to go back I'll keep you all informed about what happens on Monday with Sammy

[supaspaniel]

http://Hello again
, as we thought that the trip to Kings Lynn (a 150mile roundtrip) would distress him even further as he hates to travel at the best of times,

Kings Lynn is my old stomping ground. What vets are you taking him to there then?

[subeeloo]

Mill House, Dr Clarke Do you know them?

[subeeloo]

http:// don't know what happened there

[supaspaniel]

Mill House, Dr Clarke Do you know them?

Yes I do. I did a few dayz work experience with them not that many years ago, (when deciding if vet nursing was the thing to go into for a career change)

It is a very well equipt practice, although I didn't use them myself, so I would imagine Sammy will be in good hands if he does have a problem.

[shonajoy]

.....if we could've seen another vet for a 2nd opinion without him knowing, we would've . Maybe it would've been 'rude' of us to do it, but isn't that what you do if you are not happy with a doctor's diagnosis sometimes for yourself or others?

I didn't mean that it would be rude of you not to tell him - I meant rude of another vet not to show professional courtesy by telling your vet   

I think most vets (and Dr's) prefer to have as much history as possible when treating a patient...don't they ?? 

It would be considered "rude" or more likely unprofessional if tests had been done that would help the diagnosis, but on the basis of a simple examination, and a subjective opinion of a heart murmur, it's pretty common practice to offer a second opinion without contacting the other vet.

[subeeloo]

...that's what i thought shona. But i rang another vet and they said they would have to contact our vet and ask for his notes b4 giving a 2nd  opinion, so then we thought we won't bother
He's been great since Tues., so hopefully when he's looked at again on Monday, he may not have this 'irregular heartbeat', we'll just have to wait and see
This other vet we are going to is where our vet has reffered us to for the ultrasound and maybe another ECG and a possible x-ray.

[subeeloo]

...hello again
we went to see our vet again to check over Sammy and his heart. His diagnosis is around the same, but not as bad as it was last week.  He still didn't mince his words, he told me again that Sammy would probably have died if he'd have had the op , very nice of him to tell me again... NOT   He also said that having him castrated is out of the question too. I asked also if Sammy at some stage in his life may have to have an op for  i.e a broken leg, a tooth extraction etc... d'you know what he said? It'll be at our risk errr, hello, is that tactful or what?? We are definately going to go elsewhere once this referral has been done. He still went on about the damn insurance again! What is it with him?  Poor Sammy cried all the way home, it's only 2 miles away, so can you imagine hoe he'll be when we have to do a 150 mile round trip??
As soon as OH comes back from his 4-5 weeks away, I'll make the appointment, and then we'll see how our Sammy is at the end of it

[Cob-Web]

...hello again
we went to see our vet again to check over Sammy and his heart. His diagnosis is around the same, but not as bad as it was last week. 

So sorry it wasn't the news you hoped for.......

He still didn't mince his words, he told me again that Sammy would probably have died if he'd have had the op , very nice of him to tell me again... NOT   He also said that having him castrated is out of the question too. I asked also if Sammy at some stage in his life may have to have an op for  i.e a broken leg, a tooth extraction etc... d'you know what he said? It'll be at our risk errr, hello, is that tactful or what??

Everybody is different - I think I would prefer to know than not; my vets told me that "it's best if we don't tell you everything until we have a diagnosis" - which really annoyed and upset me 

He still went on about the damn insurance again! What is it with him?

I suppose from his point of view, he is running a business, and wants to make sure you can afford to pay him and the specialist for the treatment......although perhaps he's not being very tactful about it? I am sure he has been left out of pocket after treating patients in the past more than once; maybe by an owner who didn't fully checked their insurance out before agreeing to treatment? 

Poor Sammy cried all the way home, it's only 2 miles away, so can you imagine hoe he'll be when we have to do a 150 mile round trip??

Has Sammy always hated the car? Is there any way you can get him used to it over the next few weeks, so that the trip to the specialist isn't as stressful for him? There are natural remedies that can help if he gets sick, or Bach Flower remedies for anxiety - and you can even feed him his meals and play with him in the car to help him associate it with good things

As soon as OH comes back from his 4-5 weeks away, I'll make the appointment, and then we'll see how our Sammy is at the end of it

I hope you get a satisfactory outcome for you and Sammy 

[CraftySam]

Poor Sammy cried all the way home, it's only 2 miles away, so can you imagine hoe he'll be when we have to do a 150 mile round trip??

Has Sammy always hated the car? Is there any way you can get him used to it over the next few weeks, so that the trip to the specialist isn't as stressful for him? There are natural remedies that can help if he gets sick, or Bach Flower remedies for anxiety - and you can even feed him his meals and play with him in the car to help him associate it with good things

You could try these herbal anxiety drops http://www.canineconcepts.co.uk/item--Anxiety-Nature-s-Stress-Reliever--anxiety I used them with both Max and Barney who were car sick through anxiety and they'd stopped within a month.
You could also try DAP spray. I've not used that but I do use the defuser. Another thing is Skullcap and Valerian tablets, though they might interfere with his heart condition and the test they will do at the specialist.  Perhaps you could checkout if it would interfere with his heart and if not you could use them while you try and get him used to car journeys gradually, so hopefully by the time you have to go to the specialist he won't be quite as nervous.

[subeeloo]

...thanks for that CraftySam and IWLass. Your advice is very welcomed
I just feel so down today about him. I rang another vet earlier, and they sounded really concerned with my predicament. We will definately change to them once we have gone to see the specialist at Kings Lynn

[bluegirl]

I use alot of herbs and honey is great for the heart and so is rosemary. You could sprinkle dried rosemary over his food and put a teaspoon of honey in his food daily or you could make infusions of rosemary and get him to take it. You can't overdose on these herbs and they don't interact with traditional medicine. It won't cure his heart problem but  they can play a part in strenthening it.
My son was diagnosed with a heart condition 7 years ago now and I know at the time we were very worried, as we chose not to mediacate at the time I decided to try these things and the episodes of SVT (completely different from heart mumour I know) have become much less frequent.

It may be worth a go.

[Penel]

Your other option - is to go and see a homeopathic vet - I know I always rave about them but there are lots more natural remedies you can use for this sort of thing.
I also don't like your vet's attitude - he sounds very unsympathetic...

[Cob-Web]

I rang another vet earlier, and they sounded really concerned with my predicament. We will definately change to them once we have gone to see the specialist at Kings Lynn

So why not go and see a new vet for a second opinion before you go to Kings Lynn?

If you are changing vets anyway, then it doesn't matter that your current vet will "know" that you have got a second opinion - and you may decide that the trip to the specialist isn't necessary if the second opinion varies significantly from the first 

[Penel]

I agree with IWLass.