Hi Folks,
You know how we question what Doctors prescribe to us, because of side effects…..well, do we even bother when it comes to our pets?
Let me tell you a story….
Last Friday Paul went to the vets (where we have been going for over 20 years with pets) to pick up some more cortisone tablets for Gary, he also asked the vet if there was a pain killer that we could give him as he was still in a bit of pain.
The vet gave us Tramadol Hydrochloride and advised us to give it to Gary 2 tablets, 3 times a day to alleviate his pain, so I started on Friday night giving him the pain killers…He doesn’t like them at all, but I persevere!!
Saturday came and we noticed that he was a lot worse…he wouldn’t drink, he would barely eat and he didn’t want to get up and walk. He would struggle to move…we persevered with the pain killers thinking that they would work somehow.
Sunday came and we thought that he was going to die….he wouldn’t drink so we had to hydrate him with a syringe, he wouldn’t eat, move or anything….just slept. And when he did eventually get up he took little steps because he was in critical pain….you know 15 out of 10 on the scale….he lost heaps of weight and looked like a skeleton with skin on him.
We feared the worse, so on Monday I phoned the vet and made an appointment for Friday – to put Gary to sleep…I couldn’t stand the suffering anymore and I wanted to be a responsible furparent and not let him suffer.
In the meantime, Paul said “I wonder if those painkillers are really working, and what is in them?” So Caetlyn looked up the drug – low and behold, the side effects were exactly what he was having…..loss of appetite, won’t drink, pain in the feet, confusion, blurred vision etc (yes there were many, many more side effects listed). So Paul suggested we stop with the painkillers to see what would happen….What did we have to lose?
It’s now Wednesday today and he is up walking around for the last two days, he has been eating like a horse, and drinking…..Bloody hell….we ALMOST put our dog to sleep because of some stupid drug.
I phoned the vet up this morning and firstly cancelled the appointment on Friday, then I blasted them about the drugs and how they should treat the individual animal, not just give blanket drugs out. (By the way, I’m getting a refund on the tablets). Also when Gary first went into the vets to stay, when we picked him up I asked if there was anything I could give him to boost his electrolytes…so they gave me Protexin sachets…I didn’t read them until I got home and found out that they were a probiotic and NOT an electrolyte booster…PLUS Caetlyn noticed that they were out of date!!! Use by APRIL 2015. (I’m getting a refund on them too!!) FFS!!!
We have been so stressed about Gary lately, so to think that we nearly made the wrong decision due to ill advice from a vet is devastating….SURE he is not going to last forever, he is old (14 years) and he may only have another couple of months left OR a couple of years – who knows, but I’m going to think twice before taking him back to that vet again.
So please consider what the vets are giving your pets, make sure you know of any side effects that may happen and maybe find more natural alternatives.
Cheers,
DARKWENCH & GARY
