Dr. A called

[tenaya]

And she thinks Reg has an airway inflammation and wants me to buy a humidifier for where he sleeps, an aerochamber w/mask to give him a Flovent inhaler (a steroid). She hasn't ever seen Reg. I told her this is not a lung condition and she just said, "well, we don't *know* that." I said, sure I will do these treatments but is there anyway to get him looked at any earlier. The short answer is that she will do the surgery this Friday and borrow Dr. E's assistant who's most familiar with the equipment she will use (she had to ask Dr. E's permission and I knew Dr. E would agree because she is sensible and a sweetie, and whoa! fairly competent.)

She did explain the procedure (they will stick the tube through his mouth and curve it up to peek at the back of the nasal area which is a better than cramming it through them tiny little nares.) I asked her about what she might find and what she will do in each case. She went on and on about inflammation and long term inhaler use, her vocal tone hanging in question as to whether we'd go through the bother of giving him the treatments. Uh, hello? Yeah. It's what I do for people for a living but apparently she didn't listen when I told her that. I had to ask if there were other possibilities of what she might find and she said yes, and went back to the inhalers. And it was this fixation on one thing that bothered us last summer. All I need her to do is use the scope and see what she can see and it WILL be Dr. E who will be Reg's doctor.

I happened to have Flovent around the house from when I had a bad case of bronchitis a few years ago. I just went in and put a gallon sized plastic bag over Reg's head and gave him a couple of puffs. He didn't care for it but was compliant as usual, bless his little heart. I'll give it to him every four hours tonight and we'll see if it helps him. If it does, I'll go ahead and get this: www.aerokat.com for $55 dollars (and 'most items are shipped within five days' and hello I need it sooner than that -- or maybe not at all.)

You know, there are just some people that rub you the wrong way and Dr. A is one of them. As I lay in bed this morning, I wondered how I would be able to find another vet that could do this and how would I know if they were competent anyway? Last night Reg slept on my bed and for an hour I listened to him struggle and gasp and its draining for both of us. I woke him up a few times and he'd be all, "what's up?" When he's awake, he's fine. It's only when he's in REM sleep that he has a problem.

Right now he came out, said hello and settle down to snack on some kibble. He is such a doll.

Comments

[moonchildetoo.livejournal.com]

Poor sweetie Reg! Doesn't it make you crazy when vets (or human doctors, for that matter) diagnose off the top of their heads without knowing the history, and without *listening* to the history? As you know, I had up close and personal experience with that pre my own surgery, and I was ready to castrate a certain Dr. A (but in my case, A stood for A**h***. Can you let Dr. E know that Dr. A makes you crazy, so that you will have minimal contact with her. Good luck!

[tenaya.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think I'll tell her that. I'm also thinking of asking her to be there during the exam since Reg is her patient.

[rosawestphalen.livejournal.com]

It's difficult to find a vet you can trust. I was heartbroken when my dearest vet left the area. She really got the "cats are my people" attachment. While I have used Small Creatures, Meg's vet, she is happier with them than I was but I only went once. It's the challenge of finding a vet who understands talking to humans as well as treating animals.

My thought are with you and your sweet kitty.

[tenaya.livejournal.com]

Was that Dr. Dieranger? She was awesome. I wish I could take Reg to her.

Thanks for the other vet name. I'll keep that in mind.

Thanks. :)

[leviathanmuse.livejournal.com]

Human doctors and vets all seem to have that arrogance. Doesn't help that I work with a lot of them, too. I really hate when they get fixated on one thing and have to do everything they can to make sure their diagnosis is right, even if it's definitely not the problem.

[tenaya.livejournal.com]

It's very worrisome. I'm just hoping it will be clear and when she takes a look, whatever it is.

Is it vets or doctors you work with?

[leviathanmuse.livejournal.com]

Both. I work for the government. Doctors, pharmacists, nurses, vets. If it's health service, we've got them.

[tenaya.livejournal.com]

Ah! That group sounds like a big parcel of trouble. My sympathies.

[leviathanmuse.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. It's a real mess sometimes.