Stomach Scope?

Hello- Well my little baby (1 year) is still having tummy troubles. About every 6-8 weeks he has an episode of bloody vomit and diahrea, I take him to the vet everytime and have spent hundreds of dollars on medications, injections, bloodwork, etc. We had an episode last night and went to the emergency vet (twice as expensive as the regular vet). My regular vet called this morning and suggested that we use a scope to look at his stomach and intestines to see if there is something in there that is causing the problem.

His energy level is fine, he is just so little that I think this is all wearing him out. Has anyone ever had the scope before? Anyone know a cost estimate? Thoughts? We are making an appointment to go to the diagnostic clinic but wanted to get the boards thoughts and comments first. Thanks!!

Poor little mite. I hope they get him sorted soon. Sorry, I have no sage advice, but please do keep us posted. :flwr:

Oh, no advice really but I do go through something very similar with Lucky.

I'm pretty convinced Lucky's is stress related (always corresponds with me having to be away from him for extended periods - even if he has a dog walker or is staying with a friend that he knows he still gets diarrhea if I am away ...).

If I were not sure it was stress with Lucky, I think I'd be inclined to do the scope if my vet recommended it. I am sure it is not cheap, but with all the vet visits you've already invested in, I think it would be worth it for you both financially (in the long run) and for peace of mind.

Good Luck with your decision. :xfngr:

i'm sorry to hear that your furbaby has had such tummy troubles! indy also has had frequent bouts of diarreah (also mostly stress induced) and i can sympathise with how difficult it must be for you to watch him suffer i agree with lani---finding the source of the problem will be costly at first but will pay off in the end as you can hopefully get on the road to a permanent solution.

your vet should be able to give you the cost of the scope. it might also be worth checking to see if there is a veterinary school in your area that would do such procedures at a reduced rate?

good luck and please keep us posted.

k

Thanks for all of your kind words. The vet had orginially diagnosed it as stress related, but it is just so awful when it happens that I want to be 100% sure that that is the cause. I would hate to look back later and regret that I didn't explore every avenue. We have an appointment Monday at 11am (CDT), I will be sure to keep you posted.

One of my girls was very ill last holiday season - I ended up taking her to the closest vet hospital (3 1/2 hrs and a state away). We assumed that she would have to have a stomach scope as well due to her constant vomiting, etc. When we did the initial exam (and she stayed for a week) her dr. decided to only do an endoscopy (throat) as that is where Sasha's problem really was.

I was prepared financially to do both scopes; however, after seeing what a mess her throat was, it was decided not to irritate it anymore by doing a stomach scope.

I'm sure the vet hospital was much cheaper as well for the scope vs. a private vet. don't know if that's an option for you, but cost always becomes a factor after we've spent alot of $$$ and the problem(s) persist.

Sheri

Well, we had our appointment with the specialist and things are looking good for us. He was SO nice and spent 45 minutes in the room with me, asking questions, answering questions, playng with Aston, just loved him.

He suggested that we do some blood work before we get drastic with a scope, he feels that we can figure out what is wrong with blood work rather than an envasive procedure. He actaully said "I don't want to waste $1,000 or your money on a scope before I have tried everything else," I have never had a vet tell me they were trying to save me money-how refreshing!

He has two ideas:

1) Aston is a rescue and did not have a good life prior to my adopting him and he thinks that there might be a tad bit of anxiety/stress when his normal routine is altered thus causing the episodes.

2) Addison's Disease- while he is pretty confident that it is not Addison's, he still wants to check to cover all bases. If that is the case, it is very treatable and he can go on to lead a relatively normal and happy life, albeit some daily medications.

Overall, I was very happy with our visit today and look forward to getting the blood work results back and coming up with a long term plan to help my little baby feel better all the time. I'll keep you posted on the outcome. Thanks for all of your advice and support!

I’m glad you like your specialist and that he’s looking after your puppy. I hope he feels better soon.:hug:


I went digging through my 2004 vet bills to find what we paid for Geordie’s stomach and bronchoscopy when he was 7.5 months old. He had a nightly, sporadic, wretching cough. He was given different prescription medications that didn’t help. Finally, our vet suggested bronchoscopy to look in Geordie’s lungs and get samples for cultures. I requested that they also scope his esophagus and stomach, because earlier they thought the problem could be there. This way Geordie would only have to be anesthetized once. The vet also did a cardiac ultrasound to rule out a heart problem. The $727 vet bill included everything mentioned here plus a fungal culture, a bacterial culture and sensitivity (to find the most effective antibiotic for his problem), exam, IV fluids, and cytology. Geordie came through it fine, and within a week he was put on the correct antibiotic, which cleared up his infection.

Sounds like a really great vet -- fingers crossed now that you find the problem and can get your fellow on the road to better health.

Thanks for all your advice. The vet specialist called again yesterday after speaking to my primary vet and said that he had extra blood serum left from the original tests so on a hunch he ran a test to check his cordasol levels (without charging me!). He said normal level is 2, they start to think of Addison's when it gets around 1 or below, my angel came in at 1.5, so he is of course in the "grey area."

Next step is to do a test that definatively says yes or no to Addison's. I dropped him off at the vet this morning and will pick him up this afternoon. Fingers crossed that we find an answer! I'll keep you posted.

Hope the test goes well. Keep us posted on the outcome.:flwr: