You, Your Vet and Your Diabetic Dog
Today we are going to touch on what can be a “dicey” subject. How is your relationship with your vet? I have had the very best vet in the past and sadly, the very worst. Now that you have a diabetic dog, your relationship with your vet is even more important than it was in the past. Finding a vet that will work with you, educate you, respect your choices and discuss protocols and options with you is SO very important.
I had the best vet ever in Texas, he was well educated, loved his job and his patients. He was the guy that came into the exam room, got down on the floor with us and greeted my boys, played with my boys and asked how everything was going. Oh, how I wish that my Max had been diagnosed in Texas!! Unfortunately, he wasn’t. The vet in Texas answered my calls, gave me advice, called the vet where Max was diagnosed and did everything that he could from 1,600 miles away to help us get Max stable. He is the one that told me to buy a meter and test at home. The BEST advice that I EVER got!!! He also called the vet where we were and told him that he was going to kill my dog if he didn’t change his views on Canine Diabetes. Oh if it were possible to clone him!!!
In our Facebook group ( Canine Diabetes Support and Information), we see the best and the worst of interactions and advice from vets. We see those that “forbid” people to test BG (Blood Glucose) at home (how can they say that with a straight face, forbid me? Seriously?!?), withhold prescriptions for Vetsulin and syringes unless the client brings the pup in for a battery of tests costing exorbitant amounts of money that not everyone has. The list of horrors goes on and on. On the other side of that coin, we see vets that are honest and say that they only had 8-10 hours of education on the subject of Canine Diabetes in their schooling. They go on to say that they will learn right along with you how to treat your pup. They are open to suggestions from their clients and are anxious to hear what the client has learned through their own research.
Let’s be fair and acknowledge that our vets treat many different species in their practices and much pathology within each species. It is completely unfair to expect them to be an expert in all things. In reality, we wouldn’t have our general practitioner do knee replacement surgery; we would be referred to an Orthopedist for that. Referral to a specialist isn’t always possible when it comes to Canine Diabetes. Also keep in mind that we are hopefully only dealing with one disease and so that becomes our focus. We research, we read, we google, we join support groups; we pick the brains of those that are currently or have lived with the disease 24/7. It is completely unfair to expect our vets to know the nuances of this disease unless they have lived with it themselves. In our group we have several vets, vet techs, specialists, all who have joined our group to learn, share, and expand their knowledge of this disease. One of our more courageous members that is a vet and now living with this disease 24/7 shared an amazing post letting us all know that she has learned so much from all of us and now directs her clients to our site to learn the day to day nuances that will empower them to deal with Canine Diabetes. She clearly is one of the “good ones” and a keeper for SURE!!
How do we find a veterinarian that will work with us, hear us and partner with us? If I had it to do all over again, I think that I would “interview” the vets in my area. Even if it is over the phone and you can only talk to the office manager or a vet tech. I would find out what their treatment protocols are, especially if they encourage home testing. That is the first question that I would ask. If the answer is no, I would move on to the next one on the list. Here are some other questions that I would ask:
Are you an AAHA clinic/practice?
How many Diabetic dogs do you have in your practice?
Do you encourage home testing?
What do you consider a safe range for BG (Blood Glucose) in a Diabetic Dog?
How often do you want to see the daily numbers and curve data from me?
How many readings are in a curve at your practice (1, 3, 5, 7)?
Are you open to titer testing (as opposed to just doing vaccines)?
Will you work WITH me when it comes to my Diabetic pup?
Will you show me how to give subcutaneous fluids if the need ever arises and sell me a “field kit”?
Will you consider giving me meds to have on hand to treat common symptoms in my dog’s disease (Cerenia, Metronidazole for example)?
Do you have staff there 24/7?
If no round the clock care, what is your office protocol in the event that my pup needs to be hospitalized overnight?
These are just a few of the questions that I would ask, I’m sure that there are others and you can certainly (please do) share other questions that you would ask in the comments section below.
The bottom line to all of this is that your vet is running a business; it is a service business, but a business none the less. Customer service is part of any business, especially when it comes to caring for a valued family member. You pay to be there and trust that you will get honesty, respect and support when you need it. That is not too much to ask. If you and your vet are not a team with a common goal, then perhaps you should look elsewhere. If there aren’t many vets in your area to choose from, then at the very least, agree to disagree on the Diabetes treatment and use this vet for every day issues that don’t pertain to Diabetes. When I found my Facebook group “home”, I learned all that I could about the disease from people that live with it 24/7, I researched every day (and still do even though I no longer have a “sugar baby”) and my confidence level increased and the disease became much more manageable for me. My hope is that each of you have found a vet that you love, and feel that you are working together to manage this crazy, dynamic disease! We are all human and doing the best that we can, its’ so much easier when we are doing it together!
Notice that for most of the products or groups that I mention, the text is linked to a website that you can purchase that item or a link to join the group mentioned. Just click on the colored text (red or blue, depending what device you are on) and it should take you right to the item or group. If you have any thoughts or ideas for topics that you’d like to see covered here, please feel free to comment below or send me an email at NancyForPetTest@PharmaSupply.com. As always, please “like” this blog post or any of the others that have helped you or just refreshed your memory. Look for new posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday!
Until next time…