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[comebye]

Okay, my vet uses Roadrunner, then marks up the cost, told me it would run around $100/month for Cool

I just talked to Pet Health Pharmacy in AZ.
For the high end dose of Itraconazole he said it would be around $37.00 for 30 capsules. Low end dose would be around $26.00
For the high end dose of fluconazole it would be 16.50 1x/day or 33.00 2x/day dosage. Low end dosage ranged from 10.50 to 21.00

To say the least with vets marking up the cost and people being told how much $$$ one needs to spend, no doubt we make our decisions on trying to cure our dogs or PTS. I just don't get why vets have to do this to people, we agonize that our babies are sick, we agonize over the financial burden which doesn't have to be as big as they make it. Grrrrrrrr.

So my vet says Roadrunner is the cheapest, guess his mark-up is pretty high!
Does it come down to greed for them which means life or death for our pets?

I'm pissed!

Janine

[paintubturner]

I have become VERY bitter towards vets since my dog was diagnosised with Blasto.  In the response I left on your other post I didnt want you to think I was trying to be crappy about the cost of meds PLUS all the other costs.  I just wanted you to be aware that sure the meds can be gotten cheaper but all the other things will never be cheap.  The vets are ripping us off!!  Everytime I take Gunner to the vet I have between a 200-300 vet bill PLUS all the meds!  If my mom wouldnt have been able to help me financially my dog would be dead right now because I could not have afforded all that we have been through.  It is very sad what the world has become.  I recently was faced with having to euthanize my horse---the local vet wanted $195.00 to put her down!!!!!!!!!  $50.00 was a trip charge and the house is right on his way home at night.  I complained about why the price was that high to another vet-- from a different town--and he said he would euthanize her for 85.00 total--thats quite a mark up!  It is horrible to have to make a choice of life or death for our pets because of finances when the vets should have more compassion and cut some of the fees for those of us that are dedicated pet owners.  I can't believe all the people I know personally that have pets that are chained to a doghouse and never get to run and be a dog--never gets shots--get food thrown to them once a day and get no love and attention--it just makes me sick!  Then those of us that actually try and take proper care of our animals are the ones getting screwed!  The entire world is messed up when it comes to alot of issues and I know there isnt a darn thing we can do about it and that really sucks!           

[Jen]

   Dirtbike's situation was a bit different.  Perhaps the vet made much of the difference. Whatever it was, I didn't have to spend that much.

   The vet was very young, just out of school, and had very up to date information.  He made it clear to me that Dirt would either make it or not, depending on her treatment at home, how willing we were to go the extra mile, and her will to live. 
   He said that there was no need to bring her in for more xrays, tests, or extras unless she got way better or way worse, and even if brought in there wasn't going to be much they could do either way.
 
   This vet was very straightforward, and seemed to have no ulterior motive but helping us to do the best we could for her without spending our last cent.
   He was also honest when he said that she may not make it, that the outlook for any blasto case was not good, but also stressed that he believed she was in early stages and had a good chance. 
MiraVista testing was not yet being used. 

   He wrote her Itraconazole scrip straight to the pharmacy, and we dealt directly with them through her entire treatment.
Sadly, he has since left the clinic and gone on to specialize in Veterinary Dermatology at IU.

   So - the idea that the vets are marking up or taking a cut from the cost of meds is kind of repulsive and hard to swallow.  It doesn't have to be that way.
   
   

[Wilson3]

I would be looking for a better vet....
I delt with a few vets I did not think where in it for the animals and they suck!!
If would have demanded Wilsons normal vet from the get go I would have saved thousands but I was stupid or should say nieve then
Once Wilson was going down and I mean down I demaned his vet and finially I got somewhere I told him wilson had been to an area that another dog had gotten Blasto,well he listend and that was all that was needed
His vet is GREAT! If he didnt know for sure about a question I had he would tell me and say he needs to research it and get back to me and 24 hours later he would call he researched his breed completly and know everything about them (issues they can get hoping to find an answer)
wilsons meds where pricey from the vet but once Dirtbike came aboard and we found out about Pet Health Pharmacy in AZ cost went waaaay down All I did was tell my vet about them and asked if they could match the price he said they could not BUT he called in a script and I got it in 2 days
Office calls we did them only for my peace of mind. We really didn't need them Like Jens vet told her I was told the same but I wanted the check ups
What I know know I would do things much different and the cost to treat would not be nearly as much (I spent $8000 with supplements) We didnt need all the xrays we did and the check ups where only $20 It was the CBC tests and xrays
Which the CBC test we could have done without If the itra was hurting his kidneys and liver it wouldn't matter without the itra the blasto would have gotten him anyways
the choice is what it is and we really do not get one
as with pain meds  if used as directed and short term they usually are fine
the block of my expence was getting him diagnosed. and him in the ICU hooke dup to an IV which would have nevr happened "if" I would have stood my ground in the first place and demened his normal vet But tht is here say and what is done is done
I would look for a better vet

many dogs went off food and did great on the itra YOU just have to find ways to get Cool to eat it isnt easy many here have done it it takes up a lot of time but it does work in the end and worth it
Wilson has been blasto free for 2 yrs this Aug 2009
you are in the right direction and doing great already asking questions and finding out what you can
read the newsletter from this board it is very helpful
take care keep us posted
wilson3

[jiggasmom]

I went to an emergency vet the day I was told Jigga had blasto because he was panting so bad. I was told to take him in for breathing treatments right away. When I got the ER vet they wanted a $1000 deposit. I was frantically calling every one I know to borrow money. That was just the deposit treatment was going to be even more.  When the vet heard we were struggling with money she took us in a room and pretty much told us to put Jigga to sleep. She said that they could get the meds through a arizona pharmacy and it was going to cost us $1200 a month in meds. She said and that was IF he even makes it. My fiance and I thought we were going to have to put Jigga to sleep. I thougt we were going to do it that day. I had never felt so devistated in my life. Luckily my fiance said we didn't bring him here today to put him to sleep reguardless of our choice today is not that day.
She said she would leave us to decide. When she came back in I said I can't quit on him that there has to be something we could do. So she mentioned Fluconazole but kept making it sound like the med was most likely not going to work. And She made us feel like if we didn't admit him he was going to die in our care. I think that had we left him there in a strange place he would have thought we quit on him. I said whatever I will chance that. Luckily we got Fluconzole through walgreen for $200 for a 3 month supply. And luckily that night I found this website.
It makes me so angry to this day to think that this ER vet basically told us to put our dog to sleep. She made us feel our only option was to spend thousands of dollars and since we couldn't we just just call it quits. I always feel like sitting down and writing a letter to this Er vet with a picture of our healthy boy and telling her that as vet it is shameful she doesn't know that there are other options for financially challenged owners. Even if someone isn't financially challenged it is awful. I would hate for someone to put there beloved pet down on the advice of this woman. People, vets etc.. need to be aware that there are other options out there. Not these horrific drug prices. I think back to that day what if we would have put him down and then found out there were other options out there. I don't know if I could have ever forgiven myself.

[Jen]

   That story makes a person's blood boil.
Having watched each dog that's come through here in the past 2 years, there were a lot of emergency vets, and lots of money spent on IVs, Ampho-B, incorrect diagnoses, and what sounds like pure greed and apathy from the vets.  Most of those dogs didn't make it or were put down.

   The one time I took Dirtbike to an emergency vet for a large laceration, they charged me a fortune and didn't do anything - then they said they couldn't find the bleed without doing micro-surgery and it would cost $1000 more. Said she would probably bleed out without the surgery. 
   Not having $1000, we took her home and fixed her up ourselves. She was fine in a week. 
Her entire Blasto treatment cost less than that.

Millie went in for a huge skin avulsion, and the vet said, "I'd just put that ugly little bitch down". 
We paid for the visit, took her home and fixed her up too - she's just fine. We never went back.

 There's lots of good medicine and stuff at farm stores (Rural King), like antibiotics, skin glue, braces, bandages, vaccinations, plenty of stuff you can do without a vet.
 Sometimes it's like you're better off on your own.


   

[Harleys Mom]

It's not just the vets, it's the entire pharmaceutical industry in the US. I got a 14 day supply of Itra for Harley (21 pills), at Wal-mart for about $175. A 40 day supply (60 pills) from the Canadian pharmacy was $155 + $10 for shipping from Germany. Both sets of pills looked the same & were made by Johnson&Johnson. The pills from Wal-Mart were in a regular prescrip bottle & the ones from overseas came in larger box with a bunch of little boxes containing 4 pills each. That's about $5.60 per pill difference for the same pill! The University of IL vet clinic where I got Harley's first 28 day supply was worse yet, about $500 for 42 pills!!! Fortunately the vets were very willing to write scripts so I could go elsewhere to get meds. If you're vet won't work with you, ask your pet-owner friends which vet they use or call around to others in your area. The vet shouldn't strong-arm you into getting your prescription filled with him if you can get it filled elsewhere within your budget.

You & Cool stay strong!

[comebye]

Geesh some horrifying stories!
I took Cool to the vet Friday since he had said he would get another ampho-B treatment. Turns out they only are to get that stuff 3 treatments in 7 days, so it would have put Cool over. He wanted to x-ray I said no. I did ask for a blood panet, kidney (slight elevation), liver (normal) and CBC. His anemia has corrected itself but his white count went from 18,00 to bottoming out. I told doc I wanted to put Cool on the oral drugs and talked to him about fluconazole and itra. He was getting mad, annoyed and I think embarressed since he really doesn't have much experience with the drugs. He had the tech call Pet Health Pharmacy and prescribed Cool Itra at the highest daily dose twice a day. I really don't know if this is right for Cool or not since he just looks in his drug book and went with the high dose.
  I thought about this all weekend, I read a lot about the two drugs. Cool does not have a firm diagnosis if he has blast or histo. This morning I called them and asked to have them call and get Cool the fluconazole. The UofWis at Madison is doing a study that Cool could get in to. It's in conjunction with the MiraVista lab. The dogs have to be on fluconazole. So I'm going to see about getting him in the study.

I have now been cooking Cool chicken at night and a hamburger patty in the morning. He eats some yogurt on his own, still drinking lots of water. His temp on Saturday was 102.7, first time below 103. Actually he was 103.6 on Friday. Sunday and today he is at 103.1.

Cool is not my first dog I have had to force feed. I went through it with two cancer dogs and a dog in congestive heart failure. I also have a dog who will be 16 in one week and she has been in early kidney failure for a couple of years. With each dog it becomes more emotional for me and and really depresses me. The stress grows with each dog.

I can tell you horror stories with the 2 cancer dogs and my heart dog. The specialist killed my second cancer dog through a gross misdiagnosis. My heart dog had a money grubbing pig for a vet but through a chat group I found her the most compasionate cardiologist ever who did not want to steal from people.

I decided over the weekend to look for another vet for Cool that is more familiar with blasto and hopefully one that knows of the MiraVista urine test. Doc had never heard of it.

I certainly want to than everyone and I am so grateful to have found this site.

Janine and Cool

[jiggasmom]

So your vet just wants to stick him on the highest dose?? I thought it really goes bty their weight. That is how my vey determined what dose is right for jigs.

[Jen]

Er, yeah.  The vet should be embarrassed, and it's not your fault - it's his own.
One of the reasons we use the compounding pharmacies is that Itra for people comes in standardized doses, not made for dogs' weight.  The compounders make the right strength for you.

Oy, it's sad to see the ignorance.  Lots of vets react that way when you ask them stuff like that -
Hope it works out.
jen

[Judy]

Wow, I think there are vets that do a great job and those that don't have the experience.  Unfortunately it is hard to know in a crisis such as blasto which ones are which... same is true for the ER. I've often wanted to write or go back to the ER who looked at Francie (yes, on a holiday with the weekend before it) and said that she couldn't hear one side of her heart on the stethescope, that she had pus in her uterine horn (they thought pyometria immediately just because she had a menses) from the Xray (she was on her menses), and that she needed to be there overnight for emergency surgery the next day. I brought her in because she had a second foot with a lesion after a month in the vets thinking that she had a bacterial infection in her foot that wouldn't go away and she was also starting to limp on a third foot - definitely something was going on internally - and rather than look at this they jumped to the heart and uterus... just really a bad situation - I asked to look at the Xray (it helps to have a background, but the normal person would not be able to work through this), and saw that there was no pus (I wonder if she could even read Xrays). I thought the heart sounds was suspect with her having no problems, and having passed her PE before. They wanted her to stay the night and I said no, but that I would come back for an ultrasound the next day - which seemed to satisfy them. I spent 3,000$ to prove that it wasn't pyometria, and with the Xrays of her feet (they thought she had cancer there), they could have thought chest Xray with blasto but didn't listen to why I brought her in, just totally not a good approach to medicine. And, meanwhile her blasto continued to go undiagnosed....now I do believe in learning clinics but also in supervising vets who know more than their residents (which I found out later to be the case-I wasn't told that a resident was the only one who talked with me and I supervise naturopathic medical students).  This was supposed to be a good ER. In defense of vets - I do want to say that they don't make alot of money - if you think of it - insurance doesn't pay which is the way our medical system is made up, and most people do have to pay out of pocket. I don't mind adding some cost to the drugs to get them into the office and handling, but I do agree that it shouldn't be excessive - the drug industry is making such a bit cut...which is another part of the problem.  The real quality vets are the ones who make the best diagnosis, and leave the advice of what to do with our pets to us, the owners/parents... Sorry to go on... I think Kristen's idea of being at large health fairs is the best - then owners will be able to be assertive and aware of blastomycosis. By the way, today I put the little rubber balloon like booties on Francie for a walk in the woods, this really relieved my worry about a recurrence (at least I'm doing what I can).  Judy

[Kash-]

I know this is kinda an old topic, but I thought I'd throw in my two bits, just maybe lend some perspective.

My dog survived blasto way back in 2002.  I know everyone struggles with bills and such, but back then Itraconozole was a brand new drug and I got it compounded at a hospital pharmacy (human, not vet) at the script cost about $600 for 45 days worth, that was twice a day and I don't remember the dosage, but it was for a 50# English Pointer.

I thought that was bad, at least I momentaily felt that the ampho-b was cheap.  Only $7.5 a bottle and we got two doses out of one bottle.  But then there was the IV set, catheter and such every other day to the tune of $40 per.

I'm not complaining.  My vet was tops.  I was lucky enough (or perhaps obsessive/compulsive enough) to have VPI insurance on the Knight.  I know I paid out over $4100 (U.S. and 2002 dollars), probably more if I was honest, and VPI paid me back about $3100.  If you're reading this, it's poor advice this late, but VPI really worked for me. 

Anyway,  Thought I'd share the numbers from some time ago, and lend a little perspective.

Kash