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Agatha has a checkup
Agatha's on a 3-month checkup schedule now that the blood pressure seems stable, and today was the day. Summary: things are still OK, so keep with the current medication and come back in 3 months.
Longer report:
These visits ain't quick, though how much is inevitable and how much is this vet office, I don't know. Mega-corp VCA owned that it is, you'd expect a little more efficiency and/or time limits--maybe my preferred Sunday morning timeslots mean the office is more relaxed. Or less efficient.
I got there at 9, and pulled out of the parking lot at 10:30. In between was lots of waiting time for unexplained reasons, and some for explained reasons (getting a second blood pressure machine, waiting on the vet after the technician took the BP, vet researching options for blood work combo-pricing, and a long wait when they took Agatha in the back to try to draw the blood). But the BP was normal, i.e. controlled by the meds, her weight is stable, her eyes are OK (though she's still almost completely blind). The lumps at several of her nipples are maybe a little larger, and that is one thing I was asking about--what's a likely progression for that? The answer is that if it's a mammary cancer, it's probably not going to cause her pain directly. If it metastasizes, it would probably be to the lungs, and I'd see her starting to sit up more and trying to find ways to breathe better. Dr. Dunn thought that Agatha, with the other health issues, will probably die from something else before it gets that far, though.
Oh, and one bit of very helpful information, garnered when I told Dr. Dunn that I'd be asking for a prescription from an online vet pharmacy for the Amlodipine, which VCA charges >$6.50/pill for, but online sources offer for as low as $0.19. (I'm still not sure I believe that one, but a different source offers it at $0.76.) Though they only tell you this if you ask, VCA will match prices for certain online pharmacies, and the $0.19 place is one of them, supposedly. You can bet I'll be checking that out when next I need a refill. It's worth something to have them quarter the little bitty tablets for me, but it's not worth over $6 a pill.
Longer report:
These visits ain't quick, though how much is inevitable and how much is this vet office, I don't know. Mega-corp VCA owned that it is, you'd expect a little more efficiency and/or time limits--maybe my preferred Sunday morning timeslots mean the office is more relaxed. Or less efficient.
I got there at 9, and pulled out of the parking lot at 10:30. In between was lots of waiting time for unexplained reasons, and some for explained reasons (getting a second blood pressure machine, waiting on the vet after the technician took the BP, vet researching options for blood work combo-pricing, and a long wait when they took Agatha in the back to try to draw the blood). But the BP was normal, i.e. controlled by the meds, her weight is stable, her eyes are OK (though she's still almost completely blind). The lumps at several of her nipples are maybe a little larger, and that is one thing I was asking about--what's a likely progression for that? The answer is that if it's a mammary cancer, it's probably not going to cause her pain directly. If it metastasizes, it would probably be to the lungs, and I'd see her starting to sit up more and trying to find ways to breathe better. Dr. Dunn thought that Agatha, with the other health issues, will probably die from something else before it gets that far, though.
Oh, and one bit of very helpful information, garnered when I told Dr. Dunn that I'd be asking for a prescription from an online vet pharmacy for the Amlodipine, which VCA charges >$6.50/pill for, but online sources offer for as low as $0.19. (I'm still not sure I believe that one, but a different source offers it at $0.76.) Though they only tell you this if you ask, VCA will match prices for certain online pharmacies, and the $0.19 place is one of them, supposedly. You can bet I'll be checking that out when next I need a refill. It's worth something to have them quarter the little bitty tablets for me, but it's not worth over $6 a pill.
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