Vacation for Elderly?
Annegriet
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
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wildchild2x2
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
susanzone5 (NY)
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Do Elderly Dogs HAVE to get their vacines?
Comments (27)Sorry, I misunderstood the problem. I thought the vet was demanding vaccines for an Rx, but the problem is actually the service fee the vet is charging to write the Rx, correct? The thing is that it takes the vet's time to search the record, make sure the drug requested is appropriate for the pet, calculate the dose, and write the Rx (+/- faxing back petmeds). The only thing a vet really has that everyone else doesn't is time and expertise to do exactly that- plan treatments. It may be that Deramaxx is not the best choice for your dog, so it is always worth the $ to have the vet check the records and prescribe the best medication. They have to charge for that time and expertise. Almost all vets now charge a Rx fee, whether it's included in the price of the Rx they have at their hospital or scripted out to an outside pharmacy such as petmeds. It's only fair for the time spent researching and preparing a Rx. That said, I think the vet or receptionist or whoever you spoke with made a huge mistake by offering to match petmeds price plus shipping. They should have stuck to their guns and just said that their price is what it is because they cannot get huge bulk discounts like petmeds and they need to cover their costs. Then they should have offered you the option of either writing a Rx for a reasonable Rx fee and letting you shop around OR offering for you to pick up the medication at their regular price when you bring your dog in for her PE. But the way they presented the option of matching petmeds price plus shipping has made it look like they are trying to price-gouge you. I totally understand why you are mad- it is unreasonable to ask for you to pay for shipping service that you are not getting. If they cannot match petmeds prices, they should have just said so and not offered that ridiculous option plus shipping. That's a really dumb reason to lose a good client, but until vets realize that communication is 95% of their business it will continue to happen. As far as saving money on medications, I can offer a few suggestions. One is that you probably know other people with pets that are on chronic medications. You could possibly combine orders and have everything shipped to one address, saving money on shipping costs. Buying in large quantity is almost always less expensive because you are not paying the Rx fee multiple times. I buy 3-6 bottles of Rimadyl at a time for my dog for that very reason, though I get it at my vet's because it wasn't really cheaper for me to go through petmeds or any other online pharmacy. So I pay for one Rx fee instead of 3-6 Rx fees, which helps. If you do decide to pay the vet an Rx fee and shop around, remember that you only pay that fee once. The online pharmacies almost never check how many refills the vet scripts out, with the exception of Drs Foster and Smith who are very diligent about their online pharmacy. In the long run, it is often less expensive to pay the vet that Rx fee and get the meds elsewhere....See MoreElderly dog: How do you know when it's time?
Comments (68)I am so sorry to hear about Gracie. Sue, my rottie (also named Grace) had an adrenal tumor but it presented as cushings-- it am sure you have read about it but cushings causes a crazy food drive which combined with the anxiety can make for aggression. Luckily my rottie never had aggression-- at 115lb, if she was aggressive, I would have had to stop all treatment. Her food drive was something else though. I remember one day my father brought me a frozen container of homemade vegetable soup. I set it on the counter and walked outside with him as he left. In the short amount of time to walk him to his car-- maybe 10 min MAX? Grace had gotten the frozen quart container off the counter, broke through the plastic and ate all the *frozen* soup! Another time, I walked into the kitchen to find her on her hind two legs with her snout in a pot of simmering roasted veggie and lentil soup-- hot! This girl loved soup! LOL Because the tumor (like cushings) was producing large amounts of corticosteroids-- the hormone responsible for the fight or flight reaction. Like I said, Grace wasn't aggressive but she had a high level of anxiety. She couldn't just relax. She paced constantly.. and when she could relax enough to lay down, any sound had her back up. She wasn't sleeping. I wasn't sleeping. It was exhausting for her.. and for all of us. Because surgery wasn't an option for the second tumor, we put her on an anti-anxiety pill. It was a huge help and might be something to discuss with your vet. Grace actually lived MUCH longer than the vets expected and I believe the anti anxiety pill made that possible. It did nothing to cure the tumor-- but it helped keep the symptoms under control....See MoreInduction: Good or Bad Idea for the Elderly?
Comments (38)Ps. Most people who have cooked almost all of their lives don't want to learn something new. Understandable. But, induction has so many benefits, especially safety, that it is worth the unnerving. Be positive about this new miracle way of cooking. And an individual hob, a hot plate thingy, preferable at 1800 watts, is a wonderful idea. It is so precise. I think you can actually set the temp at say 325 degrees rather than at say medium high, and change in 5 or 10 degree increments. I don't have one and so think, via hearsay. Under $100....See MoreFull time caregiver for elderly person
Comments (16)A dear friend had this for her husband when he was ill and dying. When he died, her children insisted she continue to have the 24/7 help and she did. The day woman was wonderful; the night people, not so much. Their job description required them to stay awake all night and be available if she called for help. They would just go to sleep and when she called them to help her to the bathroom, they didn't come, she would try to get their by herself and a fall inevitably occurred. I can't tell you how many different helpers the agency provide for the night shift and nearly all were not good at all. My in-laws had always had a live-in cook/housekeeper. When their wonderful woman finally retired after over 40 years with them, they hire another woman, but she would only work M-F - no weekends. They had someone come from an agency for the weekend, but it was not always the same person. They were not required to stay awake all night, but there was a "baby monitor" so my FIL could call if he needed help getting to the bathroom. The weekend help often ignored his calls and multiple falls were the result. My late mother had many friends who had in-home caregivers, and by the time she had died, they had all managed to steal all her silver and jewelry - and there was a lot of it. I would strongly advise using an agency where the workers are bonded, and locking up anything valuable and high "portable". Even then, someone needs to keep a close watch to be sure they are actually caring for the person and not also robbing her blind. Many children object to this kind of care as they don't want to have to be involved with hiring them (one still must be involved, even when using a reputable agency), and it is nearly always far more costly than assisted living in a home. In some cases, it is not - the home may be more. After my MIL died, my FIL announced to his two children that he was going to move to a retirement home in a nearby town. The "walk-in the door" fee was $500,000 and if one dropped dead two hours later, none of this money was returned. There was also a monthly charge. My DH and his sister looked at one another and both thought "That's a LOT of money and we will inherit that much less!" He was nearly 92 at the time. It also meant that my SIL would have a 30-40 minute drive each way to see him on a daily basis. That is how she approached him - it would be a huge inconvenience for her, and she WAS going to visit him daily. She still had two school-age children at home and it would have been very inconvenient. FIL was a dear, dear man and there was no way he was going to inconvenience his beloved daughter (my DH did not leave nearby). We were very glad he made this decision for innumerable reasons. It gave DH and his sister 13 months to clean out a very large house in which they had lived for over 50 years. My husband would drive down from Maine for the weekend, and they tackled the huge 3rd floor attic, the basement, and all closets with things not in use. It took them all that time to go through all this. And he only lived another 13 months. Sometimes reality must come into these decisions....See More
gyr_falcon
6 years agoAnnegriet
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agosusanzone5 (NY)
6 years agowildchild2x2
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6 years agosushipup1
6 years agoUser
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6 years ago
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6 years ago
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6 years agojoaniepoanie
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Annie Deighnaugh
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoJmc101
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