Tuesday, September 23, 2014

What it Cost: COPD Diagnosis

It's been forever since I blogged about my own horse.  Or you know, blogged in general.  But I am back to working full time and then some, so pony time has been limited.  Mollie literally could not care less.

She's always this excited to see me.

Mollie is almost 3 weeks post-prednisone treatment and is (knock on wood) doing really well!! She gets a little huffy under saddle but as long as she gets plenty of walk breaks she seems ok.  I put her back on the Freeway from Hilton Herbs and I'm hoping that can maintain her through the cooler months, and then we'll have to make a plan come next spring/summer depending on how she presents.

A little while back someone (maybe Beka?) did a "What it Cost" post to break down the costs of a vet visit.  I figured I hadn't read one on COPD before, so it would be a devastatingly sad fun topic for a post.  The total cost wasn't QUITE so bad because it was broken down over a couple of payments (I paid for the bottles of prednisone as needed) but it still is a lot of money that I tend not to think about unless I actually blog about it.

So to recap, I made an emergency vet call because of respiratory distress.  The vet did a visual assessment, a lung wash, set the samples out to the lab, and then I bought 2.5 bottles of prednisone.

This is how it all breaks down:

*Partial Call Fee (7-3 Clients)___________________________$24.00
Respiratory Exam (visual)______________________________$78.00
Broncho-Alveolar Lavage (lung wash)____________________$110.50
Sedation IV_________________________________________$31.25
Fluid Analysis (lab work)______________________________$115.60
**2.5 Bottles of Prednisolone Tab_______________________$323.09
S&H on additional pred_______________________________$28.50

Grand Total________________________________________$710.94

*yay for 2 other people who decided they needed the vet that day too!!
**a total of 1,250 tablets

So there ya have it.  A little over $700 for an entire COPD diagnosis and treatment.  Luckily Mollie requires vet visits very infrequently (knock on wood!) so this should keep her healthy for a while ;)

9 comments:

  1. Boo that is not fun :( I've been there this year!

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    1. Definitely not fun, but very grateful to have a diagnosis and treatment plan that worked.

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  2. Yikes. I feel your pain. Hue has killed me with vet bills this year.

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  3. Ouch, that sucks. But having a diagnosis and treatment plan is definitely a good thing.

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  4. Vet bills, un-fun but luckily you'll probably only need to order the Pred again.

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  5. that's a big hit :(.... hope Mollie continues to do well with this treatment plan!

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  6. Aw, that sucks. But it sounds like Mollie is doing well - which is the main thing!

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  7. Ugh, vet bills. But glad she is doing better!

    Not sure where you get your prednisone from, but I've discovered that Costco is usually about 1/2 to 1/3 of what the vet or a "normal" pharmacy charges me. A bottle of 100 Deximethazone tablets costs $25 at the vet, and $10 at Costco. Maybe something to look in to?

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