Not happy with Vet bill. What to do? *Rant* Sorry

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JessandCharlie

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Various rants to follow.

Worm has recently had fairly hefty surgery on both hocks to remove bone chips and is making a very god recovery etc etc.

When we took her we made sure they knew about her various (multiple) allergies etc, one of which is Penecillin (sp?) and yet when reading through the breakdown of the bill we have been charged for doses of Penecillin. She is fine, but any ideas as to why this has happened? Is it unavoidable and did she HAVE to have it, or is there an alternative? I'm a little worried that me telling them about her allergies went in one ear and out the other :S


So, bandages were changed a few days after she came out of hospital by a vet at our normal practice, although our usual vet was on holiday. He literally took bandages off, wiped wounds with iodine and rebandaged. No sooner had he left, said bandages had already slipped and we had to call out another vet to redo them. This vet took PART of one bandage off (the vet wrap) and pulled the 'inside' up before sticking more vet wrap on. Could have done that myself *grumble grumble*

Questions here are; How the hell can wiping two hocks with iodine for all of 30 seconds possibly cost 22 pounds? Why can NOT replacing, just tugging at one bandage cost more than fully replacing two? (39.89 to b exact, plus call out and vetwrap etc)

*And breathe* (Do tell me if I'm being unfair, I am genuinely interested to see whether any of you know something i don't that could have caused the above)

Next bit isn't bill related, but Worm also needed joint medication for both hocks. Normal vet came out to do this. She knows she is allergic to just about everything and has unbelievably sensitive skin, allergic to hibiscrub etc. and said something about putting some cream on the wounds. Said "oh yes some witch hazel would be good" and she responded with "Oh no, that's like paint stripper, you don't want that on her" before putting (I forget what it was exactly, but remember my Mum saying after that it is VERY strong, will find out what it was in a bit)

So, can anyone offer any insight as to why these things have come up? Am I being a total numpty/unfair/paranoid etc?

Thorntons chocs if you get this far :D
 
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Firstly, is he insured? If he's insured with a good company, I wouldn't bother doing anything about it, the company will pay out and its not worth the stress.

About the penicillin, I would be expecting a meeting with somebody high up in the practice, to explain exactly WHY, when they knew your horse was allergic, they used something on him, without asking. I would also insist that that be taken off the bill as you specifically asked them NOT to use it on him. They used it, their problem. I would be VERY insistent about that.

With regards to the £22 for doing nothing - when our mare had an accident rearing over backwards, she smacked her head on the ground. Vet came out for something else (vacs possibly? Cant remember). Asked him to have a very brief check that her poll was healing well. He walked over, put his hand on her poll, took it off, said it was fine. £22 examination fee! But our insurance paid so we just left it.

Cant give advice on the hibiscrub comment.

Just insist to see someone and have it talked through. I would be going absolutely ape about the penicillin though.
 
Re the penecillin - what kind of reaction does the horse have?

A horse that has a reaction to a penicillin injection is not necessarily allergic to the penicillin. In most cases the reaction is actually to procaine, which is a component of the white penicillin that is given by injection into the muscle. If procaine reaches the blood supply too quickly (e.g. if the injection accidently goes directly into a vein instead of the muscle), it can cause a very sudden, dramatic reaction including signs of hyperexcitability, manic behaviour and rearing over. Horses that have procaine reactions typically recover quickly.
 
I agree with AmyMay, discuss with the vet :)

As for penicillin, there are a number of penicillin's, it isn't just one. Just because she is allergic to one, doesn't mean she is allergic to others. They prescribe a certain penicillin depending on what infection they are fighting/preventing.
 
Thanks, the penicillin thing annoyed me a lot. Not insured either (that was stupid, I know now) which is why I was questioning it. Have a funny feeling they may be trying to bleed us dry, especially was another comment the other day about "don't use your bute on your pony, she won't eat it. Buy MINE" (She is very, very midly lame and it was just to take down any inflamation while she has a few days off)

Is there such thing as an angry smily? :p
 
Aah, yes but quirky, how did they KNOW which one she's allergic to? I understand your point though.

Amymay, she was given it at the beginning of the summer (long story) and she went groggy, and then collapsed and couldn't move/eat/drink for two days, but interesting how most horses react. Thank you :)
 
Ooo, not a good reaction at all. I can totally understand your concern.


Well, off to the phone you go and have a chat with the practice. Keep calm - write down the points you want to discuss on a pad beforehand and go from there.
 
JessandCharlie said:
Aah, yes but quirky, how did they KNOW which one she's allergic to? I understand your point though.
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There will be one type (or more) of penicillin that will have a low reaction. For example, my daughter is allergic to flucloxacillin, so is given amoxicillin as even though it may not be as effective, it won't kill her, which the fluclox could.

Also, I would say that if you think your vet is going to bleed you dry, you may want to think about changing. If you don't trust your vet I don't see how you can have a good relationship with them.
I question my vet all the way through treatment and they are more than happy to explain again and again if I don't understand. If I didn't feel I could speak to them, I'd change to one that I could :)
 
Thanks all :)

Luckily she's on the mend and will be back to her normal, lovely self in no time. (If she doesn't go off her rocker in the stable in the mean time :p)
 
I question my vet all the way through treatment and they are more than happy to explain again and again if I don't understand. If I didn't feel I could speak to them, I'd change to one that I could
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Pretty much the same for me too. And certainly when my horse was injured back in April we had quite differing views on the final part of treatment that my horse should receive and discussed it a length, weighing up pro's and cons. We went with what I wanted, which worked perfectly, but my vet was very happy to discuss all options with me.
 
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