Ruckus 08/18/2021

Zorrain

Member Since 2021
Hello my Cat friends,

Ruckus's had his appointment yesterday at VCA Canada Western Veterinary Specialist and Emergency Centre. It was a bit of a stressful start because the specialist that was supposed to see Ruckus fell ill 40 min before his appointment, they had asked if I wanted to switch the appointment but couldn't get me in till September 1 2021. We ended up still bringing him in but was with a different specialist at the vet clinic. My boyfriend came with us so that Ruckus would not feel stressed out, he likes my boyfriend more :(. Ok so during the meeting with the specialist 'Dr. Amelie Pare' she has essentially told me everything I already knew. She seemed very nice and the clinic was something out of a movie. So she agreed with the suggestion for Ruckus to take Cabergoline which I just found out today will be $255 for 32 tablets... holy guacamole. She gave me her personal email and seem very caring and I told her money is extremely tight. We also discussed radiation treatment but she said its $10,000 pre treatment and can have serious side effects, this treatment won't be something I can afford or want to do. She told me this in her second cat she has treated with acromegaly and it's a serious disease. The appointment was extremely intense and I thought they have some kind of magical fix. Feeling extremely sad and overwhelmed, I don't under how it can be this expensive to keep such a amazing animal alive. I'm going to add some photos in comments so keep a eye out for that. Okay so now where do we go.

  • Cabergoline 0.5 mg tablets 1.25 every other day $255.00 for 32 days, where can I find this cheaper in Canada. (Alberta hopefully) This price way out my budget with the insulin, strips, needles like how can they charge this amount.
  • He's currently at 17 units of insulin so what everyone opinion on his BG numbers
  • Where can I find gabapentin the cheapest, she also suggestion not to use the liquid form because it might have sugars in it, I never thought of that one.
  • Any other suggestions



Thanks from Ruckus and Zorrain :)
 
Where can I find gabapentin the cheapest, she also suggestion not to use the liquid form because it might have sugars in it, I never thought of that one.

Caborgoline is a human medication so should be available at a human pharmacy. Call around to see if you can find a better price. Also, if you do a Google search for a "compounding pharmacy", most of them can make pretty much anything without sugar if they know to avoid it.
 
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The first FDMB cat on cabergoline was in Montreal. She had her cabergoline compounded as a liquid and it was cheaper than what you were quoted. The blanket statement that medications are more expensive in Canada than the USA is just not true. It depends on the medication. What size dose are they suggesting you give? Liquid medications offer more flexibility in dosing.
We also discussed radiation treatment but she said its $10,000 pre treatment and can have serious side effects, this treatment won't be something I can afford or want to do.
I thought it would be expensive there. When I looked there for SRT, it was one of the more expensive places. But other locations are quite a bit further away for you, and right now you can't travel to the US. She is wrong about the serious side effects. With SRT there are few side effects, if any, and they are not major. Neko had no side effects. From reading about the vets there, sounds like Dr. Henderson has more knowledge about endocrine diseases. Too bad you couldn't see her.

If you get gabapentin compounded, just ask the pharmacy not to put sugars in. None of Neko's compounded medications had sugar in them. I always talked to the pharmacist before getting the prescription filled. When I did try gabapentin for Neko, I just gave pills which weren't very expensive. I got them from the vet. They didn't do much for her so I stopped it after a short trial.

It's hard to comment on his BG numbers without any tests at night. Many cats go lower at night.
 
I am wondering about the dose they suggested, which is 1 and a quarter of a .5 mg tablet every other day, which is .625 mg.

How much does Ruckus weigh? The starting dose is 10 micrograms per kilogram and can be given daily or every other day, depending on the cat and how they respond.
 
32 tablets at the dose they suggested of 1.25 tablets per day would give you approximately 25 doses which would be 50 days (with the every other day dosing schedule.).
 
I am wondering about the dose they suggested, which is 1 and a quarter of a .5 mg tablet every other day, which is .625 mg.

How much does Ruckus weigh? The starting dose is 10 micrograms per kilogram and can be given daily or every other day, depending on the cat and how they respond.
Almost 15 pounds
 
Caborgoline is a human medication so should be available at a human pharmacy. Call around to see if you can find a better price. Also, if you do a Google search for a "compounding pharmacy", most of them can make pretty much anything without sugar if they know to avoid it.
So I having a hard time finding it cheaper. Like next to impossible
 
How do I know if a website is legit or not?

That site specifically says "WARNING PLEASE READ! This product is a very potent chemical. This product is NOT for human use and can be harmful if ingested. This product is for research/laboratory use only. This product is NOT in a sterile solution and is NOT to be injected. This product should only be handled by licensed, qualified professionals. This product is not a drug, food, or cosmetic and should not be misbranded, misused or mislabeled as a drug, food or cosmetic."
 
That site specifically says "WARNING PLEASE READ! This product is a very potent chemical. This product is NOT for human use and can be harmful if ingested. This product is for research/laboratory use only. This product is NOT in a sterile solution and is NOT to be injected. This product should only be handled by licensed, qualified professionals. This product is not a drug, food, or cosmetic and should not be misbranded, misused or mislabeled as a drug, food or cosmetic."
I thought maybe they just have to add that for legal reasons, I don't under why some be fine to take and some is not, it says its .5mg
 
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