vet in chicago?

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bethikus and mario

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Hey there

I joined the old site a while ago because my Mario had diabetes. After years of Lantus, he is in remission (has been for two years now!). Unfortunately, he now has CRF. :( He is high stage 3/low stage 4, and I don't like my vet very much. I really want to switch to a new vet, but I would like a recommendation. I want a vet who understands how much he means to me, and will work with me to keep him around as long as possible. Anyone know of a good one here in Chicago? I live in Logan Square, but Mario actually really likes car rides, and I'm willing to drive a bit for a great vet. Thanks in advance, everyone.

Beth and Mario
 
Susie, thanks for the link. I don't use that hospital (my vet is in Skokie), but it looks like a pretty good place. They even have a link to FDMB in the diabetes info page! But their FD management seems a little out of date - like advocating a low carb, high fiber diet, oral meds and not advocating home testing. And they talk about "spontaneous remission" of FD as if it happens suddenly one day and your cat is cured. Odd...

They have a nice website though. I wonder if Nicole Hollander is one of their clients because they have Sylvia cartoon cats on their site.

Beth, let us know if you want more suggestions. My vet is in Skokie (McCormick Animal Hospital - I would really recommend Dr. Fairbairn over the other two vets), so may be far for you. I can say I had a bad experience at the North Central Animal Hospital on Addison near Ravenswood ave., but it was several years ago.
 
I actually use Cat Hospital of Chicago. They will try to sell you DM/MD products but if you point out that you can feed LC at a fraction of the cost, they're fine with it. Ditto re. home testing. The vet I use, Holly Pohl, is wonderful. I just had to bring Gabby in for some GI issues and she literally spent an hour in the exam room. All of the vets there will follow up on any issue -- they do not leave you guessing. She thinks I test too much -- I laughed at her and pretty much said I'm not changing what I'm doing. When I asked why she didn't push home testing, she indicated that she had tried in the past but many owners refused or weren't interested in that level of FD management. Dr. Pohl will also put up with my challenging her and understands that I do my homework and will read the research. They are also one of the few places in the city that has veterinary nurses and laser surgery.

They were wonderful when Gabby needed surgery and when she was in critical care in the 'burbs -- Dr. Pohl called me every night to make sure I knew what was going on with Gabby -- and they were empathic with end of life issues with one of my civvies. They also will not give you a hard time about the use of pain meds -- they truly understand that cats hide pain. The only thing I would criticize about them is that they are expensive but I do think you are getting what you pay for.
 
LOL! My house call vet who I really like very much says the same thing about testing although she doesn't think I test too much - she just tells me that I'm the only one of her clients who manages her cat's diabetes this well.

Actually she told me that when she agreed to give me a prescription for Levemir even though she didn't know much about it. She said she wouldn't do that for her other people because they don't test and she knows I do minimally before each shot. She reminds herself each time she visits Moochie because she always asks what my "no shot" number is and is initially horrified when I tell her :lol:
 
hey everyone!

Thanks so much for your recommendations. I would like more, if possible. I am currently going to Carlson Animal Hospital in Oak Park, and I don't like them much at all. I did at first, but it's reaaaalllly expensive, and I had a bad experience with a doctor that went like this:

me: "Hey, Mario seems to like crunchy food, and won't eat as much of the soft food. We are trying to keep his weight up, so can I give him some of the (Renal LP) crunchy food? I know that he is supposed to eat mostly wet food, but maybe if i mix it in he'll eat more"

vet: "you can just give him some of your other cats' regular crunchy food. I'd say about an 1/8 cup a day won't hurt."
me: "Ok, thanks, great!"

month later after blood testing

vet "Mario's BUN and creatinine levels are wonky, has his diet changed?"
me: "yeah, you said I could give him a little regular cat food. I gave him way less than you recommended, because I got nervous, and that was the food he was on when he became diabetic (now in remission)
vet: "oh, i forgot he used to be diabetic. yeah, don't give him any more of that food"
me: "WTF lady?!!?!? you get paid for this. he is like my child
 
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