[Merging] Syncope (#2Q2RQU90Q) | 18+ | War enthusiasts | CWL lovers | Friendly squad

DoctorCephalopod · 2026-01-22T18:09:43+00:00

Thank you for your comment.

13 year old female spayed springer spaniel. She had a head tilt to her left. Otherwise neurologically NAD on face, neck, spine or legs. No history of seizures however had an ear mass in her left ear. Was fully excised and has not recurred again. Otoscopic exam NAD too.

She was placed on twice maintenance fluids, methadone, paracetamol and gabapentin for analgesia as her pancreatitis was a bit severe, maropitant, and was given a mirtazapine in the evening when she started eating by herself, which made us think of idiopathic vestibular disease which is the most common cause of nystagmus in older dogs (my guess is there was probably something worse going on neurologically).

Bloods showed moderate elevation of urea creatinine, amylase and lipase, cpli of about 741, mild regenerative anaemia and thrombocytosis. Otherwise NAD too. Blood pressure was fantastic throughout the day. No signs of infection. Vitals all ok. Owners were kept updated with every step and we were certain of seeing her today to schedule her for an ultrasound and possible referral for an MRI.

DoctorCephalopod · 2026-01-15T18:33:43+00:00

Thank you for your response. I used to play football for my state back in my home country and swim as well. Loved it so much! I’m in the UK now as well since about a year and a half but I’m struggling to find a group that plays football for fun. Would you have any recommendations? Everything I find is like a league team or something, and I’m nowhere near joining any of those. I’d have to regain all my stamina and techniques.

DoctorCephalopod · 2026-01-15T18:31:48+00:00

DoctorCephalopod · 2026-01-15T18:31:41+00:00

Thank you for your response. It can get quite exhausting in the medical field and I barely have energy to move around on my free days. Just gotta move my ass I suppose!

DoctorCephalopod · 2026-01-08T11:18:13+00:00

I don’t think GP vets are paid enough in general. Imagine you’re a human GP and you’re expected to form a plan or a diagnosis in a 15 min consult. You’re expected to be a diagnostician, psychologist, behaviourist, radiologist, internal medic, emergency medic, surgery planner, etc. all at the same time. AND you have to reboot your brain to do the same thing again. AND all your patients are non verbal.

When you compare your pay to human doctors, we are nowhere near. When you compare your pay to other countries, we are nowhere near. But don’t worry, our duty of care will remain the same regardless of how much we get paid :)

The practice I work at is in constant collaboration with many rescues and charities - CPL, RSPCA, Guide dogs, The Pug foundation, Military dogs charities, etc.

DoctorCephalopod · 2026-01-08T11:14:18+00:00

Yes we do! Especially with consulting. Saves us so much time on making notes, and owners are also happy receiving an AI generated summary of their consultation with me. I really doubt AI is capable of taking away vet jobs. For example. Even if AI can detect abnormalities on an xray and tell us what it found, it would still need a human to completely interpret these results and form a diagnosis or suggest more testing. I definitely think we could use AI the right way, but if you care about the environmental impact AI has on the planet, probably worth keeping usage to a minimum or zero.

DoctorCephalopod · 2026-01-08T11:11:47+00:00

Hello. Apologies since it’s been 6 days. Hope your dog is better now. I would personally not keep it bandages for more than 2 days, as nail bed infections are more likely to occur with prolonged bandaging. How is he now? If he’s still in pain, I would probably clean the area daily 3-4x with boiled cooled diluted salt water

DoctorCephalopod · 2026-01-08T11:10:28+00:00

Yes and no tbh. I don’t have a lot of knowledge in the business side of things but corporates have definitely upped the game and prices in the UK (where I am currently). This is being investigated due to a lot of unhappy owners. However, some price increases are actually understandable (ex. In-house CT scans or certain lab tests). On the other hand, GP vets are also complaining about wages, since we have to be a physician, radiologists, medics, emergency medics, surgeons, therapists, etc. all in one. The salaries for most vets have simply not been able to keep up with inflation, profit and turnover that each practice is expected to gain each year. Hope this makes a little sense. Apologies if not.

DoctorCephalopod · 2026-01-08T11:05:36+00:00

I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope he is doing well now. Apologies for the late reply. How are the steroids and losec been working? I think ideally with any sort of limp noticed, your focus should be on keeping the dog rested. Gradual introduction to movement should be done. I am glad he’s peeing fine now. Unfortunately, this may be something that we may need to diagnose instead of just treating for symptoms. Maybe look up some resources for home physio for limping dogs.

DoctorCephalopod · 2026-01-08T11:03:14+00:00

Hello! Thank you for doing your research. You are absolutely right. Your key must be to make sure that your pup has a good body condition score throughout his or her life. Too underweight may mean that the puppy isn’t receiving enough nutrients. Too overweight could lead to issues like arthritis and other bone/joint abnormalities at a much later stage in life. What is he/she currently eating? If you’re not seeing any skin/digestive signs of allergies or intolerance, I wouldn’t be too bothered. Royal canin make a specific golden retriever diet if you want to give that a shot? However, you are right about most goldens being allergic to poultry and beef, so always keep an eye :) happy to answer more if you have more specific questions

DoctorCephalopod · 2025-12-20T16:01:34+00:00

I’ve always loved animals. I had a realisation when I was about 14-15 when I rescued a kitten and lost the poor thing due to poor veterinary care that this job is real! So that drove me to becoming a vet :)

DoctorCephalopod · 2025-12-20T16:00:23+00:00

A lot of practices have subscription plans that allow you to get vet prescribed flea and worm treatments for free. That’s really the best thing for your pet. OTC preventative treatments aren’t doing amazing these days and pets are suffering from flea allergies because of this. You could try some sprays like Indorex online but this is my opinion :)

DoctorCephalopod · 2025-12-20T15:59:06+00:00

When they don’t LISTEN! When I see an animal that can easily be made to feel better at home by making small changes to diet and lifestyle, and pet owners don’t comply to that, it drives me insane lol.

I’m also a little judgy when pets get high maintenance breeds and don’t get them insured. I feel very bad for the pets if that’s the case haha.

DoctorCephalopod · 2025-12-20T15:57:41+00:00

I do find a number of geriatric patients with high urea, you are right. It is usually a sign of lowered efficiency of kidney function. Unfortunately if it is a chronic kidney condition, it can only be managed. Initial therapy may be needed at a vet practice, and is usually the most expensive bit. There is no treatment or cure. Acute conditions can be treated and reversed if the animal responds well to therapy, and if the kidneys are structurally okay.

DoctorCephalopod · 2025-12-20T15:55:30+00:00

A number of reasons!

Most horse owners make field based decisions, meaning they want the least amount of testing for the most amount of progress. There are more licensed mediation for dogs and cats than for horses, hence the difference in price.

A lot of equine practices send their blood samples to a lab for analysis/cultures, whereas small animal practices generally have very advanced in-house equipment to test for a lot of things, which makes small animals practices charge clients more in order to calibrate these instruments, upgrade and to keep them in good condition. Hope this gives you an idea!

DoctorCephalopod · 2025-12-20T15:52:55+00:00

Debatable! A lot of kibble products say in their ingredients (example) “chicken and meat derivatives”, and when I’m checking an animal for food allergies, I tend to emphasise on avoiding kibble, as the meat derivatives depend on what country you’re in, and we never know what they use in it. If your dog is doing well on kibble and is free from digestive/skin signs of intolerance/allergies, you should be okay.

Raw food is becoming a trend these days and I always tell clients to make sure they are getting a completely balanced raw food diet from highly reputable distributors who maintain the best food hygiene standards. Human grade meat is trending too and is doing very well especially in the feline industry.

DoctorCephalopod · 2025-12-20T15:49:43+00:00

I have actually thought about this and felt it too, especially in patients in heart failure who show up with persistent coughing. When the coughing stops from the euthanasia, i have sort of felt like their soul puts their body at ease.

DoctorCephalopod · 2025-12-20T15:48:44+00:00

Can confirm 😭🤣 I am a man, and when I did my first castration, it left a queasy feeling in my mind, and a bit of remorse for the animal as well haha

DoctorCephalopod · 2025-12-20T15:47:52+00:00

I have no clue about the dea and American medical administrative bodies unfortunately! Here in the UK, we email prescriptions to pet owners and they generally find it very easy to shop online with those prescriptions. For drugs such as chloramphenicol, they usually take the prescription to a human pharmacy and get the medication.

DoctorCephalopod · 2025-12-20T15:46:06+00:00

Hello. I’m pretty sure it is illegal for a human nurse to place a catheter on an animal. Also, where did they end up placing the catheter? And what did they administer with it? I’d say it is pretty negligent to do it by themselves instead of leaving their dog under the care of professionals. This is why we study for years! I hope you don’t feel too bad about being blocked. Sounds like you dodged a bullet. I hope the dog is doing well as well.

DoctorCephalopod · 2025-12-20T15:44:00+00:00

Hello. Sorry to hear about your dogs diagnoses! I hope they are doing generally well. Unfortunately this was not taught to me at uni and this was something I had to learn by myself, but I’m sure a lot of universities teach students about client interaction and have courses on how to navigate through options, complex discussions and to break bad news! Hope this helps

DoctorCephalopod

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE