Entropian? and Insurance Questions

[Vermont Millie]

Hey eveyone!

I really frustrated with my most recent vet experience so I thought I would ask for some advice. Millie (1 year or so old) has been squinting and keeping one eye shut for about 4 days now. I had hopes that there was just some dirt stuck in it and was washing it out with saliene solution. But yesterday we finally got her in to the vet. Of course... I was working and had to send my bf to this new vet (bc ours wasn't open in the evenings). Apparently the vet thinks she has entropian in the upper eyelid. She sent them home with a pain killer (Temerol sp?) and Terramycin and a refferal to a VERY expensive vet eye specialist. I was completly blindsighted by entropian because I've looked and see no evidence of hairs growing in towards the eye.
At 6 months old it took us like 3 vet visits for anyone to diagnosis her with an eye ulcer. I feel like vets just know nothing about eyes. AND I sure as hell don't understand how an antiobiotic would treat entropian.

So her original symptoms were excessive tearing, squinting, its worse right when she wakes up, and the whites of her eye are exremely swollen and red.

I do plan to call the eye specialist and make an appointment but now I am increasingly worried about the cost of what I am dealing with. I so wish I had enrolled in pet insurance but the shoretst wait time after enrollment is 14 days with GoPetPlan. Without anyone saying she has entropian on "paper" my bf thinks its still possible to get the health insurance without this eye issue being a "pre-existing" condition. Any ideas?

I realize 14 days is a long time to have her in pain ... does anyone have an experience with the entropian surgery... how long did you wait to have the procedure done when you saw it?

Katie

 

[Twice]

I don't know about GoPet but I know with Trupanion there was a free 30 day/0 deductible, effective immediately trial with a certificate that I got from the vet. I can't say how good it was during that time because I still haven't submitted any bills.

Sorry about your babys eyes. Hopefully the specialist will say that it is something simple and easily fixed.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

I have Trupanion ..never used it. But my understanding is this particular ins co covers genetic problems like entropian..as long as it was NOT diagnosed before you took insurance out. A lot of the insurance companies would never even cover things like entropian because they consider it a genetic thing. I'm not sure..but it might be nearly impossible to hide the fact you knew when you took out policy. I'm sorry..I have no definitive help for you! I'm going to tag [MENTION=2091]BabyDuke[/MENTION]..her sweet guy had lots of eye problems and she has insurance.

 

[izstigspunks]

Not to rain on the parade but there's a good possibility that they'll consider it pre-existing seeing Millie had eye problems before. But there's the care credit option you can do, where it's interest free for half a year I think. It's highly recommended here.

 

[BabyDuke]

oh Lord... I do feel for you.. Duke had the same issues.. we have gopetplan and i really think they will consider this pre-exisiting

the problem is your pup will keep getting ulcers which are so painful. Duke actually scratched his eye til it bled and we had to take him to the ER vet where they diagnosed him with entropian . from there we went to a vet opthamologist who did a great job. Our surgery was a little over $3000 BUT he had entropian in both eyes AND distachis. ( inward rolling of the eyelashes ) so he needed major work.. Maybe with it being in one eye for your guy it won't be nearly as expensive.. I am going to RETAG [MENTION=2092]JAKEISGREAT[/MENTION] to tell you about care credit which might be your best option.. Please stay in touch and keep us updated and feel free to ask any questions. I am also tagging [MENTION=2099]LucysMum[/MENTION] who had entropian as well. Every dog is different so hang in there.. BIG HUGS to you both

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

I'm baaaack! I always recommend Carecredit. It's like a credit card you can apply for online or even in most vets offices.you can also use it at human dentists..LASIK surgery..etc. iit is interest free..for a specified period that they set up according to how much you are charging. You have to make the payments they set up for you. It's just a payment plan with zero interest if you pay it off on time. It can be up to 24 months to pay back...hope this helps you.

 

[Twice]

If it helps at all, I have a 2200.00 balance on my CareCredit with 24 months interest free. My payments are 89.00 a month. In contrast, Abby's Trupanion with 50.00 deductible and the optional dysplasia package is 56.00 a month.

 

[LucysMum]

I have go pet plan as well. I know they ask for all of the physician notes and they will not cover a pre existing condition. So, if your vet took any notes they probably will deny the claim.

I personally would not delay the surgery. Depending on the severity...left untreated the scraping and irritation could cause serious eye damage. Once the ulcers start to develop you are really running out of options.

I want to say the surgery (traditional hotz procedure for entropian) done at an eye specialist ran about $1200. I was lucky because the breeder picked up the bill for that because we had a pretty solid health guarantee.

Good luck with everything. I wish you all of the best.

 

[Vermont Millie]

Thanks everyone for your input! I called Gopetplan and asked a ton of questions. I wasn't worried about "hiding" the fact that I know there is an eye issue because my Vet assured me she would change the date of the referral and notes. BUT Gopetplan basically told me that a corneal ulcer 6 months ago (in the other eye which was caused by a physical stick btw)... would mean that any other eye related issue would be pre-existing. Such a load of


Anywayyyy ... I ended up calling the vet again because I couldn't see any rolling of her eyelids She basically told me that its not entropian but distichiasis. She only saw 1 eyelash on the upper eye lid which curled in towards the eye. She also claimed that she saw some corneal scarring where the eyelash hit. I read online that the vet can simply tweeze the hair or freeze the hair follicle. I am clearly going to bring her to the specialist but I could literally tweeze this eyelash so I hope this doesn't require surgery.

Does anyone have experience with this? I can't get her seen by the opthamologist for 8 days and the suspense is killing me

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

I think we have a few with eyelash issues..@desertskybulldogs . @Libra926

 

[nyerathrt]

titan had entropian surgery on both eyes and each eye cost approx. 200 dollars each total....so it was very inexpensive...and i live in ny right outside of the city so prices will be high here.

 

[Libra926]

O had an eye lash that caused an ulcer. Our vet tweezed it. He put her on an antibiotic and tramadol. A few Weeks later we went back to have another eyelash tweezed. No problems since Sept. Do not try it by yourself. More harm can come if you hit the eye. Her eyelid did not roll...just a funky eyelash.

 

[LucysMum]

Me again! Lucy has distichiasis (inward eyelashes). Our specialist suggested the similar surgery that corrects entropian--the hotz procedure. He felt changing the lid direction would give Lucy the best chance and keeping her eyes free of abrasions from the lashes. Lucy also has dry eye. That can also cause the "haze" or corneal scarring. That is helped with eye drops. It is great that you are going to a specialist. They will really be able to give you a better diagnosis and point you in the right direction.

In the meantime you can use rewetting drops. My opthamologist suggests we use the product called BLINK. You can buy it in a regular drug store. Apply the drops a few times a day and hopefully it will give your pup some relief. It is a temporary fix but may help until you get to the specialist. It certainly cant cause any harm.

We haven't moved on to doing anything else with the lashes. You can see them but as long as they are not scratching her eye we are leaving them alone. My eye doc told me that many dogs can live with distichiasis and also entropian--it is when they start to irritate the eye is when it is best to take action.

You may get lucky and as [MENTION=572]Libra926[/MENTION] mentioned your vet may just pull a few lashes out and see if your pup gets any relief. I pull lashes out of my Lucy--but don't suggest that you do it. My doc helped me and taught me the correct motion to use and my girl sits really well as I "operate".

Thankfully Lucy had her eye surgery to correct her lid direction well over two years ago and she is doing great. Aside from eyedrops twice a day and we do visit the specialist for checkups--she is doing really well.

Please let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck.