Do you know what one of the most common things we see our patients for is? "Doc, he aint right." It is so common we call these cases "ADR's". A client can't always pinpoint what exactly is wrong- maybe it a look they are giving them- maybe it is that he only fetched 3 times and he is usually good for 5 fetches. The pet is not vomiting, or having diarrhea, or coughing, or sneezing, etc. They are just not themselves, and observant owners are to be complimented on noticing these subtle symptoms.
So how can we tell if the owner is overreacting or picking up on early disease? We can't and we shouldn't even try. We begin with a thorough examination of the pet. Unfortunately, when the pet is not showing any particular symptoms, the veterinarian and owner have a more difficult time finding out what the pet's problem is. Often, screening laboratory tests and/or X-rays must be performed an attempt to find out why the pet is not acting normally.
Hopefully the answer jumps right out at us and you caught something very early. But this may not be the case. We may find nothing! Is this where we yell at you for wasting our time? Is this where we tell you you are a worry wort? Nope. This is where we tell you there may be nothing going on or it may be so early in the illness process that we cannot detect anything. This is where we wait and see if the pet gets better or starts showing more symptoms that focus us in the direction we need to go.
Medicine is rarely black and white. We have many diagnostic tools which are great. However, they are not the end all be all of the story. YOU are sometimes our most powerful tool. Your observations are elemental in this great detective game we call medicine. YOU are your pet's advocate. They can't speak for themselves. Never ignore your gut and never let anyone in "authority" ignore you.
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