Is pain a fair price to pay to obtain a diagnosis?
I like when things are clear and simple.
I wish there was a book that contained the best way to make difficult decisions. You follow the advice. All is well.
Unfortunately, very few things are that simple. And it’s not just about medical procedures alone. Sometimes it’s just as much about WHO should do it as it is about WHAT should be done.
But whatever criteria you choose to use only work when there are reasonable options. What if you have only one reasonable option, take it or leave it but you don’t really like it so much at all?
Case in point
What if you make an appointment with a specialist because you believe you should but you’re not all that unhappy when weather and road conditions make it impossible to show up for it?
Should you take a hint?
That appointment was our only window for the next two months. Unless we are going to drive a long way to see another specialist, I felt it was the right thing to do. Maybe. The pressure of taking it or leaving it was high. I couldn’t take it.
Please, no pain
When your appointment notes start with “Please, no pain,” in big red letters, is it the best thing to do?
I understand that diagnostics are sometimes invasive and that sometimes some pain is unavoidable. But how much pain is really necessary? I believe that the specialist does have all the needed expertise. I understand that having just one appointment to diagnose things might warrant a different approach than when you can see the dog repeatedly over a short period of time. But how far does one need to push the pain to come to a diagnostic conclusion?
Jasmine’s vet has never caused her pain.
His miracle diagnostic hands could tell things without manipulating the body to the extreme. I believe it should be possible to get enough information from subtle things. I know he could.
I felt I should not pass the opportunity as it were. But should I have stood by while Cookie was made to cry during the examination? And if I stopped it, which was what I was going to do, would the whole appointment have been just a waste of time?
A sign from above
Then the weather got bad and the roads terrible.
Having tried to make the trip would have been highly unsafe. I was upset and yet I was relieved at the same time. A higher power has spoken and there was nothing we could do.
I was not all that unhappy. Rant over.
Related articles:
Figuring out What Might Be Going on with Cookie’s Legs: The Diagnosis
Further reading:
Orthopedic Examination