First thing is first- how do you know if your pet needs medications?

Physical exams and getting a thorough history on how your pet is behaving and feeling are the keys to knowing if your pet has a need for either short term or long term medications. How long they should be on medications depends on what is going on physically (or emotionally) with them. No matter the duration of treatment, the next steps are important. Sometimes the veterinarian will decide to hold off on any bloodwork but medical progress exams are always necessary to follow up on how the treatment plan is going and if anything needs to be changed. Continue reading to understand more about the steps we take to ensure you and your pet are getting the best care possible.

Your pet needs to start on medications, but why would we need bloodwork before then?

Bloodwork is very important to check on the status of organs that may be affected by the medications we want to give.  This will tell us if the pet is already having some stress on organs like the liver and kidney which are the most common places medications are metabolized and excreted. If they are already compromised from some reason we may change the type of medication we are putting them on and/or support the liver and kidneys with supplementation or diet change before or during any medication trials.

Your pet is now on medications, what’s next?

Some medications could be toxic to the liver or kidneys after any duration of treatment which is why routine screening should be done 3 weeks after starting the medications and at least every 6 months after that. If the values change for either the liver or the kidney it is a sign that those organs are becoming compromised and we should think about changing medications, supplements, or diet.

Other medication levels should be monitored to make sure they are at levels appropriate for treating disease, which would include phenobarbital and thyroid levels. The phenobarbital level makes sure that there are adequate levels of the medication in the system to be effective. The thyroid levels check to make sure that the medications are either lowering or increasing the thyroid hormone in the body until they are in optimal ranges. These tests are also time sensitive and the time you check the blood is either before or after a certain time frame from giving the medication. These are peak or trough levels which are important for knowing when the levels are lowest or highest.

Why else is it important to come in for medical progress exams?

In addition to making sure the medications are working like they are supposed to and are not harming the liver or kidneys we also want to monitor how the medications are working on clinical signs and if the medications are working.

This is when we sit down with you and talk about how you think your pet is doing- if they’ve improved, worsened, or had no changes. It’s also important to know if you can give the medications as they are prescribed- can you give the medications without a struggle, can you give them as often as the label says. Sometimes these things can be difficult to admit, but it is very important your pet gets the medications as they are prescribed. We are sometimes able to change the method of giving the medication to either change how easy it is to give- maybe transdermal instead of an oral or changing the dose so it only has to be given once instead of twice.

We understand this can be a difficult process, but we are here to make things as easy as they can be for both you and your pet, which is why it is so important to communicate if you are having difficulty giving medications as prescribed, notice an adverse reaction (like vomiting or diarrhea), or you aren’t noticing improvements. You are one of the most important parts of your pet’s treatment, so it is vital that you speak to us before making any changes in stopping the medications or how you are giving them.