Wednesday, September 17, 2014

A timely warning

Over the last year we have noticed a growing trend for local pharmacies to offer pet medications but there is an issue that many people are not aware aware of - veterinary shorthand for prescriptions is actually different from the one that a doctor uses. Now many medications that are used for humans can be used for pets too - but in different amounts and this is where the problem can occur. For example - Mr Reilly takes a number of different medications for his thyroid and arthritis/pain but when we went to get this at a local pharmacy (something we don't normally do but our vet had run out) they got the dosage all wrong (luckily Mom checked this right there at the counter and told the pharmacist it was wrong)   Sometimes pharmacists who are use to doing people prescriptions are not aware of the different symbols veterinarians use and over or under dosing can occur. So before using an ordinary pharmacist for your pet medications take the time to ask them if they know the veterinary shorthand - ask your vet what the correct dosage should be and check it immediately when picking it up. If in doubt - stick with the medications your Vet provides or go through one of reputable pet meds sites.


Here is some additional information we found on the topic.

http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm325222.htm

http://wnow.worldnow.com/story/20559321/warning-fda

29 comments:

  1. OMD thank god mum checked the dosages. We don't have pharmacists dealing with animal medication here. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
    Best wishes Molly

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, you would think vets and doctors would all do it uniformly, especially with all the advances in medicine and so many dogs taking human meds.

    ReplyDelete
  3. So glad your Mom thought to check this. My Mom probably would just ASSume! Although she did catch a mistake that was made AT THE VET's when a tech put the wrong mg into our bottle of meds. So word to the wise......check no matter where you get the meds.

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think we have only ever had one vet prescription for an animal. If/when we need to have one again, we will check it carefully.

    ReplyDelete
  5. thanks for your advice, it's so important to check the dosage, it can end in a disaster when you pick the wrong one. we did that too with the heart pills of our husky, he gag was, that the same pills for humans were 2/3 cheaper than the pills what were made for pets... crazy.

    ReplyDelete
  6. We did not know that you could get dog med's at the pharmacy but it does make sense, thank you though for that warning we would have never thought about watching for that.....great info!!
    stella rose and momma

    ReplyDelete
  7. OMP! We never thought about that my friends. Thank you so much for telling us. This is very important and I can see where the differences could be made. WOW! XOXO - Bacon

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for the PSA.
    We did not know the pharmacy could fill scripts.

    xo Cinnamon

    ReplyDelete
  9. My comment got ate by blogger :(

    Thank you for the safety warning.
    We did not know about scripts from the local pharmacy being filled fur us animals.Your Mom is very aware and conscientious.
    xo Cinnamon

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow…. good to know. Thanks.
    Wags,
    Ranger

    ReplyDelete
  11. OMD OMD THIS is a NEW ONE TO US... even with ME (Frankie Furter) taking Eye Medicine that was originally intended fur PEEPS...
    We had NO idea that OUR DOGTORS used different thingys from our Peeps Doctors use.

    THANKS fur this VERY IMPAWTANT WARNING.

    Pee S.... we get MY eye med. from Pet Meds... We had mom Check the Pharmacy at Wally World... and the tube they were going to sell us... was SMALLER and Cost the SAME... butt the Dosage and strength were exactly the same.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That's good to know. We've never used the pharmacy for prescriptions for the pups, but we will remember this if we do. Thanks!

    Monty and Harlow

    ReplyDelete
  13. We get our meds at the pharmacy. Good info. We will double check all our stuffs
    Snorts
    Lily & Edward

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is important info for sure. We have a pharmacy in town that advertises they do pet prescriptions and prescription compounding. Bailey is the only one on a prescription - Deramaxx - and our vet sell it to us at their cost.
    hugs
    Mr Bailey & Hazel

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a very good PSA!! If we do ever have to use a human pharmacy we will make sure to check everything very carefully!
    Smileys!
    Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo

    ReplyDelete
  16. This is an excellent point to make, Reilly. Nevermind just trying to READ the doc's handwriting but to know the different shorthands used. I am so glad you mom is a label reader. We wouldn't want you to get the wrong dose!
    Oz

    ReplyDelete
  17. A very good message for all - everyone can make a mistake, but you just have to stay on top of it all. We don't know what you use for the thyroid meds, but Mom says you can't beat the price of soloxine from Dr. Fosters and Smith. And the service is great, almost as good as Chewy:)

    Woos - Phantom, Ciara, and Lightning

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks. That's good to know. We don't think our chemists do animal prescriptions, but at least we've been warned.

    ReplyDelete
  19. important info, thanks for bringing it to our attention!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Every time we wanted to try a human pharmacy, they didn't have what we needed, so we decided to forget it and just stick with the vet.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Yep, Mom always checks with the Vet on the people meds before we get anything! Very good info! He even tells Mom what Glucosamine to use for Shadow

    The Mad Scots

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thank goodness your mom was on top of things, Reilly! This is excellent information! Thank you!

    Love ya lots♥
    Mitch and Molly

    ReplyDelete
  23. Good information to have, thanks!

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

    ReplyDelete
  24. Oh, I didn't knows that! Thanks for the heads up...not that I needs anythings...yet, butts I might!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

    ReplyDelete
  25. Great advice guys thanks! Love Dolly

    ReplyDelete
  26. I had no idea that you could get your pet's medicine filled at a regular pharmacy. How interesting! I think I'll stick to the vet though ;)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Very good info guys..Forrest gets his meds from our chemist..and the dosage etc is always spot on...the only difference was hat te vet meds were about 140 dollars a month as opposed to 33 dollars for the same amount..great post hugs Fozziemum xxx

    ReplyDelete
  28. I have noticed this trend too. There used to be only one compounding center that would fill veterinary prescriptions in the entire city of Seattle. One! In the whole city. I remember sighing "oh good" when I noticed signs at a few other pharmacies saying they now fill vet prescriptions. But I had no idea that this could actually be putting pets at risk!! Thank you so, so much for this very important warning.

    Also thank you for your kind words on my blog yesterday. It means so much!

    ReplyDelete
  29. OMD! We have never gotten meds at the pharmacy but I did see another pet parent pick some up there. Thanks for the tip, I'd have not thought about it being different from our doctor to our pet's doctor!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for woofing at us - we read each and every one of them