Follow up appointments can be very vital to your pets health. A reassessment by your veterinarian can determine your pets response to any kind of therapy, whether it be medication for an ear infection, to supplements for a thyroid imbalance, to injections for severe allergies. Often times, revision of the treatment based on response to therapy is not only important but in many cases, absolutely critical to a successful outcome. Many of medications that veterinarians use contain steroids. Steroids are meant to reduce inflammation to sooth your pets discomfort quickly, so a problem can appear to be better. You might notice your pet seeming to not itch as much, or rub their ears anymore; but that doesnt necessarily mean the problem is cured. Other times medications may have been only partially effective at clearing an infection; however, often these things are not 100% fixed. At this point a decision needs to be made as to continuing therapy longer, changing therapy, or looking for an different underlying cause for the persistent infection. In human medicine, medications play an important role in health care, as long as the correct dose is given and side effects are carefully monitored by a physician. Many times, veterinarians will recommend blood panels before starting your pet on medication. For example, anti-inflammatory pain-medications (NSAIDs), just like with humans, can have long-term effects or exacerbate certain medical conditions like liver disease or kidney disease. Your veterinarian wants to be sure out pets can safely take these medications, especially our older animals. Also, if your pet has, say, a thyroid insufficiency, the blood panels will help us determine if the medication is correctly dosed and maintained. This is why veterinarians often recommend doing blood work several times after starting a medication. Without follow up appointments or rechecking blood panels, your veterinarian is basically left with making an educated guess and assumptions about whether our own pet is getting better or not. Unfortunately, especially with chronic and frustrating conditions like skin disease or diabetes, there is just no way of knowing, and ultimately of helping, unless we look again. If your veterinarian recommends rechecking your pet after an initial exam, it is in your pets best interest to follow-up!
Posted on: Sat, 17 May 2014 16:37:25 +0000
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