Some medications need to be given for prolonged periods of time or perhaps for the rest of your pet’s life. To monitor your pet’s health, make sure that the drug is still working as it should be, and reduce the risk of toxicity or other harmful effects, your pet may need to be tested periodically. This may include blood tests, urine tests, or other tests as determined by your veterinarian, and these tests may be required before your veterinarian will provide a refill or refill prescription. This is particularly important with drugs like insulin and thyroid medications, where over- or underdosing can be life-threatening. A more common example is heartworm medication – your pet should be regularly checked for heartworm infection because giving the preventive to a heartworm-positive pet will not treat the infection and could cause a harmful adverse reaction. Also, local, state and federal laws may require regular rechecks before refills are authorized.
Below is a list of some common medications which will require monitoring of blood and urine; frequency may vary dependent upon your pet’s medication and condition. This list is not comprehensive; should you have a question regarding your pet’s medication, please call the office.
Arthritis or pain relief: deracoxib (Deramaxx), meloxicam (Metacam), carprofen (Rimadyl), firocoxib (Prevacox), robenacoxib (Onsior), grapiprant (Galliprant), tramadol, gabapentin
Heart Disease: digoxin, enalapril, benazepril, furosemide (Salix), pimobendan (Vetmedin)
Epilepsy or seizures: phenobarbital, potassium bromide (K-BroVet), zonasamide, levetiracetam (Keppra)
Hypothyroidism: levothyroxine (ThyroTabs)
Hyperthyroidism: methimazole (Felimazole)
Allergies: diphenhydramine (Benedryl), hydroxyzine (Atarax), prednisone, prednisolone, methylprednisolone, dexamethasone, triamcinolone (Vetalog), cyclosporine (Atopica), oclacitinib (Apoquel)
Urethral Incontinence: Phenylpropanolamine (Proin)
Hyperadrenocorticism: Trilostane (Vetoryl), mitotane (Lysodren)
Hypoadrenocorticism: desoxycorticosterone (Percorten or Zycortal)
