I should have my head buried in keys right now…but instead I find myself writing about a veterinarian mistake. Maybe to calm me down? Or maybe to help someone else. So pre key rehab must be on pause.
Angel wasn’t feeling well so we took her in to see our trusted veterinarian. We love our vet; they’ve taken really good care of her and all our other pets minus Tango; he’s fearful and in turns scares the stuff out the team there so he goes to another. The Dr told us she seems hydrated, heart murmur is still at level 3, and seems fine other than the not eating and losing 2 pounds in a few months. (that’s a lot for a little kitty) So she gave us an appetite stimulate
and did a full chemistry panel including a thyroid test to check her levels since she’s hyperthyroid.
Thankfully the stimulant worked, Dishion; my son wasn’t happy being woken up in the middle of the night for food but glad she ate!
I got a call at 8am, practically as soon as the veterinarian office opened….I knew something wasn’t right because they never call that early. Her blood work came back fine….even her kidney levels — and that was our concern since she also has kidney disease. BUT her thyroid was over 20 and should be 5ish. The vet says it’s like she isn’t even getting her medication. I told her we’re giving it to her twice day and asked if it could be the new brand of pill
we have.
You see; I picked up the new bottle in December and started her on it around the 20th. When I opened it I noticed it was no longer a white round pill but an oval/squared edged pill with 0|5 on it. I thought about calling the vet to see why they changed brands out of curiosity but figured I’m too nosey and left it alone. Today…right now…I’m kicking myself for not following up.
The veterinarian said they haven’t changed brands and the pill has always been round and white.
My heart drops. What the #@$% have I been giving my baby?
I calm myself before going into the office to show them what I have and pick up the correct meds. I don’t want to go off on them…I have before (incident with Tango) and hated myself for it. The staff really is amazing. And
besides…we (JLP) have made mistakes too. It happens, nothing is full proof. I get in the “where do we go from here” mindset and head on up there.
Evidently they gave Angel a dog’s hypothyroid pill instead of a cat’s hyperthyroid pill. Upon hearing this I just cried. What did that do to her, to her heart? We were discussing euthanasia because of this last episode. We thought this was it!!!! So I just cried.
The Dr is doing everything they can to find it what happened and will make it up to us and ensure it will never happened again. I just want Angel ok. I don’t want any adverse effects to her heath — worse than it already is.
I got home and gave her the correct pill and sat to write this.
The veterinarians and staff love animals. They never want to make mistakes like this and it obviously wasn’t done on purpose. The problem? This mistake could have been a deadly mistake. I’m aware of it,
they’re aware of it. But it didn’t turn deadly. Thank goodness I mentioned the new shape of the pill and thank goodness the vet suggested blood work yesterday.
The lesson? Don’t just assume the “new” pill is a new brand. Double check with your vet and even your pharmacist handing you your meds. There was a show or something on the news a long time ago suggesting you double check your meds all the time and I blew it off…I mean really that’ll never happen right? So I found a few websites that can help identify pills (please note this is a database for human medications only. Currently there is NOT a drug database for pets. BUT WE NEED ONE!):
Drugs.com: https://www.drugs.com/pill_identification.html
Good Rx: https://www.goodrx.com/pill-identifier
Unfortunately I couldn’t find the pill they gave Angel last month…I’m going by what they said that pill was. And accepting their apology. But I will check every single pill from now on. With all my dogs and cats and my family.
Let me be very clear, I’m not bashing my vet or anyone who has made a mistake. It would be hypocritical. I’m extremely thankful for their response and acknowledgment of the mistake. That’s integrity!
I do wonder what the process is for filling prescriptions there or any facility handing our medication? I’ll ask and maybe suggest there should always be a two person verification for prescription and pill to make sure the correct medication is prescribed and the correct medication is filled.
Hug your fur babies! Double check everything they take! Angel WILL make it to 18 this year!!!! Darn it!
Have you experienced anything similar? How did you handle it?
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