When a pet has a condition that either lasts for a long time, or for the life of the pet, this is called a chronic condition. Examples of life long chronic conditions include, but are not limited to diabetes, and hyper or hypothyroid. Other chronic conditions can include pets with joint problems or urinary tract infections.
These chronic conditions require continued use of medication in order to keep the underlying condition under control. If the medication is stopped, for whatever reason, the condition will worsen.
A study just released by CVS Caremark found that 50% of adults under the age of 45 who are prescribed a medication to treat high cholesterol are not taking their medication as prescribed. Troyen A. Brennan, EVP and chief medical officer for CVS Caremark stated, “This data illustrates that younger adults with high cholesterol are not taking their medication as prescribed, putting them at increased risk for developing heart disease, worsening their long term clinical outcomes and ultimately increasing the cost of their care”.
While the this study pertains to human medications, let’s keep in mind that this same issue can also pertain to our pets with chronic diseases. For example, a dog with diabetes that is not properly treated can develop cataracts, weight loss, muscle wasting, and kidney disease. What do I mean by not properly treated? I mean skipping doses of insulin, not having the pet’s glucose levels monitored regularly to make sure the dose of insulin is correct, or perish the thought, not treating the pet at all.
These are tough economic times and we all look for ways to cut our expenses. However, not giving ourselves, or our pets, the dose of medication when it’s due is only going to make things worse. This may result in our spending more money, not less.
To help our customers stay compliant with giving their pet the medication when it’s due, 1-800-PetMeds has an “Easy Refill” email reminder program that our customers can enroll in. This program will notify the customer when the next refill of medication is due. This program helps ensure that the pet has enough medication on hand to be treated with.
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One Comment
My female domestic cat ( my Baby ) is pulling her hair out from her back around to her back belly , and her hind legs. Even her tail ! She is two years oid. I found her on my front porch, half frozen, two years ago. I guess she was six months old then, so she is almost three years old. Anyway, I kept her, no one claimed her. I had her fixed. Shr is a ver good, and loving cat. I want to help her to stop pulling her hair out.
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