What’s that prescription for?
This is my beloved dog, Missy. She had stitches placed in 3 separate areas after a fight.
Why you should know what you are taking and why.
Last week, my beloved dog got into a nasty dog fight and she had to take a trip to the veterinarian, and after spending the day there, she, of course, came home with medications and instructions on when to give them.
Now, let me start off my saying that as an *almost* doctor of Chinese medicine, it is legally not within my scope of practice to advise on pharmaceuticals. However, I have quite a bit of training in them, and have treated hundreds of patients over the last 8 years , most of whom are taking one pharmaceutical or another. I do educate myself on them regularly so I can know what is happening with my patients. Pharmacology was a required component of my Masters degree, and I’ll go off on a slight tangent here and mention that when I took pharmacology during my training, I was literally SHOCKED by how many prescribed medications had “unknown” mechanisms of action. Meaning: the companies, nor those prescribing or using the medication, knew exactly how it worked or why it did what it. Think about that for a second! They don’t even know how they work!
So, in light of this, it is a common practice for me to analyze pharmaceuticals that are prescribed to me and my family. I looked closely at the medications that the vet’s office wanted me to give my dog, and in the end I ended up calling to request one that they *should* have given her (but did not for some reason), and I did not give her the other two that were originally sent home with her. And this is why:
I received one “pain” medication and one “anti-inflammatory”. Now, the “pain” medication prescribed to her was gabapentin. Gabapentin is an anti-seizure medication and it is NOT approved for the treatment of pain. It’s use in the treatment of pain is something that is called an “off-label” use, which means that the FDA has NOT approved the medication for that particular use (in this case: pain). If it is not approved by the FDA, then the drug companies never had to prove the medication works and that it is safe in the treatment for what it was prescribed for. Here’s a short article about gabapentin. That one went in the trash…..
Now, as for the “anti-inflammatory”… I could write a whole post on how “inflammation” has been demonized, but in reality, inflammation is the process that our bodies go through so that they can HEAL themselves. Without inflammation, we cannot heal. Inflammation is NOT a bad thing, unless it is happening outside of the actual of the healing process and causing us discomfort. In my dog’s case, however, she JUST had gaping holes in her body stitched together. She NEEDED the inflammatory process to help repair her body. Why in the world the vet’s office gave me a drug to inhibit this process is honestly completely beyond me. On the other hand, I also know that dog bites have a high probability of getting infected, and so it is common practice to prescribe antibiotics after the event. I did not, however, receive antibiotics and so I actually had to call the office and inquire about them. She was then prescribed antibiotics.
So, in the end, I threw out the gabapentin (pain) and meloxicam (anti-inflammatory), and gave her the cephalexin (antibiotics), plus a probiotic to help offset the digestive destruction and help replace some of her microbiome. 9 days later, she’s almost healed, no reinfection, and getting her stitches out tomorrow. (I also gave her some Chinese herbs to help the healing process.)
This situation (and many others throughout the years) frustrate me endlessly because I KNOW most people don’t have the training to be able to go home and look at what they have been prescribed and do what I did.. they just trust that their doctor knows what they are doing, and they do what is instructed. Unfortunately, and I am sorry to any MDs that may take offense to this, but this is NOT in the best interest of the patient(s). I have seen many cases of inappropriate prescribing both in my life and in my practice.
YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE PUTTING IN YOUR BODY.
Know what the drug is, what is does, what it is approved for and what the side effects are. Do not blindly take something just because someone tells to you to. ASK QUESTIONS. Pharmaceuticals are not bad, but they have appropriate and inappropriate uses, and they can be very damaging to the body, or exacerbate other health conditions when not used appropriately. They are strong and can be dangerous!
It is OK for you to take part in, and have a say in your own healthcare. I promise!!! Your body will thank you!