Vet prescriptions

[Desperatetime]

Sorry posting here for traffic.
My elderly is probably going to be on arthritis pain relief for remainder of his days.
I am clueless on vet prescriptions how do they work can they be used several times and how much medication can I order with one.
Sorry if daft questions I've never had a vet prescription in my life.

Elderly dog that should say

Your vet is the best person to ask for advice.
They will advise you accordingly when they prescribe the medication.
Just the same as your GP would with a patient who was being prescribed medication.

My vet gives 6 months prescription for flea/tick treatment I think that’s standard, then I purchase it myself, vet charges £11, but your vet is the best person to ask.

So ours is on a repeat prescription we get from an online vet pharmacy.

The prescription is issued for this medicine for the first bottle and one repeat, this lasts us about 7 months.

I pay the vet about £10.50 for the paper prescription to be issued. I photograph it and upload it to the online pharmacy. They check it's legit and I order the meds. They post them out of us.

I have to have the dog to an in person check up before more prescriptions can be issued.

That's about it!

Vets used to have to give them free, and you could fulfil the prescription at an online chemist (or another Vet, presumably), I used viovet, who I found reliable - to be careful of sham sites.
Vets can now charge for the prescription - I think it changed about 12 years ago.
If it's long term, you may still want to check out pricing to see if it's a saving.
I don't think it's necessarily profiteering, but a small veterinary practice won't shift anything like the volume of a national online retailer.

Prescriptions work pretty much like human ones - for a set dosage, typically for a limited period such as a month.

Check that what you're being prescribed is prescription only - when my sisters' dog had arthritis, she was initially getting medication from her Vet; I found it cheaper online and didn't require prescription. (a while ago, called you move I think).

Good luck, hope the medication helps

I've asked for a prescription and they have charged me £44 for a months prescription there is 2 items on it. Is this expensive ?

I'm gathering I can order as much as I want with the prescription meaning I don't have to pay £44 every month as well as cost of tablets every month or have I got that wrong

They said the one item was a £18 charge and the other a £26

ThinWomansBrain
He is on yumove as well

That sounds expensive for a prescription fee although small animal fees may be more than horses which is my only experience. I pay £18 for a prescription for 6 months of tablets for my horse, and she is seen yearly so I can have one prescription mid-year without a vet visit.

You're best checking with the vet but I know our cats' vets have to see them every 3 months for repeat drugs so it wouldn't really work out much cheaper to get a prescription.

You say it is a month's prescription. Does it have repeats on it? 1x month and 2 x repeats. This would allow you to get it twice more on the same prescription, at the same pharmacy.

We pay approx £18 for a written prescription. I think it would cover 3 months of medicine as standard, but 6 months if for flea treatment.

We're on Apoquel for allergies (atopic dermatitis). It's the most expensive drug on the planet and I've had the misfortune of all 3 of my dogs being in the same situation-all from different breeders and different breeds. It now costs £20 per prescription so I can get this medication almost half price online, but to get that I have to take the dog for a 'check up' every 3 months in order to get another prescription (it's a lifetime of this medication). It used to be 6 months and I've been told that the company who own the vets set the 'check up' timescale. So that's another £80 on top of the medication. I think the vets that belong to larger corporations absolutely rip you off as they have targets once taken over. Small, independent vets are often much cheaper and more reasonable/less target driven (greedy), but there are not that many around here. I'm insured but still have to pay a percentage. My dog is absolutely fine on the drug and doesn't need such frequent check ups. Boils my

I used to be a vet nurse.

There's usually an admin charge (was about £20 per prescription at our vets), and yes that should last you the entirety of that prescription so if you have 6 repeats this will usually last you 6 months etc.

The prescription will have written on it how many repeats it can have (usually up to 6). More Controlled drugs may only be allowed 3 months etc. for example dog is prescribed 30 x (medication/tablet, usually a months worth), with 6 repeats, (so up to 6 repeats monthly). You may be able to order a few months at a time (using a few repeats) dependant upon pharmacy and what medication it is, or you may just have to order them monthly. It should all be stated on the prescription they give you, but ask the receptionist or vet, they will be happy to explain to you! 😊

If buying online they will usually require you to send them a photograph of the prescription.

I've not worked as a VN for a year or so now so double check with your vets anyway as things change but this is generally what will happen 😊

As posted above check whether prescription is necessary, yumove for example does not need a prescription and I'm pretty sure they have a 30% off on their website atm.

My dog is absolutely fine on the drug and doesn't need such frequent check ups.

These are the prescribing rules as per RCVS and the medicines act 1968. Nothing to with individual vets trying to rip you off! If a vet prescribes outwith these rules they can lose their right to practice, so yes your dog needs these check ups in order to comply with the law.

Is it 3 months or 6 months for Apoquel? We are still at 6 months with our vet (in England), so wonder which vet is prescribing according to the law.

My dog is diabetic. He gets three months of insulin on prescription, i then speak to the vet to discuss his symptoms and if no change I get another three months. Every six months he has to have a vet check and fructosamine.

I pay £10 for the prescription and buy from animed directs. It's £30 ish per vial v £70 ish if bought from the vet.

I don't have the prescription yet to check what it says I pick it up Saturday

I wonder if the £44 is for dispensing a month's medication rather charging for written prescription. Perhaps it is more cost effective this way for your medication, or they misunderstood your request as you were unsure of how it works. It seems odd to have different charges for the items otherwise.

My dog takes calpol 6 plus for her arthritis pain, works great and is obviously cheap!

hedgehoglurker
I did tell them I wanted the prescription so I can order online.

Thethruththewholetruth
Is that for children

its the child’s one yes but the vet said it’s fine for dogs.

@Thethruththewholetruth where do you buy it? The vet mentioned that if I cannot get paracetmol tablets into our dog and we are struggling today, but most supermarkets i can see online only have the sugar free version which the vet said to avoid (although I don't see xylitol in the ingredients)

I picked the prescription up yesterday and it's a single use expiring on the 22nd of July and it's for 3 months worth of medication problem is that I can't afford to buy it all in one go why in earth can't it be used 3 times so I can do a month at a time. Thoughts anyone is this usual.

They were trying to help you out I'd imagine - to make it worth your while!

Have you got the price from a website now? What's the medication? Dose / package size?