WARNING! must read (sweetener in meds)

noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
I just found out that most of the liquid medications for birds that are dispensed at human pharmacies (per vet prescription) contain toxic sweeteners to make them more palatable for humans. These are NOT listed on the bottle when you pick it up, and it doesn't matter that you are filling for a bird if you fill at a human pharmacy---they will not warn you. You have to specifically ask. This also applies to dogs--- lots of meds have xylitol in them (which can be deadly to animals in general--but especially to dogs). Sorbitol is another fake sugar added to meds that isn't good for them.

I am talking about plain old transparent, non-scented liquid prescriptions (including antibiotics and things like liquid gabapentin...there are many).

Moral of the story---Call ahead and have them read all of the additives to you. Xylitol and sorbitol are not the only 2.
 
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SailBoat

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It is very important to also note where your Avian Professional is working with a Compounder and not just a pill crusher /mixer!
The pill crushers tend to be far less concerned with whether the meds are for Pets or Humans. As a result, tend to add flavoring and sweeteners that are not recommended for Pets.
 
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noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
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The vet didn't have what I needed and the more traditional pharmacy here (that compounds their own things and mixes up drugs the old-fashioned way) didn't carry what I needed either, so I filled it at Walgreens. Thankfully, I decided NOT to give it to Noodles for other reasons, BUT, when I called Walgreens to inquire (based on something I read online), the pharmacist tole me that the batch I received did contain a bunch of unlisted additives (including sorbitol)...Despite the fact that it was for a bird (no one even checked and if they did, they didn't mention it to me).
They fill for pets all of the time so it really annoyed me because the pharmacist confirmed that some liquids do contain Xylitol.

I called the vet to tell her and she was shocked---told me to use a different pharmacy in the future etc etc...BUT, if you guys ever do fill at Walgreens, CVS etc, make sure you verify ---especially if the medication is a liquid. I never even considered that this could be an issue in adult medications... children's perhaps, but not the rest of them...I was wrong!
 
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ParrotGenie

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Jan 10, 2019
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2 umbrella Cockatoos One male named Cooper and female named Baby 1 Little Corella male named Frankie and have 5 Cockatiels three named Male named Pepper, Fiesco for the female and female named Wylie.
I just found out that most of the liquid medications for birds that are dispensed at human pharmacies (per vet prescription) contain toxic sweeteners to make them more palatable for humans. These are NOT listed on the bottle when you pick it up, and it doesn't matter that you are filling for a bird if you fill at a human pharmacy---they will not warn you. You have to specifically ask. This also applies to dogs--- lots of meds have xylitol in them (which can be deadly to animals in general--but especially to dogs). Sorbitol is another fake sugar added to meds that isn't good for them.

I am talking about plain old transparent, non-scented liquid prescriptions (including antibiotics and things like liquid gabapentin...there are many).

Moral of the story---Call ahead and have them read all of the additives to you. Xylitol and sorbitol are not the only 2.

Thankfully my vet know this and has own pharmacy and mixes it themselves. The regular pharmacists, or techs at the traditional local pharmacy like Walgreens, CVS etc in the area that filling the prescription don't look at details and if it for a human, or animal.
 
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noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
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I just found out that most of the liquid medications for birds that are dispensed at human pharmacies (per vet prescription) contain toxic sweeteners to make them more palatable for humans. These are NOT listed on the bottle when you pick it up, and it doesn't matter that you are filling for a bird if you fill at a human pharmacy---they will not warn you. You have to specifically ask. This also applies to dogs--- lots of meds have xylitol in them (which can be deadly to animals in general--but especially to dogs). Sorbitol is another fake sugar added to meds that isn't good for them.

I am talking about plain old transparent, non-scented liquid prescriptions (including antibiotics and things like liquid gabapentin...there are many).

Moral of the story---Call ahead and have them read all of the additives to you. Xylitol and sorbitol are not the only 2.

Thankfully my vet know this and has own pharmacy and mixes it themselves. The regular pharmacists, or techs at the traditional local pharmacy like Walgreens, CVS etc in the area that filling the prescription don't look at details and if it for a human, or animal.

Yeah- I mean, Walgreens isn't where I normally get them filled, but it was in a pinch/emergency. In the system her name is "Noodle Bird", so I find it hard to believe that they wouldn't see that. The vet was shocked because she wrote stuff on there to indicate that and they are supposed to follow it, but I guess they just don't? They acted like the batch was pre-mixed that way.
 

wrench13

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"Just a Spoon Full of Sugar Makes the ....." Well you know the song goes. I have issues filling parrot intended prescriptions from a human based pharmacy, for other reasons. You just confirmed one of them. Thanks for the warning Noodles.
 

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