If your vet office is closed call your Pharmasist or go the store and bring the pills with. They can probably help identify it.

That's awful.. Good suggestion from Izzie.
The same thing happened to me once with our very sick cat. It was his 2nd round of meds, so I knew right away it was the wrong pill, so I did not give it to him. That meant he went the night without any--at a very crucial time. He was supposed to get prednisolone 10mg (a white long pill) and got PREDNIZONE 10mg (a round salmon color pill-like the one you describe). So you probably got PREDNIZONE. Obviously, other pills may be similar (which would explain the error), so it is worth checking.
I do hope there was no mistake..
Anne-Marie

I think prednisone and prednisolone are are pretty much the same thing, so if it is that, there is nothing to worry about. I think they are used interchangibly.

Elly, Prednisone is not good for cats (hard to metabolize, too harsh on kidneys). So for my cat, the error would have been bad--not that it mattered at that point :(! I dont know if Prednisolone would be bad for dogs. But anyway, I was saying that the salmon color pills we had got were prednisone (the one for dogs). Can't remember the ID code # on the pill.
Owl_at_home, keep us posted..
Anne-Marie

Owl_at_home,
I just checked my records, and my cat was on the 20mg dosage. The prednisone 20mg is salmon color (So maybe you just got the wrong dose???) Check the link below. However, the # code is different. Hope you got confirmation by now!!
Anne-Marie

Here is a link that might be useful: Prednisone 20mg

Prednisone is not bad for cats, they just can't metabolize it to the active form- prednisolone- as easily. Cats generally require higher doses of prednisone than prednisolone because of this. Any animal with liver disease, dog or cat, will have the same problem as well, since prednisone is metabolized in the liver to prednisolone.

With both medications, there is risk for heart, muscle, liver, and kidney damage, plus bone marrow and immune system suppression, since corticosteroids affect every single body function and organ system.

In any case, getting worse while on pred is a very bad sign and your dog may be either suffering from something else, or will need emergency back surgery to prevent paralysis. I hope your girl starts feeling better very soon!

UPDATE:

Just got back from vet, and we DID have the wrong medicine. Totally wrong! Instead of 10 mg pred, it was 10 mg enalapril (Enacard), which is for heart failure in dogs. It was causing her nausea, lack of appetite and weakness, while at the same time doing nothing for her back pain!
(Thank goodness we decided to research this when we had doubts. It was exactly what we suspected from looking at the pictures of pills online.)

Anyway, we probably should have been more upset, but we are so relieved right now to have figured out what was going on and to get her started on the right thing! Meanwhile, I hope someone's dog who actually has heart failure isn't dead now after taking prednisone for three days. (The vet actually commented on this and said they would have to check who else was there that day!)

Anyway, thanks for your comments and concern.

Please find another vet that is not in total chaos. I have run into a number of mistakes recently where people are just not paying attention and it is troubling. Find a place where they are willing to take the time necessary to care for your animal. Observe the staff members and keep an eye out for well-trained, knowledgeable, and professionalism at that level also.

I'm so glad that you were vigilant and identified the problem before any permanent damage was done to your dog! This is a lesson to us all. ALL meds should be checked ALL the time to make sure they are what they're supposed to be. This is by no means the first time I have read reports of incorrect medications being dispensed. Anytime, anywhere meds are dispensed, this sort of mistake can happen. It's up to us to make CERTAIN that the meds we take ourselves or administer to others are correct.

ALWAYS check a new prescription (or refill) before taking or administering the first dose!

Laurie

So, how do we do this? For a new med, when we don't even know what it looks like. The Physician's Desk Reference has pictures of a lot of the meds in it. Here's a linked website that seems to have a lot of pictures of pills also. I will have to remember to do this. Had a pharmacy give me the wrong inhaler once, too, for asthma.

I do think they need to deal with these things better internally, with checkpoints and a buddy system. Nothing can be perfect, but I've seen too many careless things with healthcare recently. They need to slow down.

Hope your dog is going to be ok and the other guy didn't get messed up with prednisone instead of heart meds : (

Here is a link that might be useful: Online PDR

Ay, yi, yi!

Most drugs, when taken over time, can cause liver damage. But you have to weigh the benefits. My friend's cat gets pred 2X a day. It may shorten his life, but it greatly increases his quality of life, pain levels and may possibly have extended his life.

Pred is a miracle drug for many pets.

That happened to me once, I was talking the wrong medication for THREE days, before I realized something wasn't right....

Thats scary! but if its a crowded office its understandable

Unforgivable, not understandable at all.

I am SO glad you researched this yourself and discovered their mistake. Also glad that your dog wasn't getting worse while on Pred, and the reason things weren't improving was that she had the wrong meds. Whew.

I hope now that she starts on a short path to full recovery. And that your new vet doesn't have these issues.

I use the 'pill identifier' below to look up all medications before giving them to my pets. Vets and their staff are human and mistakes are made even in the most organized offices. "Trust but verify", mistakes do happen.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pill identifier

Cynthia, thanks for posting that link. That is the same site that I used, and it seemed to be the best. Of course, I wouldn't rely on it in lieu of seeing a doctor or vet, but for those middle of the night panic times, it is really useful.