How long should I wait when switching between medications for similar indications?
In general, a 3 day washout period between drugs is sufficient to allow one drug to clear the animal’s system prior to starting another drug. This is perhaps most important with drugs that are given for the same indication and work similarly in the body (ie. switching from carprofen to meloxicam that could cause gastrointestinal bleeding). This would also be the case when stopping an NSAID and starting a steroid such as prednisone that also irritates the stomach.
