Why "nothing's changed" can actually be the goal
A lot of chronic-condition medication is preventative rather than curative, its entire job is to stop decline, not produce a visible improvement. "She seems the same as last month" can genuinely be the medication working exactly as intended.
What's actually worth tracking to know for sure
- The specific vital the medication targets, a breathing rate, a weight range, a symptom frequency
- Whether that number is stable or improving compared to before treatment started
- Any side effects, which matter just as much as effectiveness
Worth asking directly: "what should I actually expect to see if this is working, and on what timeline?" Vague reassurance is much less useful than a concrete number or timeframe to watch for.
When it's worth raising a concern
If the specific measure a medication is meant to affect is still trending the wrong way after the timeframe a vet gave you, that's worth a follow-up conversation, not something to wait out indefinitely on the assumption it just needs more time.
Why a chart answers this better than a feeling
Whether a medication is working is a question best answered with an actual trend line, not an impression. Halo plots exactly this, weight, breathing rate, symptom frequency, against the point a medication started, so the answer is visible rather than guessed at.