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Thread: Always Check Your Meds

  1. #1
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    Default Always Check Your Meds

    I've been meaning to start this thread for awhile. We take so many meds that it's easy to get confused or make mistakes. My mind is so often muddled that every time I take meds, I read the bottle label out loud--drug name, dose per pill, how many to take--before taking it.

    I'm currently on 3.5mg pred and most days I take 20mg Lasix/furosemide (diuretic) due to edema. The pills look identical and I take them at the same time. I don't put them in a pill box with my other meds because I can't tell the difference between them. So each morning I take 3.5 pills of pred and 1 pill of Lasix right from their bottles.

    Until today. I had swallowed 60mg of lasix before I realized my mistake. This is probably not a big deal--certainly not an overdose. The two complications are that my blood pressure already runs a little low and that I also have to take a milder diuretic to keep my CSF pressure down. I've got a call in to my PCP to ask what to do.

    Also, whenever I pick up meds from the pharmacy I check the labels and open the bottle to make sure the actual drugs are the right one. I've known people who were given the wrong drug or dosage. Someone I knew was given 20mg pred pills instead of 10mg. She took them for a week before the pharmacy called and said they'd made a mistake.

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    what a good idea Sangye i thought it was only me that did the checking thing i always use meds out of a box i keep them and never use new until i check they are the same for the reason you say was once given the wrong doseage in the early days
    i do use pill box which i stock on the same day of the week and check several times
    people often ask me how i remember what and when to take
    im a list maker so there is one with pill box with name and dosage etc and meds box
    i also give a copy to hubby so if ever im to ill to tell anyone he can inform then and i use the list when i attend clinics much easier than remembering all the names
    also easier on a dizzy day
    you always think of everything thanks for making me realise im not been neurotic about meds DEEx

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    Thanx Sangye, I think we all have been there.
    Jolanta

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    Sometimes I forget to take my Fosamax pill. I take it once a week. I was to take it yesterday morning but I forgot. And I took it this morning but after I took it I realized I had a glass of milk about half an hour earlier. Woops.

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    Keep yourself well hydrated and you are going to need extra potassium for that much lasix. Otherwise you should be okay. I would expect your pcp to advise you to take 20 meq of potassium.

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    Thanks, Nurse! I was fine. I already knew about the potassium loss with lasix so I had potassium salt on hand. I downed a half-teaspoon in a glass of water and ate an orange. No problem.

    Yet another example of why we each really need to know about the drugs we take.

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    Last year I wrote time, date,drug and dosage of the medicine I took. I had too...I took so many pills that my medicines were falling out of the cupboards. I don't anymore...I read the labels over and over. We all make medicines mistakes, were human!

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    I'm just grateful that I didn't take triple the dosage of pred! Would've felt lousy and lost ground on tapering. (Which is going great, btw. Today's the last day at 3.5mg. Tomorrow 3.25mg--whooya!)

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    That is fantastic Sangye! Sounds like your doing a little better! Yahoo! Come on down for some yummy blueberry muffins!

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    I'm on my way. (picture big puff of cartoon smoke behind me as I zoom over...LOL)

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