Ok, I have a dumb question. Before I ask you all, yes, I sat in with the Dr and my grandfather on doses to his pills, and the Dr stated how many in a 24 hr period of the meds. ( so i do know how many in a 24 hr period) Plus is old caretaker went over the pills with me before she left. Plus I just called his Pharmacist..
Now, specifically the pain med HYDROcodone reads:
TAKE ONE TABLET BY MOUTH EVERY 4-6 HOURS AS NEEDED FOR PAIN QTY # 60
My neighbor says I should be giving him no more then 2 pills in a 24hr period and if he takes more - that's whats causing his problems. Its my fault. That it should last him 30 days... Now the one thing I agree with her on is its a harsh medication with the side effects and can now be causing my grandfather problems that hasn't caused him problems before. Hes been on these meds for a few years with these being the best for pain relief and no harsh side effects.
He rarely..very rarely takes 3 in a day .. Any Thoughts? Thanks!!!!!!!!!!
Even with Tylenol or my prescribed asprin, I only limit 1 or 2 a day. Just because the label says you can take it every 4-6 hours as needed - I don't follow it. Every medicine has a side effects. I always google online the side effects and the reviews with regards to the medicine.
Your right to take a little less meds than the amount allowed. Thank you for sharing. I will take your advice and look up reviews and such of the side effects besides just the label they send with it. Thank you so much for answering :)
Bottom line, listen to what the pharmacist says - he/she understands medications far more than the doctor does. That's what he/she studied in school while the doc is studying diseases. He/she also understands how medications interact and what the side effects are. So if your grandfather is having issues, start with the pharmacist, giving him a list of all your GF's meds. I don't think the 60 pills are necessarily meant to last 30 days either. Does it show refills? If so, you'd just call to get more. But his insurance may limit how many refills you can have in a month, since that's a strong narcotic. Listen to the pharmacist. I worked in a university student pharmacy after coming out of college and the pharmacists were always correcting doctors' screw-ups with medications.
But in any case, as a rule, if you EVER have any concerns about how much of a prescription medication you should be giving, call your doctor or your pharmacist and check. It doesn't matter how dim they think you are, or how much they laugh at you (and, by the way, they won't do either of those things, or not to your face anyway) - what matters is checking that you're giving the right dose for your particular patient, given his particular symptoms. NEVER be afraid to ask again if you're not sure or if anything doesn't seem right.
blannie- Thank you and yes, Im listening to the Dr and pharmacist as they both agree anyway. I agree if he takes max allowed pills in a day, it wont last 30 days. It used to but the Hospitals changed policy and put less in because of a few overdosing. So he has to go in to the Dr every time he needs a refill. How could you read the Drs handwriting? Yikes you had a lot of work to do!
pamstegman- Its a 5-325mg tablet. He says is 2-3 pills a day usually cuts off most the pain he has. He still deals with some pain but a couple other ones he tried made him ill and he found this one to be the best. I will look into Morphine, but hes not ready for Hospice yet. I will bring it up to his Dr though :)
Countrymouse- He is on Lasix as well for swelling and I think Kidneys. ( and so many other meds) He has an appt for that Kidney Dr soon too. Medications are helpful yet harmful for causing other issue.. uggh.
Im glad your moms health issue got figured out, it amazing how renal functions affect's meds or other issues!
I love our pharmacists at Walgreen's. They are amazing people and I do trust them ( my grandfathers pharmacists is another company but is also amazing) and I will keep asking the Drs! Better to be safe then sorry.
Thank you all again :)