Re: Meds mistakes?

[Guest guest]

I've done that before. I'm pretty sure we all have. After the first

couple of times of doing that I went out and got a 4 pill organizers

that hold 4 doses a day and they hold one weeks worth of pills. So

now I have 4 weeks of pills organized so autopilot doesn't hurt

anything. The days and times are all labeled. Makes life much less

stressful.

Cheryl

On Sep 7, 2008, at 11:58 PM, thefamily007 wrote:

>

>

> I am shaking as I write this. Sometimes, especially at night when I'm

> tired, I find myself on " autopilot " while giving my son his meds. Of

> course it's not intentional, but the whole process has become a

> time-worn ritual of cutting and crushing pills and " sandwiching " them

> in non-dairy ice cream. Well, a few minutes ago, an hour after my

> son went to bed, it dawned on me that tonight at bedtime I gave him

> his *morning* meds -- Famvir, Tenex, and Celexa. Thank God the

> psychoactive meds are in sub-clinical doses and if I skip the Celexa

> in the morning, there should be nothing to worry about.

>

> I've made small mistakes with dosing one or two times before, but

> nothing this dramatic.

>

> I guess I'm just wondering if this has happened to anyone else and how

> you handled it.

>

> TIA,

>

> Donna

>

>

> ------------------------------------

>

> Responsibility for the content of this message lies strictly with

> the original author(s), and is not necessarily endorsed by or the

> opinion of the Research Institute, the Parent Coalition,

> or the list moderator(s).

>

[Guest guest]

We all do the best we can, of course it was unintentional! Between

all the pill currently taken and the ones tried, discontinued but not

expired yet, we have a million bottles in our cabinet. I keep the

bottles we use labeled in a bright colored Sharpie (AM,

PM, AFTERNOON). It is much less stressful for me now. We also do

our med. count (we take 5 things in the am, 3 things in the

afternoon, and 5 things in the pm) and our daughter checks that we

are giving her the correct things. Try a few different ways to do

things and pick the one that works for you. You've made a mistake a

few times which means it is time to come up with a better system that

doesn't stress you and is easier to use. One other thing, our life

got SO much easier when our daughter started swallowing pills.

I hope you are having a good day today!

At 02:58 AM 9/8/2008, you wrote:

>I am shaking as I write this. Sometimes, especially at night when I'm

>tired, I find myself on " autopilot " while giving my son his meds. Of

>course it's not intentional, but the whole process has become a

>time-worn ritual of cutting and crushing pills and " sandwiching " them

>in non-dairy ice cream. Well, a few minutes ago, an hour after my

>son went to bed, it dawned on me that tonight at bedtime I gave him

>his *morning* meds -- Famvir, Tenex, and Celexa. Thank God the

>psychoactive meds are in sub-clinical doses and if I skip the Celexa

>in the morning, there should be nothing to worry about.

>

>I've made small mistakes with dosing one or two times before, but

>nothing this dramatic.

>

>I guess I'm just wondering if this has happened to anyone else and how

>you handled it.

>

>TIA,

>

>Donna

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'm sure most of us have been where you are right now. is right--not

every system works for every person. Have you tried getting an am/pm pill case

and put the pills in a week at a time? I know this isn't a 100% solution because

you may have afternoon, but we did this when my son was on a lot of pills. My

older son checks his own meds, so that helps. I use the Dixie cup method. I put

all the pills in a Dixie cup and then I review to make sure it's correct.

It's overwhelming when you have a child with special needs and the

responsibility of giving so many meds, especially if your house is loud and

chaotic. I've had the problem where I get interrupted in my pill distribution

and my middle son, Noah, starts taking the pills before I'm done. Yikes! One

thing that's helped me is putting them all in a large plastic bag and only

taking them out as I put them in the little cups. That way I know that anything

that's still in the bag can't be in the cup. Counting the # of pills helps too.

Give yourself a break; you can't be hyper vigilante all the time.

Take care,

Robyn

>

>

>

> >I am shaking as I write this. Sometimes, especially at

> night when I'm

> >tired, I find myself on " autopilot " while

> giving my son his meds. Of

> >course it's not intentional, but the whole process

> has become a

> >time-worn ritual of cutting and crushing pills and

> " sandwiching " them

> >in non-dairy ice cream. Well, a few minutes ago, an

> hour after my

> >son went to bed, it dawned on me that tonight at

> bedtime I gave him

> >his *morning* meds -- Famvir, Tenex, and Celexa. Thank

> God the

> >psychoactive meds are in sub-clinical doses and if I

> skip the Celexa

> >in the morning, there should be nothing to worry about.

> >

> >I've made small mistakes with dosing one or two

> times before, but

> >nothing this dramatic.

> >

> >I guess I'm just wondering if this has happened to

> anyone else and how

> >you handled it.

> >

> >TIA,

> >

> >Donna

> >

> >

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

We use the a.m.-p.m. pill box for a full week and it helps tremendously. I

also have a separate one for afternoon meds that I keep in my purse (never

can leave it in a hot car!) because we're often not home in the afternoon. I

fill these once a week, usually on a Sat morning when I'm relaxed AND awake.

I label them, too, in case someone else (my dingy DH, who, despite the

labels, actually did give my son his PM meds and sent him off to school

while I was keeping vigil with my dying grandmother - sheesh! My poor kid

fell asleep at school!) needs to give my son his meds. And, I keep an

updated list near the medicine cabinet, JIC something were to happen to me

(which of course God could please not let happen!).

I accidentally gave my son 4 x his dose of Tenex one morning and ended up

hysterical because it's a heart medicine and in my mind, his little heart

was going to stop beating! I knew the MOMENT I had done it, too, and rushed

him to the peds (they said come there vs the ER). Fortunately he was FINE,

but it really shook me up. This happened not from giving him pills, but some

of his doses are so tiny I make my own suspensions and I used to just write

the name of the med on the bottle (thinking my infinite memory would

remember the correct dose). Now I write the name AND dose of the med on

those bottles.

We all make mistakes, but I agree with the others that you need an

efficient system that works for you to simplify a difficult 'job'.

Kristy

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Robyn

& Greg Coggins

Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 8:26 AM

Subject: Re: Meds mistakes?

I'm sure most of us have been where you are right now. is

right--not every system works for every person. Have you tried getting an

am/pm pill case and put the pills in a week at a time? I know this isn't a

100% solution because you may have afternoon, but we did this when my son

was on a lot of pills. My older son checks his own meds, so that helps. I

use the Dixie cup method. I put all the pills in a Dixie cup and then I

review to make sure it's correct.

It's overwhelming when you have a child with special needs and the

responsibility of giving so many meds, especially if your house is loud and

chaotic. I've had the problem where I get interrupted in my pill

distribution and my middle son, Noah, starts taking the pills before I'm

done. Yikes! One thing that's helped me is putting them all in a large

plastic bag and only taking them out as I put them in the little cups. That

way I know that anything that's still in the bag can't be in the cup.

Counting the # of pills helps too.

Give yourself a break; you can't be hyper vigilante all the time.

Take care,

Robyn

>

>

>

> >I am shaking as I write this. Sometimes, especially at

> night when I'm

> >tired, I find myself on " autopilot " while

> giving my son his meds. Of

> >course it's not intentional, but the whole process

> has become a

> >time-worn ritual of cutting and crushing pills and

> " sandwiching " them

> >in non-dairy ice cream. Well, a few minutes ago, an

> hour after my

> >son went to bed, it dawned on me that tonight at

> bedtime I gave him

> >his *morning* meds -- Famvir, Tenex, and Celexa. Thank

> God the

> >psychoactive meds are in sub-clinical doses and if I

> skip the Celexa

> >in the morning, there should be nothing to worry about.

> >

> >I've made small mistakes with dosing one or two

> times before, but

> >nothing this dramatic.

> >

> >I guess I'm just wondering if this has happened to

> anyone else and how

> >you handled it.

> >

> >TIA,

> >

> >Donna

> >

> >

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

One time, my son spaced out and took his nighttime medicines twice so he

took double Valtrex and whatever antifungal he was on at the time. He was

really worried about what it would do so we looked up the potential harm of

overdosing either and the highest doses other people had been on. The one that

concerned us the most for overdosing was Valtrex but since several studies

showed people regularly taking 3x the amount of Valtrex he takes for short-term

therapy, I figured he was ok. We skipped the morning dose and he showed no

adverse effects.

Gaylen

**************Psssst...Have you heard the news? There's a new fashion blog,

plus the latest fall trends and hair styles at StyleList.com.

(http://www.stylelist.com/trends?ncid=aolsty00050000000014)

[Guest guest]

The meds issue is one of my pet peeves. Its not enough to take care of all

the million of details to help our children (i.e. Diet, education,

behaviors, etc.) but we are also in charge of numerous medications. Keeping

track of many different meds given throughout the day with dosages varying

by time of day and whether it is an odd day or an even day makes me crazy. I

tell people I don¹t need to do Soduku to keep my brain active, I just sort

all the pills. Making sure the dye is washed off, double checking with the

pharmacist if the color or shape of a pill it different from the previous

bottle¹s because they changed distributors this is all part of the job.

Worrying about refills with Dr. G¹s office on the opposite coast is another

since one of my son¹s meds. requires a written prescription so I have to be

sure to call at least a week ahead of time to make sure we receive it before

we run out. The only way I can keep a handle on all this is to use a 4

time a day pill sorter. I block out some time once a week and really

concentrate on making sure that each day and time is done correctly. I put

aside the bottles that are running low and as soon as I am done I call the

pharmacy to refill. When I receive the bottle that requires a written

script I write in pen to call Dr. G to reorder. Before I did this I need

the office to FedEx the script to me, that was a costly mistake. After

doing this for too long it has gotten easier but it is one part of being in

this special needs world that really drives me crazy.

Don¹t even get me started on insurance companies and how they dictate how

many pills a month we are allotted.

I feel better now, thanks for listening to my rant!

On 9/8/08 12:34 PM, " Kristy Nardini " <knardini@...> wrote:

>

>

>

> We use the a.m.-p.m. pill box for a full week and it helps tremendously. I

> also have a separate one for afternoon meds that I keep in my purse (never

> can leave it in a hot car!) because we're often not home in the afternoon. I

> fill these once a week, usually on a Sat morning when I'm relaxed AND awake.

> I label them, too, in case someone else (my dingy DH, who, despite the

> labels, actually did give my son his PM meds and sent him off to school

> while I was keeping vigil with my dying grandmother - sheesh! My poor kid

> fell asleep at school!) needs to give my son his meds. And, I keep an

> updated list near the medicine cabinet, JIC something were to happen to me

> (which of course God could please not let happen!).

>

> I accidentally gave my son 4 x his dose of Tenex one morning and ended up

> hysterical because it's a heart medicine and in my mind, his little heart

> was going to stop beating! I knew the MOMENT I had done it, too, and rushed

> him to the peds (they said come there vs the ER). Fortunately he was FINE,

> but it really shook me up. This happened not from giving him pills, but some

> of his doses are so tiny I make my own suspensions and I used to just write

> the name of the med on the bottle (thinking my infinite memory would

> remember the correct dose). Now I write the name AND dose of the med on

> those bottles.

>

> We all make mistakes, but I agree with the others that you need an

> efficient system that works for you to simplify a difficult 'job'.

>

> Kristy

>

> From: <mailto:%40>

> [mailto: <mailto:%40> ] On Behalf Of

> Robyn

> & Greg Coggins

> Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 8:26 AM

> <mailto:%40>

> Subject: Re: Meds mistakes?

>

> I'm sure most of us have been where you are right now. is

> right--not every system works for every person. Have you tried getting an

> am/pm pill case and put the pills in a week at a time? I know this isn't a

> 100% solution because you may have afternoon, but we did this when my son

> was on a lot of pills. My older son checks his own meds, so that helps. I

> use the Dixie cup method. I put all the pills in a Dixie cup and then I

> review to make sure it's correct.

>

> It's overwhelming when you have a child with special needs and the

> responsibility of giving so many meds, especially if your house is loud and

> chaotic. I've had the problem where I get interrupted in my pill

> distribution and my middle son, Noah, starts taking the pills before I'm

> done. Yikes! One thing that's helped me is putting them all in a large

> plastic bag and only taking them out as I put them in the little cups. That

> way I know that anything that's still in the bag can't be in the cup.

> Counting the # of pills helps too.

>

> Give yourself a break; you can't be hyper vigilante all the time.

>

> Take care,

>

> Robyn

>

>

>> >

>> >

>> >

>>> > >I am shaking as I write this. Sometimes, especially at

>> > night when I'm

>>> > >tired, I find myself on " autopilot " while

>> > giving my son his meds. Of

>>> > >course it's not intentional, but the whole process

>> > has become a

>>> > >time-worn ritual of cutting and crushing pills and

>> > " sandwiching " them

>>> > >in non-dairy ice cream. Well, a few minutes ago, an

>> > hour after my

>>> > >son went to bed, it dawned on me that tonight at

>> > bedtime I gave him

>>> > >his *morning* meds -- Famvir, Tenex, and Celexa. Thank

>> > God the

>>> > >psychoactive meds are in sub-clinical doses and if I

>> > skip the Celexa

>>> > >in the morning, there should be nothing to worry about.

>>> > >

>>> > >I've made small mistakes with dosing one or two

>> > times before, but

>>> > >nothing this dramatic.

>>> > >

>>> > >I guess I'm just wondering if this has happened to

>> > anyone else and how

>>> > >you handled it.

>>> > >

>>> > >TIA,

>>> > >

>>> > >Donna

>>> > >

>>> > >

>> >

>> >

>> >

[Guest guest]

,

I hear ya! My twins came home from the NICU on 17 doses of meds a day

between the two of them (plus oxygen and heart monitors). I feel like our

home has been more hospital than home for years now! I remember thinking -

late one night in a new mommy haze with preemie infant twins - who trusted

me with this?!

Top that with projectile vomiting (my daughter, every day - usually right

into my cleavage - for 26 months) and poop issues (my son, with CP and

ASD).enough!!!

Good thing my kids are so cute!

Have a great day.

Kristy

[Guest guest]

This is the best thing about this group! Even though we can't all sit

down together and talk, at least we know we are all going through the

same thing. I have great friends but I know they don't quite get all

this and I don't bother to explain. If I did I would probably be crying

and slobbering :-[ . I know this group keeps me going when I want to

give up, that and my once a month talks with Dr G. Thanks for the rants,

guys. Jerri

>

> ,

>

> I hear ya! My twins came home from the NICU on 17 doses of meds a day

> between the two of them (plus oxygen and heart monitors). I feel like our

> home has been more hospital than home for years now! I remember thinking -

> late one night in a new mommy haze with preemie infant twins - who trusted

> me with this?!

>

> Top that with projectile vomiting (my daughter, every day - usually right

> into my cleavage - for 26 months) and poop issues (my son, with CP and

> ASD).enough!!!

>

> Good thing my kids are so cute!

>

> Have a great day.

>

> Kristy

>

>

[Guest guest]

I opted to get Walgreen's 4 dose a day pill organizor instead of

am/pm one. It has morning, noon, evening and bed time labeled for

each day. And every day can be detached to take with you for trips. I

also get a seperate one to leave the bed time med in 's room

where he usually takes them before go to bed. It worked well, and no

rushes during the week.

Take care,

Jin

> >

> >

> >

> > >I am shaking as I write this. Sometimes, especially at

> > night when I'm

> > >tired, I find myself on " autopilot " while

> > giving my son his meds. Of

> > >course it's not intentional, but the whole process

> > has become a

> > >time-worn ritual of cutting and crushing pills and

> > " sandwiching " them

> > >in non-dairy ice cream. Well, a few minutes ago, an

> > hour after my

> > >son went to bed, it dawned on me that tonight at

> > bedtime I gave him

> > >his *morning* meds -- Famvir, Tenex, and Celexa. Thank

> > God the

> > >psychoactive meds are in sub-clinical doses and if I

> > skip the Celexa

> > >in the morning, there should be nothing to worry about.

> > >

> > >I've made small mistakes with dosing one or two

> > times before, but

> > >nothing this dramatic.

> > >

> > >I guess I'm just wondering if this has happened to

> > anyone else and how

> > >you handled it.

> > >

> > >TIA,

> > >

> > >Donna

> > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >