By TONEY ATKINS
First, I want to thank loyal visitors to my web site and those who have asked about my lack of submissions to it (even though most of the news and weather links on the web site are updated constantly).
I appreciate the concern that has been shown, and I can assure you that more stories and commentaries are coming soon to the site.
Besides being excited about being involved with the Florida Courier, a new statewide newspaper in Florida, and the often time-consuming -- and educational -- task of gathering information about all Florida candidates in Congressional and Senate races, along with the race for a governor to replace the departing Gov. Jeb Bush, I have been dealing with numerous health issues that all seemed to come one after another, or even at the same time, over the past few months. The situation appears to be improving, so I hope to have new and possibly controversial stories and commentaries for both the Florida Courier and my site in the coming days and weeks.
I used what I hope was an attention-grabbing headline for this piece, because the subject not only impacted me, but it could impact you or any of your loved ones, particularly the elderly.
Usually when I get a new prescription, I head first to WebMD.com to learn about what kind of medication I'm putting into my body. However, a pain prescription that I've had to take for some time because of back problems needed no research when I had it refilled recently. After taking a couple of doses at the prescribed times, I found myself nauseated with blurred vision and a general out-of-sorts feeling, which could have been the villain in a nighttime fall which added new aches and pain and bruises to the back, wrists, knees and ankles (which were in the process of healing from a previous fall). Add that to the progressing glaucoma and cataract treatments, I have naturally felt that I was literally falling apart.
Closely examining the pain pill, however, revealed a slightly different coloration and the word and numbers didn't match what was on the label. Since I had no idea what the name of the medication was if it wasn't a substitute from another manufacturer, I went to the Internet and discovered that the pharmacist had filled the bottle with pills which contained double the amount of codeine and more of another ingredient. The instructions indicated in the Internet description was to take the medication twice a day. My bottle read "three times daily," as it always had, and had the usual warnings to which I had been accustomed.
I called the pharmacist and was emphatic in my questioning as to why I was given this medication that did not match the prescription. Equally emphatic, he told me not to take the pills and to bring them back for replacement. He was apologetic as he handed me the correct medicine, and I only half-jokingly asked him if he was trying to kill me. He didn't smile.
A similar incident occurred while I was living in Daytona Beach. I had been given a cough syrup with codeine to fight a case of bronchitis. The bottle's instructions directed me to take it every four hours. After a couple of days of feeling like I was coming out of my skin, I called my pharmacist there to ask if I should be feeling such effects. He told me I should be using the medication only twice a day. Needless to say, I was angry and not in a mood for humor, but he laughed and said, "Well, at least, I bet you're not coughing." Conveniently for him, the original prescription was missing, he said.
I share these experiences to warn any reader who has to take medication or has a parent or other relative who does to closely monitor the pills or liquid. Be sure that the description of the pill or liquid and the instructions for taking it match what is described in the literature. If it doesn't, the pharmacist should be called immediately for confirmation that the medication and instructions for use on the bottle are correct.
A pharmacist's error in cases such as these could potentially have deadly effects or, in the best-case scenario, send the patient to the hospital. Those folks are human, and mistakes can be made, so it doesn't hurt to check behind them when refills are taken home. Any change in size or form or wording on a pill should immediately arouse suspicion.
While taking care of my dad before his death last Aug. 22, I thought I would go nuts just being sure the outrageous number of pills he had to take were the right ones and were given at the right time. The home health nurses praised me for a good job, but I wondered then if he had ever taken too much of a certain medication or had unintentionally skipped some meds altogether before I came home. Since the majority of the pills were unfamiliar to me as to their purpose, I had to be extremely careful.
So, risking redundancy, I urge you to read the literature on any medication prescribed for you to be sure you got what the doctor ordered. I especially urge you to help elderly parents and friends with such if they seem to be befuddled by the drugs they have to take. Never hesitate to telephone the pharmacist if you have doubts or questions.
You could save your life or that of a loved one, just because a druggist made a mistake and you caught it in time.
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