Medications!
Mercy! My world sometimes seems
to be ruled by medications. It is the
first thing I did in the morning and the last thing I did for Maddie before she
went to bed. When Maddie came to me, she
did not have one medication. The first
week two were added. By the time she was
a year old she was on a handful and every year more were added. That is not unusual for medically fragile
children (or adults for that matter).
I, however, was not
good at the whole process. I wasn’t even
good at remembering to take an antibiotic when I needed. I failed on birth control pills because I
could not get the hang of taking them every day. With Maddie, it was imperative that I get it
right every time.
It required me, who am extremely organizationally challenged,
to develop some organizational skills.
Over the years I discovered how important it was and became very
efficient about all of it. Here are a
few things that were helpful to me.
1. Keep all
medications in the same place. Pick a
place with adequate safe storage and near a water facet. If there are a number of medications given at
different times of the day, place them in order of time given.
2. Try to encourage
the medical team to add medications to times when meds are already
scheduled. Ideally all meds could be
given at two or three times a day otherwise the whole day is spent doing
medical things.
3. Order refills in a
timely fashion. Most pharmacies and
insurance companies allow medications to be refilled 7 days before running
out. Thursday is a very good day to
check all medications and place orders.
That way if there is a problem it can be resolved Thursday afternoon or
Friday. It is much harder to resolve problems
on Friday afternoon or over the weekend when doctors’ offices are closed.
4. Be consistent with
the times meds are given. It does not
have to get in the way of other things in life.
I have been known to give medications in restaurants, in the back of the
van, in the dugout of a baseball field, and at rest stops. In my estimation this is one of most
important things to our kids. Set a
timer or arrange for someone to call with a reminder until it becomes second
nature.
5. If a child goes to day care or school, send only
medication for one day at a time. It may
seem inconvenient but it allows you to make sure medications are given. In situations with other children, it is easy
for medications to be overlooked or forgotten.
One quick look will confirm that the medication has been given in the
correct dosage.
6. Never send
medications in something other than a correctly labeled container. A while back a child died because a mom gave
a nurse a syringe label as heparin with a medication the mom had intended to be
given through the g-button. The nurse
gave it through the child’s central line.
*** Please note: Medical professionals who are competent will never give
a medication mixed up or drawn up by someone else. It may seem inconvenient and rather parental
but it is really to protect our children.
7. A computer
generated medications sheet saves a lot of time. Every doctor visit, clinic appointment, and
emergency room admission begins with a communication of current
medications. It is very annoying and
frustrating! Although I am pretty good
at remember the names and the purpose of the medications, there is no way I
will remember the concentrations. If
there are not too many it is not a problem to gather the med bottles on the way
out the door. However, if there are a
number of them a med sheet is so much easier.
It needs to include the name of the drug, concentration of medication,
amount given, route delivered, and time given.
It needs to be frequently up dated.
At the bottom of the page is one of Maddie’s old ones. I always kept a copy on Maddie’s wheelchair
and one in my purse.
Medication sheet example:
Albuterol: heart rate increase
Plastic tape: rash and sores
360 ml Pedialyte
1220 ml Water (hot)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 packets Benefiber
2 Scoops Beneprotein
½-1 cap Mirlax 17/cap
Divide in 2 containers pour 700ml formula mix to the day bag. Add 3 K-phos (Phospha) tablets crushed and
7.5 ml Potassium Chloride (20% 40Meq/15 ml).
Medication sheet example:
March 2011 Allergies:
Madeleine (Maddie) Halla Gillett Demerol: seizures Codine:
vomiting
DOB: 5-22-96 Morphine:Apnea Macrodantin: vomiting Albuterol: heart rate increase
Plastic tape: rash and sores
Morning Medications:
Medication
|
Strength
|
Amount
|
Delivery Mode
|
Prevacid
|
3mg/ml liquid
|
5 ml
|
G-tube. Keep refrigerated.
|
Raglan or
Metoclopramide
|
5mg/5 ml liquid
|
6cc
|
G-tube
|
Synthoid
|
100mcg/tab
|
1 tablet
|
J-tube
|
Cortef
|
5mg/ tab
|
2 tablets
|
J-tube
|
Neurontin
|
300 mg capsules
|
4 Capsules
|
J-tube
|
Trileptal
|
300mg/tab
|
1 1/2 tablets
|
J-tube
|
Keppra
|
500mg/tab
|
2 tablets
|
J-tube
|
Provigil
|
100mg/ tab
|
1 1/2 tablet
|
J-tube
|
Vitamin/iron
|
1 tablet
|
J-tube
|
|
Vitamin D
|
1000IU
|
1 tablet
|
J-tube
|
Flow Vent
|
100mcg
|
1 puff
|
mouth
|
Fluticasone
|
50mcg/puff
|
1 puff/each
|
nose
|
Glycopyrolate
|
2mg/tab
|
1 tablet
|
J-tube
|
Evening Medications:
Medication
|
Strength and form
|
Amount
|
Delivery Mode
|
Prevacid
|
3mg/ml liquid
|
5cc
|
G-tube. Keep refrigerated.
|
Raglan or
Metoclopramide
|
5mg/5 ml liquid
|
6cc
|
G-tube
|
Cortef
|
5mg/tablet
|
1 tab
|
J-tube
|
Glycopyrrolate
|
2mg
|
1 tablet
|
J-tube
|
Neurontin
|
300 mg capsules
|
4 Capsules
|
J-tube
|
Trileptal
|
300mg
|
2 tablets
|
J-tube
|
Keppra
|
500mg
|
2 tablets
|
J-tube
|
Formula: 24 hours recipe for 2000 ml
Mix: 420 ml (14 ounces) Peptamen AF 360 ml Pedialyte
1220 ml Water (hot)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 packets Benefiber
2 Scoops Beneprotein
½-1 cap Mirlax 17/cap
Divide in 2 containers pour 700ml formula mix to the day bag. Add 3 K-phos (Phospha) tablets crushed and
7.5 ml Potassium Chloride (20% 40Meq/15 ml).
Add 10 ml Calcium Carbonate to night bag,
place in fridge
.