Step one in preparation for surgery … discussion with some nurse who comes into the room with a packet of information and a small blue plastic bag.
I am told that four prescriptions have been sent to my pharmacy. She has in my packet the actual order that went to the pharmacy and I will show a scan here, simply changing my name and pharmacy address (I love the font I used, but then I am old enough to know what it is … all other is a direct scan).
As mentioned in a previous post, the directions on the neomycin make absolutely no sense to me …
- 2 tablet(s) by mouth once a day
- Take 2 tablets by mouth at 5pm, 6pm and 11pm the night before your surgery
Huh?
But what I did not mention was that bizarre instructions seem to be the norm …
This is a medical order, I need to do what it says, not what I think it means. I read this to say I take one tablet three nights before surgery. It does NOT say “one tablet at bedtime for each of three nights prior to your surgery.”
Along with this medicine order, I received this:
This sort of clarifies some issues, but maybe not. I still really want my actual pill bottles with the instructions on them to have the same instructions because that is what I will be looking at. I don’t know which are the proper instructions. But let’s continue a bit …
All items on the list are checked off so I assume I did them already. Cool, I can go home now.
Why are there checkboxes that are checked? Is this Mary’s list? The list contains this item (hand writing is that of the nurse):
Zofran? What the heck is that? There is no Zofran on the prescription list (look up there ↑). By arduous process of elimination I will guess that it is the same as “ondansetron HCL” …
No, that can’t be it, the instructions are entirely different. One every eight hours if needed is not the same as “30-60 minutes prior” or is it? So if Zofran is ondansetron then the instructions totally conflict. If it is not, then what is it and how do I get it?
Have they ever done this before? Am I the first patient with rectal cancer? The first to ever read the packet? Is this confusion intentional? I am the only one to ever notice? What would chairs look like if our knees bent the other way?
It must be the cancerous tumor in my butt making me stupid … because I feel really stupid. I can’t even follow what should be simple directions to take medication. Not that I can’t follow them, I honestly don’t know what they are. Do I follow the bottle as I have always been told? Do I just go back to my fetal position and stay there until after surgery? Life (and potential death) is hard enough, why are they making it harder? Seriously. I am scared and this does not help.
(End of part 1 of prep instructions … and spoiler alert, it does not get better)
This is my first time commenting, but I have to mention my experience with one of those medications. I was recently prescribed tamsulosin (Flomax) to aid in passing several kidney stones. I was not given a time of day to take the pill, so I took one at bedtime. WRONG! I was unable to sleep and felt miserable after taking it, actually worse than the discomfort from the kidney stone. One of the listed side effects is dizziness, but insomnia is worse to me. I recommend inquiring as to their reason for bedtime dosing on each night, as I presume you’d like to sleep on those nights.
I’m praying for you and hope that all goes well with your surgery. (Also, I’m one of the many who discovered your previous blog via AOL.)
Thank you for the head’s up … I will do a bit of research. And prayers are always appreciated.
I had spine surgery in April, and while my pre-surgical meds and instructions weren’t quite as involved, I was equally confused. I developed a very close relationship with one particular pharmacist at my drugstore of choice, and at one point I took all my paperwork and drugs to her and she helped me figure it out – even discovering a potential bad interaction. I even know what days she works and she doesn’t think I’m stalking. Pharmacists freaking rock, I hope you have a good one.
All that aside, I’ve been reading your blog for years (having a disabled daughter myself) and was thrilled then dismayed when you popped back up in my reader. I’ve been sending good thoughts your way as you deal with all of this, and I appreciate how open you’re being about your treatment. It will surely help someone else who is going through the same thing.