Klonopin (which is the closest soundalike) is an anti-convulsant, so probably not that. Possibly Coumadin?, which is a blood thinner often given to heart patients.
According to Coumadin.com, Coumadin tablets are marked with the name and dosage right on the pill. They have pictures of the various dosages right on the start page. So, that should help you identify whether I'm guessing right.
Caregiver information:
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first thing you need to be aware of, is making very careful that mother does not become pregnant while taking Coumadin. :) Read that page, with the things you must be alert to, ASAP ... then you can browse the rest of the site at your leisure.
Understand your annoyance, but it's amazing the info in the sciences, pharm, biology that has come to light since we were kids. FWIW, Codeine is a Schedule V controlled substance. Which means it has limited abuse potential in small doses as an anti-tussive or anti-diarrheal. The federal law allows limited quantities of specific schedule V drugs to be purchased without an Rx, but directly from the pharmacist - if allowed under the state law. But, the purchaser must be at least 18 yo, and show id. The transactions must also be recorded by the pharmacist that dispenses the drug - hence the over, but behind the counter scenario, which varies between states.
Glad to hear she's home. The BP is high for normal, but not in the danger zone. Work on the quitting smoking - if you can.
The "c" one is likely "clonidine hydrochloride" = chemical nam e Some of the brand names are Catapres, Catapres-TTs, Dixaril in Canada, and Duraclon. Given in various doses, is a cental acting drug, which works to reduce plasma concentrations of norepinephrine, decreaseing systolic & diastolic BP, and heart rate. And, just in case mom has been partying with illicit drugs, evidently this minimizes many common side affects associated with withdrawal from heroin, methadone & other opiates (so, I was sitting here doing Pharm homework, and happen to have my drug ref books on the desk).
Used as the 2nd step in treating hypertension, either alone or with diuretics or other BP meds. Not good if you're pregnant. Also - can't use the patch in some situations. Coms in tablets, a patch, and injectable. Seems that with the tablet dose, the doc may start her on one dose, and then can increase it by 0.1-0.2 mg/day unitl the response is what she wants.
Not much in unexpected side effects - may be alittle drowsy, may have some dry mouthg. But should watch for sudden BP drops when going from sitting or lying to standing - not to do it too fast. It's not a frequently seen side effect, but anything that lowers BP can cause this kind of sudden low BP from quick posture changes - they say just to dangle legs, and move them a bit before standing up from lying down.
Lopressor is a trade name for "Metoprolol Tartrate" . Other trades - Toprol XL, (Norometoprol, Apo-Metoprolol, & Betaloc in Canada). This works on cardiac muscle, and also on some bronchial and vascular musculature. Reduces heart rate and cardiac output at rest & furing exercise, and lowers both standing & reclining BP, as well as an anti-chest pain. Used to manage mild to severe hypertension. Also for preventive treatment of chest pain, and reduces risk in aftermath of an MI (which your mom didn't have).
Says if she's taking the extended release form - don't chew or crush. Also, suggest giving with food to slightly increase effectiveness (absorption into the system). But, the food isn't a necessity. Also, the reference says to be consistent in the way it's taken - either with or without food - this has to do with how much of the med gets into the system so that it's a consistent dosage.
Suggested that mom take her radial (wrist) pulse before taking the drug. After dosage, if pulse is irregular, or much slower than her normal base rate, should let the doc know. Not a panic thing.
Well, the hip is secondary at this point. Great that she's not had angina, and hope all continues to improve.
*snip*
Hope the drug info helped and isn't overwhelming. Keep us posted, and keep up your good spirits.
I happen to be what the doctors call "exquisitively sensitive" to codeine. Just the small amount in cough syrup will put me to bed nearly comatose if I take it for a day or two.
I know my reaction isn't particularly unusual and because of that believe it should be dispensed only on a prescription basis and monitored by an M.D.
Good that you know. I'm actually slightly allergic to codeine myself - as in I can take a very minimal dose, but have been known to break out in lovely hives after a few pills with codeine in them. Given my other allergies - makes pain meds a bitch, so to speak.
Hope things continue to go well. In a way it is good she has a hip problem. The meds can mess with her bp enough that she shouldn't sit up or stand up too quickly or she can get dizzy and fall. Arthritis and hip pain mean she is probably accustomed to changing position slowly and using support when rising.
My aunt (the one out to Dearborn) survived polio and two brain aneurysms; she didn't survive the lung cancer caused by smoking. Please encourage your mother to stop.
Hug the cats or do whatever lets them know they are special.
Believe me when I say "I feel your pain." I've been battling allergies since I'm a little kid and although the nasal symptoms have improved some, the skin rashes and hives have gotten worse.
Yup. Mine got worse when I was in my 30s. Now they've settled down, but I can't take any NSAIDs, Aspirin, Tetracycline or it's derivatives, Penicillin or it's relatives, Sulfa, and have the codeine sensitivity. So...with the leg problem my ortho just figures when my tylenol consumption is heading to the liver damage level it's time for some active intervention (i.e. Either surgery or a cast). For whatever reason I have an abnormally high pain threshold, which may be part necessity, and part just genetics - so after some pretty significant surgeries - I end up doing the morphine drip a few days, and then by the time I'm out usually only take meds for about a day. Resulting in a large stash of controlled substances that I just don't take. It is annoying, though. DH has gotten used to when I say "leave me alone" in the morning it's because I need a few minutes to get through the early a.m. Pain before I'm ready to get going.
It's just life - and much better than any alternatives. The docs definitely don't like the allergy situation. Especially as I have issues with a bunch of anesthetics - so end up with spinals in lieu of generals.
I see we had a similiar childhood experience. If it wasn't for codeine based cough syrup, I think my parents might have strangled me for want of sleep. Of course, if they hadn't both been smokers, I might not have had such problems.
And the second thing is, be careful about how much dark,leafy vegetables your mom consumes! My mom just got off of coumadin last week (she had surgery in July for a broken hip, and they prescribed it while she wasn't very mobile -- good news, she's getting around with just a cane now!). Mom was all excited, because now she can eat broccoli and spinach again....two of her favorite foods. Just her luck that all the spinach was recalled due to an e. coli outbreak as soon as she could start again!
Ellice, Thanks for all the info! I had gotten the name written down, catapres, so figured out it was a generic for clonidine (sp). Webmd does tell you generic information, but I think it tells you just enough to scare you, rather than encourage you. With her hip and spinal damage, she moves slowly enough when she gets up that I don't think dizzy and light headed will be too much of a problem. She's been nodding off more than usual, so was a bit relieved when I could tell her that it was a side effect of the meds. As to the smoking, well... she's trying to cut back, but I suspect that she won't really quit until this particular thing is resolved one way or another. Same goes for me, actually! Although, I'm healthy enough (I think) that I'm going to give Nicoderm a shot. Harder for me, since I work in a smoking environment, but needs to be done. Again, thank you for all the info! It helps to understand what it is and what it's supposed to do. Tegan
Glad to have been some help. It just happens that in my pharm homework - this week was all about those types of drugs. I finally get it about Beta blockers - woo hoo.
Having had both my parnets die relatively young, from directly smoking caused disease, I always encourage people to clean their lungs up. The most kind of sadly funny thing - after my dad had a lung removed, and indeed quit smoking, had an O2 tank around for when he needed it - my mom did not quit. They lived in a high-rise condo on the water in Miami (one of those big buildings in the opening of Miami Vice - we laughed that we could see them on the terrace). My DB & I would confront her -"Mom, you live with a man with one lung, for goodness sake" . Her response - "But I only smoke on the terrace!" 2 .5 yrs later - they were both gone, 10 weeks apart.
Glad it helped. My pharm books are aimed at nurses, so they have a bunch of info on educating patients and their families. Medics -well, we don't get that much time, so it's interesting learning this (my friends are trying to convince me to go on and become a Nurse Practitioner, but I don't know). So
- if anyone has drug questions - I'm happy to try and explain what I can.
Best wishes going your way for you and mom! ellice
Eep! Just by virtue of your intelligence you can already run circles around the NPs in my neck of the woods. Every single time I've had to visit one here I have been grossly misdiagnosed and given incorrect prescriptions. Thankfully my fibro diagnosis has bumped me up on my GP's list of those who need special attention so I don't have to deal with NPs anymore unless it is a most urgent situation and no one else is available. I hope that is a higher quality profession in your area or else that suggestion is an insult.
Oddly enough, even though we grew tobacco back then, neither parent smoked. My Father never smoked, but Mom started when I was around ten-ish, I think. I think it was because that's when she started working in a beauty salon and was surrounded by smokers. Plus a wee bit of defiance aimed at my Dad. (bless their pointy heads, they should have divorced LONG before they finally did!) I've never really understood why I had such bronchial problems then, but I can tell you I'm probably one of few people who had their perfectly good tonsils removed, because he (Dr.) wanted to remove the adnoids (sp?) to see if that would help any. Also nearly died from it, but that's another story. LOL I bet you also had a strong resistance to penicillen for years, too, didn't you? I was taking Sudafed as a prescriptive drug long before it was an OTC thing. Think I slept through most of sixth grade! LOL
Makes ya sorta wonder how we actually survived childhood intact doesn't it? Tegan
Actually most of the NPs around here are pretty high quality. But, again - have to be careful about those sweeping generalizations. DH says - I don't see you as a nurse. But, OTOH, if I carry thru, and having my Paramedic cert
- I might, just might be able to become a flight nurse - which is pretty cool. DH thinks that if I did the NP thing, I'd have to be someone in a specialty - like the NPs in a cardiology or obstetrics practice. Who knows. I was thinking about doing the PA thing, but decided it's just way too complicated applying - at this stage of life. Plus, the local program at GWU is really expensive, really, really, and I just couldn't take on those kind of student loans. But, you never know. I really like doing labor & delivery, and anesthesia stuff - or ER - which is why I really like being on the ALS bus. My aunt (the crazy retired surgeon) is pushing me to do the RN thing and follow up to become an NA - nurse anesthetist. They do really well financially, and it's pretty fun - although nerve wracking tubing all those patients - being in the OR. We do our intubation training in an OR - which is much better than "learning" on real accident going downhill fast people. Yes, for those of you quaking about this - there is lots of time spent practicing with smart dummies - before you get to tube a real human. So now I laugh when on ER they show the docs doing the tubing. On tough ones, they usually ask the medics to do it - frequently the patient (if they're so hurt) is already tubed before arriving. Anyhow - medics do it a lot more than docs - except for anesthesiologists and Nas.
I don't think my friends mean it as an insult - I think they think my smart bossy approach would be good. Actually - I'm not so bossy to the patients - although when I was just a kid and doing my first undergrad combined with med school thing - I was really bossy . It was the arrogance of youth - and I realized that I was so impatient I'd have been a terrible doctor - wanting to smack my patients that didn't listen to what I said. But, you make your choices - I've had a lot of fun doing the research engineer thing - but now
- well - I really like working in the hospital and doing med stuff. So, I don't know if doing the volunteer Paramedic will be enough. Besides - it's kind of fun going to school.... I did say kind of, right?
A "me too" moment. My parents both smoked until after I left home. My tonsils were removed when I was 3 because the ear infections were never-ending. I regularly received shots of penicillin and got to the point where I would beg for one when my ears hurt too bad. Went to a health fair in college and took one of those breathing tests and they said my lung capacity was only about 60% of normal. Still get bronchitis and sinusitis, have lots of allergy problems, and suffer longer than others around me any time respiratory "ick" goes around. I consider myself fortunate since I've managed to avoid pneumonia even though husband had it. And my parents still scratch their heads and wonder why I'm sick so much yet DD is so healthy....
Sounds like you have plenty of options. I bet you laugh at a lot of things on those medical dramas! I think you'll do well no matter which path you choose. Kind of fun? Still up for keggers? ;-)
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