Friday, August 08, 2008

So....

Just to keep things interesting, I went to give Emma her meds just a minute ago (8pm they're due) and I began to tell Mike that they gave me the scripts yesterday and that the Enalapril was supposed to be filled for 1 MG 2x/day. But today they upped her amount a little and gave me a new script for 1.25MG 2x/day instead. Since I'd already filled the script, we'll just give her the 1.25 MG 2x/day until it runs out then we'll fill the new script that actually says the 1.25 MG 2x/day. Get it? It's still the same medication, just instead of one dose they changed it to another dose (and FYI, this med is 1MG:1ML so it's 1 ML of liquid as well).

Ok, so if that wasn't confusing by itself (really, it seemed pretty simple to me...) then I looked at the bottle to change the med amount and on the bottle it says "1MG/ML" then it says "Dosage 1.5MG 2x/day (1.5ML 2x/day)." Hmm... That's not what I was told the original script was OR what the second script was...

So then I thought I'd just give her the 1.25 MG and be glad that she doesn't need any more scripts filled there... ever... since it's in St. Pete. Then I thought about it too much. This is a problem I have. It's a disease really, I think. I thought about the nurse explaining this all to me and thought about when she said they needed to increase her dosage. Then I thought what if the original dosage was 1.5 and she was just saying it wrong to me, and then it was written somewhere wrong or whatever, and the script was actually right. If that's the case, then when they thought they were increasing her dosage, they were actually decreasing it by 0.25. Do you follow?

So I looked at the unfilled script in my hand and I called the number in the top right corner- the hospital, explained we were discharged today and had a question about our script. She put me through to CVICU who then put me through to a nurse that was available. She told me to call the number on my discharge orders to ask them what she should take. Except... the number it says to call is our local cardio and she didn't write the script and therefore wouldn't know what it should have been written for in the end. Finally, I found an unchecked box with a pre-printed phone number on it with Pediatric Cardiology written on it. That's the one! I called them and got an answering service that says I will get a call back from the cardio on call in a bit. It's a cardio that I've never seen and to my knowledge has never seen Emma. But maybe he'll have her chart? Hmm... I guess I could always give her the 1.25 and know that it's not too MUCH... it just might be too little.

See? I overthink things. It gets me in trouble. But so does having 3 different dosages written in 3 different places.

3 comments:

  1. like you need more problems to worry with like dealing with your child's health is not enough...let's decide to give different amounts LOL...Hope your day was enjoyed by being home :)

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  2. I overthink things too!! :) Darah's on 2.5 mg once a day of Enalapril. We love the tablet form....and it hides very well in yogurt or applesauce. I get very stressed out about dosages and have caught mistakes many times!

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  3. I don't think you're overthinking things in a bad sense. If there's one thing I've learned from my limited hospital experience, it's that it is not at all an exact science with no errors or sloppiness. It is entirely possible the nurse meant one thing but said another. Confusion and mixups enter at all points where people are involved. I don't mean that to criticize *other* people--I just mean that we're all human and get things wrong.

    But I'm so glad you're all home--and Emma really does look wonderful!

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