Posted by susan C on September 1, 2001, at 12:36:44
In reply to Re: in case of an accident... LONG, posted by v on September 1, 2001, at 5:36:03
I have been keep a msword document, I update it before I go to any doctor. I list everything I am taking or expect to take, what it is for, when I started, how much and possible side effects, who prescribed it when and their name address and phone number. I keep reducing the font size and margins to fit on one page (lol) At the top in big letters I state what I am allergic to and what my reactions are. I put this with my wallet, my collection of medicines and vitamins I take, my pocket, the car and my spouse. And, of course, everytime I go in to the gp (or other doc) I hand them a new one. The intake nurse is always so appreciative, as she then does not need to write all this down.
This is all qualified, by sometimes I am too confused to keep track of anything, but it does get done before I go to doc, as I am very tired of telling them everything I take.
Just my way. Susan C.
one of the reasons i started this thread is because i'm a cyclist, among other things (when i am functioning that is). i keep a card inside the little bag under my saddle with emergency contact & current meds
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> but the other reason i've been thinking about this is because i recently went to the doctor for a throat and chest infection... i couldn't get in to see my primary and had to settle for the doctor's asssistant, whom i've not had good luck with in the past - i suspect him of being a recovering addict because of his refusal to dispense anything with any narcotic properties... in other words anything that works for me... i have a very low pain threshhold and a very high tolerance to opiads of any kind since my meds... btw, i am not an abuser, just someone looking for relief... which is what the damn things were designed for... but i digress, although this is somewhat pertinent to my recent experience.
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> now supposedly (i even asked to make sure) the doctor's assistant has "your" chart - there is supposed to be only one chart... my chart is filled with all my meds... the FIRST thing the primary does (or her nurse) is check on my current med status... this one didn't even ask (so what chart was he looking at?) and i was too sick to remember to say anything. rather than give me the cough medicine which should have been in my chart as having worked before (really nasty brown stuff, it's strong and it works) he gives me a cough medicine with dextromethorphan - basically same stuff as over the counter but stronger... now here come the fun part... i have discovered that i have a weird reaction to dextromethorphan... i've pinpionted it to either effexor or ritalin since those have been the only drugs which i have been on consistently for some time now, although at different doses. the only warning label on cough medicines with this ingredient pertain to maoi's so i wasn't too concerned... and so i accepted what was obviously just a stronger version of an over the counter that i'd have to pay more for
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> the first night, i took the prescription dextramethorphan, my partner said i was slurring severly like i was drunk and sent me off to bed. the next day (being too sick to go to work) when i took the next dose i found myself in bed the whole day feeling both drunk and on acid... hallucinating, not unpleasantly but enough to know it was happening and i didn't move around much... most of the time i lay fascinated by what i could see inside my eyelids when i closed my eyes... the next dose put me to what i think may have been the edge of psychosis - as i remember having this feeling that i could continue to let go and recede into this place and not come back if i wanted to but i feared still feeling physical sensation (i tested whether i could still feel the air on my skin) and would therefore know what horrible things were being done to me, obviously i returned. when i finally tried to get up i felt horrible, my motor skills severely impaired, and threw the rest of the damn stuff away
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> before i am chastised for having testing it 3 times, i will admit to being an old hippie and somewhat adventurous to experimentation... besides the drug labels didn't say it was toxic to me... although it obviously was
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> my current cocktail is faily complicated, as it contains alot of different meds
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> what other, possibly "benign" substances could harm me... and are they also linked to some of the same toxicity of maoi's?
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> what protection do i have? i've been thinking, maybe a medic-alert bracelet that says something like "check for medications listed elsewhere on card" with my pdocs phone # on it... would that help? is it a worthwhile investment - and could it protect people from being misdiagnosed like elizabeth was as having overdosed on benzos or imagine having those wonderful side effects of missing your effexor dose or whatever else becomes addictive to the body... how would they understand that? i just don't think we can assume that the medical care we receive in an emergency or any situation will be good... there are countless stories about the "practice" of medicine
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> i apologize for rambling for so long... i know i could've left much of out but i don't want to go back and edit myself, as i so often do in the outside world... so i appreciate anyone who reads the whole thing and maybe wants to comment or share
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> ("edited" here so as not to go on any longer... i've psycho-babbled at you enough.. :)
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> blessings to all
> v
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> "those who hear not the music... think the dancers mad"
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> > One of my past pDocs suggested wearing a bracelet stating "Allergic to Demerol" when taking an MAOI, since that is a potentially fatal interaction. I carry my pDoc's card in my wallet. When changing and titrating meds frequently it would be hard to maintain a list.
> >
> > Chris A.
poster:susan C
thread:76946
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010828/msgs/77284.html