Underdose Overdose
I spent nearly 40 minutes on the phone today with the pharmacist and doctor after Aron was at Eliot's clinic appointment this morning because I didn't trust the doctor's response to the fact that I realized I'd mixed one of Eliot's drugs incorrectly (yes they trust us to mix drugs).
After talking with the pharmacist for quite a while it turned out that we'd be under dosing Eliot by quite a bit and it was a miracle that he hadn't come down with an infection. As we talked more (much, much more) about details (while the pharmacist checked in with some mystery person standing next to him) it turned out we were overdosing Eliot. It went from great alarm that I'd put my son's health at great risk to great alarm that I'd overdosed my child on this drug and thus put his health at great risk.
After 30 minutes with the pharmacist the final advice was to go forward with the medicine - with my new understanding of dosage (which do not fear we were giving all the other drugs correctly and it was Aron who convinced me to do the dosage I was doing and it was I who was convinced because its fucking confusing). The pharmacist also wanted me to call at tell the doctor.
I felt like such a moron on the phone with the doctor (and like such a child abuser on the phone with the pharmacist). I swear the doctor was sitting in the room holding the phone out in front of his face, crossing his eyes and mouthing 'total moron' at the phone or maybe sitting in the room with a bunch of his big-brain doctor friends with me on the speaker phone and all of them trying so hard not to laugh that they blew uncomfortable air into their Eustachian tubes.
Thank you thank you thank you God for my new found lack of shame whatsoever and my willingness to call and make a fool of myself just because my gut tells me something is wrong. Thank you for the future day when the medical field realizes that this stuff is all mumbo-jumbo to the rest of us and we shouldn't really be trusted with this insane concoction.
After talking with the pharmacist for quite a while it turned out that we'd be under dosing Eliot by quite a bit and it was a miracle that he hadn't come down with an infection. As we talked more (much, much more) about details (while the pharmacist checked in with some mystery person standing next to him) it turned out we were overdosing Eliot. It went from great alarm that I'd put my son's health at great risk to great alarm that I'd overdosed my child on this drug and thus put his health at great risk.
After 30 minutes with the pharmacist the final advice was to go forward with the medicine - with my new understanding of dosage (which do not fear we were giving all the other drugs correctly and it was Aron who convinced me to do the dosage I was doing and it was I who was convinced because its fucking confusing). The pharmacist also wanted me to call at tell the doctor.
I felt like such a moron on the phone with the doctor (and like such a child abuser on the phone with the pharmacist). I swear the doctor was sitting in the room holding the phone out in front of his face, crossing his eyes and mouthing 'total moron' at the phone or maybe sitting in the room with a bunch of his big-brain doctor friends with me on the speaker phone and all of them trying so hard not to laugh that they blew uncomfortable air into their Eustachian tubes.
Thank you thank you thank you God for my new found lack of shame whatsoever and my willingness to call and make a fool of myself just because my gut tells me something is wrong. Thank you for the future day when the medical field realizes that this stuff is all mumbo-jumbo to the rest of us and we shouldn't really be trusted with this insane concoction.
posted by Sara at 10:28 PM
4 Comments:
Follow your gut - it knows! And ignore anyone who says you're foolish for asking. Mom
Shame is usually from the inside - anger and powerlessness combined. The doctor is responisble for answering - his thoughts are what they are. Hold all accountable to you- it is your right.
My reaction to this post & the "right word for poo" post before it: the world will be a better place when it is developed and run by (women) people who are more concerned with health and gut-rightness than with the right word for shit or sounding smart by writing incomprehensible instructions that regular Jane can't follow.
Oh, I will live in that world someday--and I'll say Sara showed it to me! Right on, Right on!
Syrups and powders and tablets and cc's and ml's and tsp.'s. YUP it gets weird.
If someone sends acetaminophen in a box marked "80mg.per tablet" and asks that TWO be given. Then refills the same box later with tablets that are "160mg. per tablet" and tells you that two tablets are still OK "because it is the same" EESCH!! to qualify, the someone was not a pharmacist or a doctor or even a nurse!
aunt donna
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