Farmer H is at it again! I have to watch him like a toddler. Saturday evening, he got up after bed-going, saying his shoulder was hurting. He went to the cabinet over the microwave, and reached up (with his bad shoulder) for a bottle of over-the-counter pain meds. It sounded like he poured out half a bottle, but that could be because he is just naturally loud and annoying.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"I'm taking some Tylenol for my shoulder."
"Wait! I saw that bottle you just put back. That's not it. You've got the ibuprofen."
"It's the same thing as Tylenol."
"No. Tylenol is acetaminophen. Ibuprofen is like Advil. One is processed by the liver, and the other by the kidneys. Your doctor told you not to take ibuprofen drugs. DID YOU ALREADY SWALLOW IT? How many did you take?"
"It's in my hand. Only two. The doctor said I could take 3000 milligrams a day."
"Of acetaminophen. That's six pills."
"Huh. I'll just put these back and get the other."
Seriously. Can Farmer H not tell the difference between long white caplets, and little round brown pills? I hope he hasn't been taking the other ones without me catching him!
4 comments:
Good thing you're keeping an eye on Hick. Goodness knows what kind of trouble he will put himself in if you were't policing his actions. And never any appreciation for your interference. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people think they're the same thing - doing the same for you, medically. It isn't until they have a medical situation that may call out the difference and what one should be taking for pain etc before one learns. Hick must have missed that conversation with his doctor. Ranee (MN)
Rae,
He followed instructions right after the surgery. He had a list of medicines he had to stop taking. Maybe they interacted with something else, or inhibited healing. Aleve was one of them, which I think is a form of ibuprofen that lasts all day. Not sure. But Farmer H was definitely told only acetaminophen, not ibuprofen. It might be different now that he is mostly healed. He needs to ask his surgeon next visit.
Yes, funny how he never thanks me for keeping him alive!
Maybe you should hide the ones he is not supposed to take and go with him to the next doctor visit and write down all the information.
River,
I might do some hiding. He KNEW what he was supposed to avoid when he came home from his surgery. His problem is in THINKING he knows the generic names for the drugs. The doctor can tell him if he can now go back to taking his regular medicines, or if to stay with his discharge instructions.
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