Family Medications

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My significant other does not take any medications. However, if he does take something for a headache or any pain he takes ibuprofen. To my surprise he knew the trade name, class, normal dose, and side effects. When I asked him what the difference was from other pain medications he knew the basics. My parents do not take medications regularly either. If my mother has a headache she takes Excedrin and she has been taking it for years. Nothing else seems to help her headaches. She does know the side effects and therefore takes it sparingly. My parents have always used more natural remedies when a cold breaks out, such as echinacea, tea, vitamin C, and a medication literally called “wellness.” “Wellness has a variety of herbs in it and it does seem to cut the average cold in half. My sister takes anxiety medication (Xanax) and medication for depression (Zoloft). She is very aware of the medications she takes, hence, the anxiety. She has anxiety about EVERYTHING. Overall, my family tries to stay away from medications and try to treat the underlying cause with a natural remedy first.

 

Medication Knowledge

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So I actually found some humor in doing this assignment because I knew how clueless my family is regarding the medications they take. I think this sums it all up: “Isn’t tylenol and Advil the same thing!?” The first person I decided to question was my mom because she was my nurse growing up and continues to be my nurse to this day. I did a simple assessment and asked her regarding tylenol, Advil and Alendronate (which she takes for osteoporosis). She knew that both tylenol and Advil can be taken to reduce fever and pain. She did not know what was the maximum daily dose or frequency at which it should be given. Unfortunately she could not identify one side effect of either medication! I asked her if she knows the signs of an allergic reaction and she replied that you sneeze a lot (good thing I was not really allergic to these medications!). I was actually proud that she knew to take her Alendronate on an empty stomach and that it is only taken once a week. She could not identify any side effect. I also decided to interview my dad as I live in a household with only 3 people. My dad is currently only taking one medication because he chooses not to visit his doctor on a regular basis. When I asked him regarding common OTC medications he was as clueless as my mom, perhaps even a little more. He believed that tylenol was another name for Advil and that the only difference was the dosage strength! I think I just found another great reason why I chose to be a nurse.

Week 7 Homework

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I performed my “drug survey” with my stepfather, whom I live with. He’s in his early 60s, and is a pretty cool guy.

Stepdad takes three medications. He does not know the names off the top of his head, but he knows that “one is for cholesterol, the other two are for prostate” (atorvastatin, tamsulosin, finasteride). He knows what they look like as well, so he won’t get confused about what he’s taking. He actually has this neat little system where he puts his daily medications and supplements in these little plastic jars with lids, and organizes them accordingly. He’s smart.

 

When asked about side effects, he could not list any. He stated that he had never felt any adverse effects when taking the medications (good), but he was unaware of what the potential side effects could be (not so good). He recalled that his pharmacist told him about them when he was prescribed the drugs, but he could not remember since that was a long time ago. I believe this is a common theme with many people who have prescription medications.

 

In regards to safe doses, stepdad does not know the exact dose he is supposed to take every day. However, he does know that he is only supposed to take the medication once a day, and is not supposed to “double-up” if he missed a day. He also knows that it’s supposed to be taken with food, so he always takes his meds during breakfast. He takes them at the same time and does not forget. He’s the kind of guy who follows instructions really well, so if he reads a label that says “take once a day with food” he will stick to it.

 

Lastly, stepdad only uses one herbal medication among his various supplements. He takes Milk Thistle, which he says his doctor recommended for him. Why? Stepdad likes to have a glass of wine or two every day, and his doctor said taking the milk thistle will help to “keep his liver healthy”. He’s not aware of what it exactly does or what any side effects may be, but he takes it and appears to be satisfied. He also takes glucosamine, vitamin d3, and fish oil as supplements.

 

Essentially, stepdad knows what his meds are for and why he takes them. Even if he does not know all the details about the exact doses and side effects, he will not hesitate to ask his physician if he ever has any questions or concerns. Shoutout to stepdad for being cool and letting me ask (and post) about his medication experience.

Wait.. WHAT Medications AM I Taking?!

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It seems that all doctors try and fix people with medication before alternative measures. So how much do people know about the medication they are taking? I surveyed my mom and one of my non-nursing friends about what they know about the medications they take and about how much they know about over the counter medications that they take.

 

medications
To start this blog, part of the reason I wanted to ask my mom what she knew, was years ago she was taking 50 mg of Pamelor (normally for depression but in lower doses can be used for other things) for her frequent migraines, which she stated worked very well for her. After nine years on the medication for her migraines she ended up also taking blood pressure medication and beta-blocker for high blood pressure and rapid heart rate. After being sick of taking so many pills at the young age of 40, she sat down and did some research about the medication she was on and found that the side effects of Pamelor included high blood pressure and high heart rate! She stopped taking the Pamelor and shortly after, her blood pressure was lower and so was her pulse and so she was able to stop taking ALL of her medication.

blood-pressure-prescription-medication

Now a few years later in life, my mom is back on blood pressure medication but she controls her blood pressure staying around the pre-hypertensive range after adapting to the DASH diet and becoming more active. Now, to follow up on what she knows off the top of her head- my mom knows that she takes “something that has potassium and a water pill”. She knows that the potassium pill is to go with her water pill. But when I asked her about side effects, she said that she realizes she should sit down and learn more since she should have learned from her previous experience. She does keep her medications written down on the back of her ID card so that she always has them and the doses she takes for when she gives blood and any other time they may be needed.

otc-pain-meds

When asking about over the counter drugs, she knows that aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen are all different and she knows ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory. Now to switch over from someone who has taken many medications to someone who has not– hence why I asked one of my non-nursing friends (who does not take any prescribed medications) about what he knows about over the counter medications. When asking him the same question- if he knows the difference between aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen, he thought that they were all the same but he knew they were for pain. I then asked him if he had a cold regardless of the symptoms what medication he would buy, and he said that he would just take NyQuil or DayQuil and wouldn’t look at the back of the box to see if it takes care of the symptoms he was having. After asking these questions, I did explain that aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen work against pain differently in the body and therefore should be used in different situations, and that for his current cold when he told me he was feeling congested I told him NyQuil probably won’t help him much.

People go to the medications they know or what they are told to take, and don’t ask questions. They don’t think that taking something as simple as Tylenol for a headache after a heavy night of drinking for a hangover could be a bad thing since it should not be mixed with alcohol, because they aren’t reading the labels. My mom learned through experience, but my friend has not yet. Over the counter medications do have their own side effects and warnings, and just because it is posted on the bottle or box, does not mean people are reading them.

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It’s a Mixed Bag

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Image result for prescription meds and OTC

Interestingly enough, last week my husband witnessed someone getting beaten and robbed in broad daylight while getting our car serviced. Without giving it a second thought, he sprang into action and tackled the guy. He was able to hold the guy down long enough until police arrived and arrested the guy. He was hurt as he had also taken a beating (to a lesser degree) and had some contusions to his head and hand. I urged him to go to see a doctor at Urgent Care and after he checked out ok, he was given a couple new scripts for medications (Diclofenac Sodium & Cyclobenzaprine) to help alleviate the swelling and pain. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to see how much he knew about his meds.

With my trusty med app in hand I asked him 5 simple questions about each drug: What is the name of the drug? What is it for? When do you take it?  How do you take it? And lastly, is there anything that you need to be aware of while taking the drug? I have to admit, I was pretty impressed by how much information he had retained from his meeting with the pharmacist.  He was able to answer my questions and tell me that he also checked to make sure that there were no drug interactions with his daily beta blocker. I was able to help him identify some OTC NSAIDs that he would want to steer clear from while taking Diclofenac sodium. He did ask why he needed to take it with food and I explained the potential adverse effects of NSAID use.

But it seems to be a mixed bag when it comes to med knowledge. Over the weekend, I also asked some coworkers about some of the common OTC medications that they take such as Advil, Tylenol, and Alleve and I was surprised to find that the majority of the group could not tell me how they were alike or different from one another. Secondly, they didn’t really get the gist of how hard NSAIDs are can be on your stomach, as they all said that they usually take them on an empty stomach. I explained to them the importance of taking them with food and also which drugs are NSAIDs so that they could better understanding how easy it is to overdose on medications such as Aspirin, Advil and Alleve.

Drugs Drugs Drugs

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I spoke with my mother and father regarding the medications they take and asked them a few questions. My dad doesn’t take any regular medications be he knew a lot about common over the counter drugs for pain and when you are sick, ect. (anti inflammatory, cold, cough, stomach pain medications). He also knows about the anti nausea/dizziness medications because he gets motion sickness sometimes when he travels. He was not really familiar with side effects to medications or the safe doses except what the bottle tells him.

My mom on the other hand has a few different health problems and has worked in the medical field for many years. Therefore, she is fairly familiar with different medications or at least the common classes of medications. She also knows a lot about alternative medications and practices. We have even used some alternative treatments. She takes a medication for her blood pressure- Bystolic (beta blocker). She knew what it is for and why she is taking it. She stated that Bystolic can cause your blood pressure to decrease too much and may cause a headache. Synthroid and Cytomel are other medications she takes due to hypothyroidism. She stated that she thinks these medications can cause tachycardia if she took too much of the drugs.th-1

Medication Awareness

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I think this was a very interesting assignment to complete because people really do have such a wide variety of knowledge of their medications. Some people report that they take a “water pill” because of their heart while others might say that they take spironolactone 10mg to reduce their blood pressure. Others might be aware of their medications but simply have too many to keep track of them. As a result, it is so important that we evaluate an individual’s knowledge regarding their medications before we assume they know what their taking and understand why they’re taking it.

Of the five family members and friends that I talked to, I was partially surprised to learn that all five of them were able to give me the name of the medications (both prescribed and OTC) they take and why they take it. On one hand, I was not surprised to find out they all knew this information because this is a medication that you are putting into your body, and you should at least know what it is and why you’re ingesting it. However, from the other point of view, I was surprised to learn that they did know these medications because so many people don’t know the names of their medications or why they’re taking it. They just know that the doctor prescribed it, so they need to take it. In a way, it puts a lot of faith into the healthcare system when errors can happen.

Once I delved into more detailed questions, such as what dose they take, what side effects there are, and what the safe dosage range is, more people started to be unaware of their drugs. One individual knew all the information as he had researched it in depth while a second one stated that she always reads the box before she takes the medications. A third knew everything except the safe doses. The last two knew how many pills they took, but not the dosage, side effects, or safe range. One even laughed and stated that she just always takes two pills, and it’s not a problem. One also stated that she uses herbal remedies in conjunction with her medications, but is not aware if they interact with each other.

The medications that people had lower knowledge regarding were the OTC drugs. The individuals who were taking prescription drugs had a much greater knowledge, and one was even able to tell me the safe dosage range. However, while the OTC knowledge was lower, I do feel that the knowledge about OTC was greater than I anticipated. Both individuals discussing OTC were able to tell me what the generic names were as well as side effects of them. The ability to tell me the generic name was definitely surprising because I feel that many people aren’t aware of generic names, which creates problems with people taking too much of the main drug (e.g. acetaminophen with Tylenol, cough/cold meds, etc.). I was definitely happy with that range of knowledge.

Overall, I feel that the amount of knowledge people knew about their medications did surprise me, but it could be improved. It’s important that people have this information about medications so they can better protect themselves in case changes happen. This could easily be done when we are discussing medications with our patients in the hospital (explain the medications, provide medication handouts, etc.) or our family and friends when they are given a prescription drug or go to take an OTC medication. It is our job to help educate the community, and while we’ve made progress, we can still help improve their knowledge.

Medication Knowledge

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This week’s exercise truly gave me a greater appreciation for patient education in nursing. I took this opportunity to ask my family members about specific medications that are commonly used such as Tylenol, Advil, Aspirin and Insulin. I was surprised to find such a limited knowledge about commonly used medications. I found that many in my family honestly believed Tylenol and Advil to be the exact same medication. My husband for instance, only knew that you take Tylenol for headaches, and “are not supposed to take Advil before working out” according to his high school cross-country coach. When asked about common side-effects on Tylenol and Advil, all of the family members I asked could not come up with any. However, Aspirin tends to be a better known medication in my family it seems. Both my mother and husband were aware of common uses of the medication, such as heart attacks, heart conditions and common side effects, such as bleeding. Although most of my family members understood the use of insulin, they did not know the various types of insulin and potential adverse effects. I really enjoyed completing this assignment, as it gave me a better understanding of baseline knowledge our patients might have in the clinical setting. It also gave me the opportunity to open-up this discussion with my family and practice educating. The assignment also reminded me how unrealistic it is for a patient to be sent home without a proper explanation of each medication prescribed. If my own family members, who have regular contact with a health care professional, know so little about common medications, there is no doubt in my mind that many others know even less. I hope that as I enter the nursing field, I am able to use the knowledge I’ve gained throughout this program to educate my patients about the treatments they’re being prescribed.

 

Who Knows About Drugs?

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I asked a couple of family members what they knew about the current medications they were taking and these were their responses:

My grandma: Today my grandma turned 84, I decided to visit her and then I remembered about this assignment. I asked her what medications she was taking and she said she was taking two pills. When asked if she knew what they were for she said, “The white one is for my blood pressure.” She did not know the name of it, but then again she does not know English and I don’t even think she would attempt to pronounce it. She said the other pill was for her heartburn. She did not know any side effects, she only knew what time she had to take them.

My uncle: My uncle takes many medications. This is only because he had a kidney transplant a year ago due to his diabetes. He said he takes about 10 medications a day. He did not know their name but he knew the color of the medication and what it was for. His nurse has helped him organize his medications, she has marked the ones that are extremely important to take (anti-rejection medications) with a red X. He also carries a list of his current medications with him at all times. I asked him if he knew what would happen if he stopped taking the medications and he said “I am not really sure, but I just know that it is very important to take them.” He also did not know any side effects.

My cousin: My cousin is 20 weeks pregnant. She is taking prenatal vitamins and iron. I asked her if she knew what the prenatal vitamins were for and she said no, but the doctor said it was important for the baby. I was excited to explain to her why it is so important to take them. She knew the iron was for her anemia, and she did not know any side effects but she did know to take it with orange juice.