Accidental Fatal OD =( Reminder to ALL

[troubleinohio]

in light of the horrific things that have happened in my family recently i thought i would post a friendly reminder to you all about taking your meds.... i have a question..how many of you keep track of what medicine you took and at what time? Do you write it down every day? I used to keep a slip of paper folded up in my pants pocket and always wrote down when i took my medicines so i wouldnt lose track or forget completely and end up double dosing or taking something too early.  How many of you do this? If you don't i hope you will start to do so. My sister in law is laying in a hospital dying right now because she didnt do this. She has been a long term CP patient due to replacements of her shoulders, hip, knees and back surgeries. she had been on MS Contin and Percocet for breakthru...well a couple days ago she forgot she had already taken some medicine and ended up taking more right after the first dose...went into respiratory and cardiac arrest...by the time her husband found her, she was clinically dead.. EMT's did revive her before taking to the hosp. but she had already been without oxygen too long and is now braindead and on life support. THe family is taking her off it today. Her children from out of state came in late last night and have been at her side all day long and will soon take her off and let her pass.   I still cant believe it...ive had about 2 days now to "digest" this and still I am in shock that she is going to die...i just talked to her the day before it happened, and we were close. she was there with me when my 2 sons were born and she used to come over and do my hair and make up a lot too...im so sad...
please let this be a reminder to you guys to always make  a note of when you take your medicine so you dont accidentally overdose too..

[taaheatea]

I am sorry to hear of your news. I too have had close calls. I had an emergency spinal injury and have to have emergency surgery. Well in 18 months I ended up having four spinal surgeries. I have a rare autoimmune disorder and blood disorder. Along with that I have Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. This is a chronic neurological pain disorder steming from the brain and spinal cord. It can be managed with meds and surgery, and I have had both. There is no cure.
Fortunately, I am not on most of what I was these past 6 yrs. Even though I wrote them down, there were times if I didn't eat with the meds, or when they adjusted the dose, or if I lost weight, (I have a digestive disorder can't gain wt. had feeding tube), the medications got too strong. There were times my husband, or neighbour, or I would just faint in public.
It's amazing how potent the drugs can be even if you're dehydrated, or even taking a anti-nauseau med.  I also was on Oxycontin and roxycodone for breakthrough pain. Then they had me on muscle relaxants, smooth muscle relaxants for my digestive system, and all these combinded nearly killed me. Just last year they were giving me my meds in my port-a-cath in my chest, and thats when the doses kept getting higher b/c I develped a tolerance. One day they gave me 4 differnt drugs and I unconscious and they didn't think I'd make it. I finally had to switch doctors bc that doctor was not being careful with my dosing or my coumadin. I have had over 33 surgeries and hundreds of hospitalizations.
I will pray for you and your family. I am glad you wrote this note for others' to observe. It is always good to have reminders because it easy to get complacent.

[ShoShoSaysNo22]

my thoughts and prayers are with you too....so sad....I use a pill box too, so when my daily dose is done it's done...

this is a reminder to me how dangerous mscontin can be....and is all the more reason for me to stay with my taper, and my desire to be off it completely...or at least at a much lower dose....

wishing you  comfort at this time ...

shosho

[Mollyrae]

Hello:

I am so sorry this has happened to you and your family. Your post is a good reminder of how careful we need to be about taking our meds. It is so easy to forget when one took the last dose..especially when in so much pain.

I use a pill box. They are counted out for each day so that I know how when and how much I take. I can't tell you how much that pill box has helped me over the years.  I also use the Patch and on the box is a daily planner on when the patch needs to be changed. I never forget to mark it down.

I wish you and your family the best and hope that each of you can get through this time of sorrow together.

I will say an extra prayer for for family. Please take care,
Mollyrae