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Here's to Your Health:  Warning about elderly parents heart medication  |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 28 2009 : 12:52:26 PM
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The last two weeks my dad has been hospitalized in cardiac intensive care, fighting for his life with pneumonia, kidney problems and heart attack after being admitted to emergency room. He's been on a ventilator and feeding tube for 8 days.
Family members have taken off work and changed living arrangements to stay at the hospital around the clock, and his elderly sister traveled in from out of state to help out too.
Finally, a couple of days ago, after every other treatment did not improve his lungs, (even though the infection was eliminated), they looked for other problems and found he was suffering from a side effect of a drug used for arrhythmias that affects 5%-15% of patients taking it.
(This has been like living through a not-so-fun House TV episode.)
The drug is amiodarone, and the condition is called interstitial pneumonitis.
I was not even aware that patients taking this drug need to be followed up by both a cardiologist and a pulmonologist regularly - Dad was still capable of getting around on his own and hasn't suffered any noticeable memory loss, so I assumed his doctors were advising him.
I did notice that his legs were swelling a week ago, but he said he was going to the doctor, so I assumed the problem was being addressed. As it turned out, because he changed cardiologists after his surgery a year or so ago, NO DOCTOR was monitoring the potential for damage of this drug, his family doctor was evidently not fully aware of the potential side effects of this drug.
As it says on about.com on this topic, "Since many patients taking amiodarone have a history of heart problems, their symptoms are easy to mistake for heart disease (or sometimes, the effect of aging). For this reason, IP is often missed. It is probably more frequent than generally thought."
It's so obvious now that we know what the problem was.
Please, if your parents are taking this drug, or has any heart surgery that requires continuous drug therapy, find out at their release, from the doctor who prescribes the medication, what types of doctors would need to monitor them in the future and MAKE SURE IT HAPPENS!!!!
I have been too guilty of respecting my dad's privacy, you can be sure this won't be true in the future. He means too much to me.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Feb 28 2009 : 1:40:59 PM
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Oh boy Brenda, I could have just written this myself. I completely echo what you have said. In December my MIL was given gabapentin for hip pain. When I called her doc and told him the effects it was having on her he told me the dosage was too low to cause that and that no, I did NOT need to send her to hospital. A day later I listened to my DD who is a paramedic and called an ambulance. She had acute renal failure caused by an interaction with another medication.
Yesterday morning my step-father passed away from a massive heart attack. His doc that prescribed two blood pressure medications retired and the new doc told him to stop taking one of them. Unfortunately it was the wrong one.
Sometimes these oldtimers believe that everything a doctor says is the gospel truth. And I believe they do need advocates.
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
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Lainey
True Blue Farmgirl
2401 Posts
Elaine
Waco
Kentucky
USA
2401 Posts |
Posted - Mar 01 2009 : 3:55:37 PM
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Brenda and Diane, you both are in my prayers. My mother is like on 19 different medications. I don't even know what they all are. Dad has a list to give the hospital everytime she goes in, which is often. I know one time she was prescribed something that had a bad interaction with another she was on, thank goodness the pharmacy they were using at the time was on top of it and they got it straightened out. Thanks for this post Brenda, I think my dad and I need to be more pro-active as far as her meds go.
Farmgirl Sister #25
http://countrygirldreams.blogspot.com/
An Angel says, 'Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice.' |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Mar 05 2009 : 7:40:33 PM
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I'm happy to report that Dad is in step-down tonight. It has been over two weeks since he went in to emergency. Please review your parent's or elderly neighbors medications for side effects and WATCH FOR THE SIDE EFFECTS!!!!
We almost lost him, so thankful for a good doctor who figured it out, it could have gone the other way.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Mar 05 2009 : 9:19:16 PM
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Brenda- Thank you for that information. My grandparents are entering that phase where they are both needing more and more medical attention each year. This is good to know about.
How is your dad doing? Is he recovering?
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our blog: www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2009 : 6:23:09 PM
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I just got home from the hospital- Dad continues to improve. Today he walked up and down the hallway with just the walker and a physical therapist at his side. He knows he'll be in step-down for a few more days, at a minimum, he's very weak.
This medication stays in your body for 6-8 MONTHS after you stop taking it! Considering the trouble he was in, it is absolutely a miracle that the doctor figured out what the problem was and that they were able to address it so quickly.
Thanks again for the prayers.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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Here's to Your Health: Warning about elderly parents heart medication |
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Warning about elderly parents heart medication
