wrong dose Pred...my fault!

[karools16]

Happy New Year, everybody!. I don''t know whether it's brain fog, lack of concentration, approaching 70, or????????? I have been doing my daily boxes of meds, and, to my horror, I see I have been taking 15mg Pred, i.o. 3mg daily. I am always careful with all meds, so this is a real shock. When I was dischaged from hospital end of November, I was given a steroid reduction chart, to decrease from 30 and then, gradually, return to current 3mg dosage. The packaging from the hospital, whom I am not blaming, is very different to that of my local pharmacy. I don't know how long..maybe a week or 2, I have been on 15, but have no 'ones' in stock, and am taking 5mg until next week, when new script will come. Is all this yo-yo-ing with Pred, going to be a problem?? Sorry for the rant, but I can't understand my carelessness.

ps How are you in Italy, snow bound, PMRpro?

[Hidden]

Ooooppps! How have you been feeling? It's easily done, if packaging is different & the tablets are the same colour, I've always thought they should be different, the enteric coated ones are!

So I'm presuming you should have been on 3mg? You might find the drop a bit of shock to your system if you've been bouncing around on 15mg

When I had my Surgery, I was on 7mg, had Hydrocortisone cover in theatre then they put my Pred up to 10mg for two weeks then two weeks after that l was having Dexamethasone plus my 7mg of Pred along side my Chemo & it didn't seem to bother me unduly, except for being in the high side of 'normal'

PMRpro might be able to advise you what to do for the best.

Don't worry yourself over the 'mistake' though, it happens & at least you've noticed it now.

Best Wishes

Mrs N💅🏼

[karools16 in reply to Hidden]

MrsNails, have been feeling ok actually and pains I had in both arms, for some time, seems to have gone, and can turn over in bed.Yes, should be taking 3mg.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Oh dear....easy done though!

Guess now you've discovered what you've done you've dropped down to 5mg daily. You may find the first few days a bit rough with steroid withdrawal symptoms, but as you're not sure how long you've been on 15mg it might not be too serious. Can you work out from what you've used how long it's been? If it's only a week it might not be too bad!

Don't think it will cause any long term effect, but unfortunately these things happen, no matter how careful we are.

Don't chastise yourself too much, it is what it is. Nobody's perfect!

[karools16 in reply to DorsetLady]

Hello DorsetLady.It was when I opened a new box, that the penny dropped, and I found the 5 and not the 1 in the pack. Brown packaging with red corner, saying 5!! Don't know how I missed it. Hope I continue to be well with the drop.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Bet you feel good don't you!!!!!

Will it be a problem? Don't know - some people are able to take 15mg a day for a week or two and then stop without problems when they are taking it for something else - the only way is to try and see how you feel. As DL says, you may feel a bit rough to start with. just watch out for any signs of adrenal problems - though if you were at 3mg before they should be able to cope.

We have had the first snow of the season today - but still barely a couple of inches down here. Looks prettier though! Up the mountain they have had more like 6 in. David's cousin and husband have arrived today for their skiing holiday - it ALWAYS snows when they arrive! I must get them in with the local tourist board - we have had nothing this winter for nearly 50 days. They arrive: SNOW! All the runs were open, all artificial snow though, surrounded by brown meadows. We were going to go up the valley to have dinner with them but it was still snowing up there - so no, we won't! There'll be enough of that on Sunday as we head off for the UK to a funeral - by car.

[karools16 in reply to PMRpro]

Yes, PMRpro, I do feel well.I was thinking, before this, that I would reduce to 2mg, as had been on 3mg for a few months, but decided against it with all the changes the hospital made, and now will be quite a bit longer.

We also had snow today, melted by late afternoon, with forecast of more the weekend, but NOTHING like we saw, on tv, how it is in Italy!

Safe travelling Sunday.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to karools16]

All the snow in Italy has been down south - not a sausage up here in the north where we need it for the ski season! And now they are telling us the price of fresh food is about to shoot up because the lettuce and stuff has been frozen...

Thank you!

[Mrsd12f]

Nearly did it myself, last week! I agree with Mrs. Nails re. colour and why are they all so tiny? I imagine it must be really difficult for anyone with eyesight problems and/or arthritis in their hands, which, given our average age and the fact that lots of us have other conditions, would not be unusual.

Rant over!

[karools16 in reply to Mrsd12f]

Yes Mrsd12f, I do have arthritis in my fingers, hands look quite grotesque, sadly.

To give you all a giggle and know my absent-mindedness; I put my 'snow-boots' on yesterday, to stock up for the big freeze. Left foot worried me all round Tesco, and I started limping. Took boot off at home, AND......................ny SHOEHORN was in my boot!

Tonight, I put a large crumpet in the oven. Wondered why tray wouldn't go right in, and there , at the back, was a pot, from the previous evening, I had put there to dry out!!

Oh dearie me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mrsd12f in reply to karools16]

Glad I'm not the only one! Just envisaging the shoehorn - could be a whole new look!

[karools16 in reply to Mrsd12f]

It's a long flattish plastic 1 and it was there because the boots had been put away for the last winter.

[isabella2015 in reply to karools16]

Karools ! I can identify with you , absent minded, looney, quirky, eccentric - that's me!! Best wishes, loved your shoehorn, I've done slippers and odd shoes!! Good lick x

[KSCGY2016 in reply to isabella2015]

I look in the mirror and find I have been wearing odd earrings all day around town. Duh!

[karools16 in reply to KSCGY2016]

KSCGY2016, I have done that too, and also found I only had 1 on, when I took 1 off to use the phone.

[karools16 in reply to isabella2015]

Yay! My kind of people then!

[maria40 in reply to Mrsd12f]

I have at times been reduced nearly to tears, not so much by pred packaging but by my daily aspirin which is so difficult to remove from blister pack; I have to use the end of a biro to get at it as I too have OA in my fingers. I think I will ask my very helpful pharmacist if this can be done this each month for me.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to maria40]

You can always have tablets out into a bottle provided they aren't ones that must be protected from moisture.

However - I'm sure there is a device for removing tablets from blister packs.

I was right - livingmadeeasy.org.uk/bathi...

[maria40 in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you so much. I have ordered one and will let you know how it works.

[karools16 in reply to PMRpro]

Interesting article.

[HeronNS in reply to maria40]

Your comment reminded me of something I heard about several years ago. In order to help train young people who were embarking on a career of looking after the elderly and disabled (young doctors, nurses, caregivers, etc) a suit was designed which when worn showed them what sort of physically limiting issues their future patients and clients had to deal with. As I move through my days now, rather free of PMR disability, but nevertheless in rapid aging mode, I wonder if the way I feel is what is replicated by those restrictive suits. Anyone who is designing tools, devices, clothing, appliances, whatever, which is likely to be used by aging or disabled people needs to have to cope with the equivalent of one of those suits. "Oh look at the cool blister pack I've designed! Now, let me see if I can open it when wearing gloves...."

[karools16 in reply to HeronNS]

Everything is geared towards being child-proof, and rightly so, but the manufacturers don't take into account, arthritic fingers which cannot twist/turn med. bottles/similar.Maybe I should start writing to them.

[HeronNS in reply to karools16]

I've been given those impossible to remove unless you are a weightlifter tops in the past. Last time I had to use pliers to crush the lid to remove it! (And I don't have trouble with the childproof lids on OTC meds like aspirin.) I complained to the pharmacy, especially as there have been no children in our household for decades. Now there is a note in my file saying to provide the easy off lid.

[karools16 in reply to HeronNS]

Great! Will remember that. Thanks.

[obrien23]

Hello to you, sorry to hear of your mistake with meds. You are not alone i have done exactly the same before Christmas. I blamed the packaging they looked exactly alike. I made a very urgent phone call to my GP who was very understanding. Instead of taking 9mg per day I was actually taking 30mg per day for 8 days !!! Before I realised what I'd done. I started from the beginning again for 10 days ie 10mg then reduced down to 9mg. My GP gave me meds all of 1mg to save my confusion. Don't worry I'm sure we are not the first (brain fog)

[karools16 in reply to obrien23]

Thanks obrien23. I have now put ALL 5mg Pred, in a bag, clearly marked 5 mg, and put it at the back of the cupboard.In hindsight, I could've rung the pharmacy, but will see how I cope.Did you feel a difference in health i.e. better? for taking such an increased dosage?

[obrien23 in reply to karools16]

Hi Kaools 16 Best thing to do is hide the meds just as you have done. Yes i felt fine on the large dose until I realised what i had done, then i just panicked. Im sure it's all my fault really as i don't like taking them, who does, i realise i have to be patient and very careful with the meds although i only have boxes of 1mg now. You wonder where all tnis comes from. I have very bad OA so maybe an offshoot from that. I'm now down to 4mg per day but can't get any lower the pains come back with a cenfance. Hope you are ok

[karools16 in reply to obrien23]

I no longer worry about taking Pred, or any of the other meds, I have. If you are pain-free, that;s all I ever want! I also have OA, and curvature of the spine, but we all deal with our 'afflictions' as best we can.

Pred. IS the answer. Takes time and a LOT of patience.

Best wishes.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Ask your pharmacy to put a large label on the pack with the number in thick felt-tip pen so you can't mistake it. It is easy when the tablets are in blister packs - just write it on the cardboard pack. Never take medications out of their original package until you take them or put them in a dosette box and do each tablet size separately.

Everybody has done it at some point! And there are some companies that have different colours for their ordinary pred tablets - though not many and they probably didn't get the NHS contract...

[karools16 in reply to PMRpro]

The pharmacy actually slipped up badly, recently, and I went to see the pharmacist, privately. Error on their part. Box Pred marked 1 and they were 5. Mumbled something about them being in the same drawer, which I didn't accept, from a pharmacy

.The Pred, and others, are in a dosette box.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to karools16]

Quite - it could have killed someone. Totally unacceptable - and I might have gone further than just the pharmacy. They are all supposed to be checked.

[HeronNS in reply to PMRpro]

Obviously a global problem:

cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-sco...

[karools16 in reply to HeronNS]

Heron NS, that was a real scary piece! aND TO THINK THEY STILL HAD THEIR JOBS AFTER THAT!!!!!

[HeronNS in reply to karools16]

Exactly. The family of the woman who died from the mtx overdose are complaining about the leniency of the sentence.

[karools16 in reply to HeronNS]

Obviously no conscience!

[piglette in reply to karools16]

My gosh that could have been disastrous. No excuse at all. I was given pred that had passed its sell by date recently. I really would have thought the dispenser should be checking these things.

[karools16 in reply to piglette]

Ever since that happened, I check ALL meds, esp. the ones delivered to my door, and the driver has to wait until I check them.

Yes, totally agree. I told the pharmacist, that somebody else who either couldn't see clearly, or just took as directed, would be in trouble, unknowingly.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to karools16]

The figures for people in hospital solely due to medication mistakes is horrifying - though not as horrifying as the figures for people killed by such errors.

[karools16 in reply to PMRpro]

And is that ever revealed? Probably covered up.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to karools16]

Oh no - revealed every so often. And if you know how to find it - the figures will be available.

[karools16 in reply to PMRpro]

Appalling!