Medication timing....

[andromeda31]

Hi!

Caitlin's old meds were given twice a day, which was no problem, breakfast and supper. We are pretty consistent in the times for breakfast (except for Saturdays-she gets to sleep in). Her new med has to be given 3x/day and the dr was specific in saying breakfast, NOON, and 5pm (or she could possibly not fall asleep at her usual bedtime). I am still struggling to get used to medicating her 4x/day now. We usually eat between 5:30-6:15, and it varies depending when Brian gets home from work and what boys have going on in the evening. I did find a nice case to put a syringe (liquid dose) in for the noon dose. I had been not bringing it along at first, but usually I am out and about town all morning so I was having to cut stuff short to race home and couldn't do spontaneous stuff with the kids. I have been late with that noon dose though....usually I remember by 12:30. Today I took the kids to the planetarium (they earned a ticket to the show from the summer library program). BTW, Caitlin loved it! Didn't know how she would react. But it got out a little before noon so I decided I would go to my sister's first and drop my nephew off, then medicate. I ended up chatting a bit so it was 12:30 again today for the noon dose. So I gave her 5pm dose around 5:15. Then I give her 'old' meds with supper which was 6:15 tonight. I think the new med is constipating her also...I met Brian up north for a few days and Caitlin stayed at his parents' house and she didn't poop for 3 days there...and she had been working on a poop before I brought her there. Today I gave her a full dose of miralax so I am hoping that takes care of it. I think I will keep on with the miralax for a few days to get her going again. Guess I just had to vent about it! It is going to be weird this fall giving up control...she will get her noon dose at school. I already asked the pharmacy and they said they would give me an extra labeled bottle and I can just pour more into it as needed for school. Just wondering if anyone has tips for remembering dose schedules? Was thinking of setting alarms on my cell phone but hate to have to set that daily...

Lisa O.

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((Lisa))))))

We keep a chart for Jon's meds, and that is very helpful, when you're giving more than one med several times a day.

Eventually, we memorize the times and just know. For Jon, 8:00 a.m. Gtube feeding off-water flush. 9:00 a.m. seizure meds. 10:00 a.m. Gtube feeding back on. And so forth every 8 hours. We are in a rhythm now.

If you are 15-30 minutes off on the dosing, it probably won't make a tremendous difference. A couple of hours, yes, it could make a difference (from my experience, but my boys did not take Felbatol, so that might be different). If Caitlin can go from 5:00 p.m. until breakfast without any meds, then I don't think 15-30 minutes will be a concern. But again, I don't know about Felbatol.

I think you will get into a mode fairly quickly, where you will instinctively realize that it's time for meds. Try not to stress over it. You're remembering, and she's receiving her med. It's okay.

Planetarium! One of my favorite places to visit! I'll bet the kids loved it! When I was a kid, I visited the Griffith Park Observatory a few times. AWE SOME!!!

Constipation ~ How does Caitlin feel about prune juice? It's a natural way to stimulate the bowels. A little warm prune juice with breakfast every morning might do the trick.

I'm glad you vented, Lisa. Now take a deep breath, try to relax, and know that you are a terrific Mom and doing just fine with this med change.

Love & Light,

Rose

[andromeda31]

Thanks Rose! Yes it is weird how with Caitlin's meds, I never forget....it was so automatic when it was 2x/day. When I or the other kids have to take something I always forget and usually do a chart on our whiteboard to know if I missed a dose. For her constipation...we did prune juice when she was little...unfortuantely it didn't help. She liked it so it was a bummer that it didn't work! Tomorrow it will be 7 days (at least) that she hasn't pooped. The weird thing is typically when she is backed up, I can feel a lump of it in her belly...right now her belly is soft no mass can be felt when I push around her belly button. It might even be longer than 7 as it takes me a few days to realize, geez she hasn't pooped. I looked up felbatol and of course constipation is one of the effects. I had given her a full dose of miralax on friday- no effect. Tonight I gave her a half dose of miralax and 2 exlax (she typically gets one daily though last time we saw GI she said C could have 2 so I am not worried about doubling that). I think if she doesn't poop tomorrow morning after all that I am going to call her ped to see what they think. This isn't really typical for her to not go this long. It's always something! Anyway, I will definitely have to take my kids back to the planetarium....it was nice! They had a wheelchair spot and we got seated first so she could be in that spot with us by her. I had just assumed I would hold her in my lap or something. Logan didn't get to go as he stayed up north an extra day and I know he would just love it! I think the last time I had gone there, we were still using the stroller for Caitlin so I didn't know they had a special spot. Guess it's been a few years!!

Lisa O.