"Goomba" > wrote in message
...
> jmcquown wrote:
>> "Arri London" > wrote in message
>
>>> The pills are probably what killed her; she wasn't really very ill other
>>> than that.
>>
>>
>> I concur. I never got those prescriptions filled but there were four
>> different doctors seeing her at the hospital before she was sent to the
>> PT/rehab unit. When she finally did come home the scripts were all
>> issued under one doctor's name (and it certainly wasn't the gerontologist
>> who had her down to three prescriptions). I only met this doctor one
>> time. It was before my mother broke her hip while under hospital care.
>> Well before she wound up on all those medications. He looked a little
>> like a young Desi Arnaz and my mother commented on how handsome he was.
>> She also pointed out, "Jill, he's not wearing a wedding ring." Mom, stop
>> that! LOL
>>
>> Jill
>
> While four different services may have seen your mother, usually one of
> them is running the show. In her case I imagine it was the Hospitalist?
> You sent me a scan of 15 scripts, not the 30 you claim she was prescribed.
> It was immediately obvious from the scripts that your mother was being
> treated for hypertension, hypothyroidism, Atrial fib, some CHF and
> pulmonary disease. Also included was Megace, a steroid used to stimulate
> appetite, and some electrolyte replacements to compensate for the loss
> caused from the Lasix, a diuretic. The only things I see missing from the
> scripts you sent me were some pain pills? Did you have those filled?
> Was she being seen by anyone routinely all the years she was taking care
> of your father? Some times people put their own health on the back burner
> and ignore problems when caring for others.



Fifteen wasn't enough for you? As I explained in my email to you, I
probably threw away the other two prescriptions along with the package the
hospice nurse brought home from the hospital for my mother. Forgot about
that, didn't you?

The other prescriptions accompanied her discharge instructions. I was also
told to take her to physical therapy for 4 weeks, although how I was
supposed to do that with a woman who couldn't walk and who was discharged
from the PT/rehab unit as "not improving" I have no idea.

Oh, and I was given information to have her eat only low-fat, low sodium
foods. Drink skim or 1% milk, eat eat egg beaters, eat boneless skinkless
chicken breast, ground turkey, etc. Since she weighed only 80 lbs before
she went in the hospital and we were trying to get her to eat more I found
that ludicrous. Then of course, they put her back on coumadin when spinach
was one of the few things I *could* get her to eat once she came back home.
Her gerontologist immediated took her off coumadin and put her on low dose
aspirin instead.

My mother wasn't on pain medication. She got liquid (children's) tylenol
here at home. And the "routine" physician she saw last year was one I told
them to keep away from her while she was in the hospital. He's the guy who
had her on the original nine prescriptions (three of which were taken three
times a day) before I got a gerontologist to do home visits, do blood tests
and urinalysis. He was very fond of writing prescriptions.

That's the trouble with "medical people". They aren't the be all, end all
simply because they went to medical school. At some point you have to step
up and ask WHY are you giving her all of this?!

Apparently I'm not the only one since kili is apparently on a lot of
antibiotics and they haven't figured out which one is actually working for
her yet. Over-medicating definitely does happen. Whether you believe it or
not.

Jill