holy crap!
i've been dealing with asthma for several weeks. it had been a little better for a week, but last night i started having trouble breathing again. i went to the ER (i didn't want to wait so long to do the oral steroids this time, since last time that led to pneumonia and antibiotics in addition to the steroids
) and had a breathing treatment, and was given oral steroids.
i ended up throwing up due to coughing so much.
the ER doctor came in to talk to us after i threw up, and said that he'd "snuck some codeine" into my IV to help with the coughing. i didn't even have an IV at that point, and didn't know i'd be getting one, so i was confused but thought he was joking... or something.
a few minutes later, a nurse came in to put in an IV. that made sense to me, as I'd had it done in the past, but she had a lot of medication vials with her, so i asked what everything was. it turns out the ER doctor had ordered the steroid, (no problems there) zofran (an anti-nausea drug, which i didn't need AT ALL, as i'd thrown up from coughing and wasn't nauseated AT ALL) and (drum roll please....) MORPHINE! why morphine, you ask? that's a really good question, since it shouldn't be given to asthmatic patients as it depresses the cough reflex and can cause them to literally drown in their own secretions. even if that wasn't the case, though, i am allergic to it (which was listed in my chart, and repeated to nurses orally) and it could have caused me to go into anaphylactic shock.
now, the Dr. knew about the pregnancy, and was aware that i was not excited about taking the medications because of it. he offered to prescribe tylenol 3, because codeine is an effective cough suppressant. i declined, and he told me about how safe it is. i told him i wouldn't need it since the steroids would eliminate the cough quickly.
anyway, after that fiasco, we headed up to L&D to have the baby monitored for a while. they sent up my medications: the oral steroid, and tylenol 3
but the steroid had totally bogus dosing schedule! it's supposed to be gradually stepped down over an amount of time, but he just prescribed "2 a day for 5 days." *sigh
i've taken it enough times to know that wasn't right, and i called the doctor on-call for my PCP, who gave me a different dosing schedule, and instructed me to be seen in the clinic to make sure the ER doc hadn't missed anything.
i seriously couldn't believe that he tried to give me the morphine, though... thank goodness i ask questions!
i've been dealing with asthma for several weeks. it had been a little better for a week, but last night i started having trouble breathing again. i went to the ER (i didn't want to wait so long to do the oral steroids this time, since last time that led to pneumonia and antibiotics in addition to the steroids
) and had a breathing treatment, and was given oral steroids.i ended up throwing up due to coughing so much.
the ER doctor came in to talk to us after i threw up, and said that he'd "snuck some codeine" into my IV to help with the coughing. i didn't even have an IV at that point, and didn't know i'd be getting one, so i was confused but thought he was joking... or something.
a few minutes later, a nurse came in to put in an IV. that made sense to me, as I'd had it done in the past, but she had a lot of medication vials with her, so i asked what everything was. it turns out the ER doctor had ordered the steroid, (no problems there) zofran (an anti-nausea drug, which i didn't need AT ALL, as i'd thrown up from coughing and wasn't nauseated AT ALL) and (drum roll please....) MORPHINE! why morphine, you ask? that's a really good question, since it shouldn't be given to asthmatic patients as it depresses the cough reflex and can cause them to literally drown in their own secretions. even if that wasn't the case, though, i am allergic to it (which was listed in my chart, and repeated to nurses orally) and it could have caused me to go into anaphylactic shock.
now, the Dr. knew about the pregnancy, and was aware that i was not excited about taking the medications because of it. he offered to prescribe tylenol 3, because codeine is an effective cough suppressant. i declined, and he told me about how safe it is. i told him i wouldn't need it since the steroids would eliminate the cough quickly.
anyway, after that fiasco, we headed up to L&D to have the baby monitored for a while. they sent up my medications: the oral steroid, and tylenol 3
but the steroid had totally bogus dosing schedule! it's supposed to be gradually stepped down over an amount of time, but he just prescribed "2 a day for 5 days." *sighi've taken it enough times to know that wasn't right, and i called the doctor on-call for my PCP, who gave me a different dosing schedule, and instructed me to be seen in the clinic to make sure the ER doc hadn't missed anything.
i seriously couldn't believe that he tried to give me the morphine, though... thank goodness i ask questions!
I would think a formal complaint of some kind would be a good idea. Maybe make him think twice before messing up like that again and actually killing someone!
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