It's drain cleaner!!

[ArcticChicken]

Milk of Magnesia produces about the same effect in me

Thank you, I had managed to completely block that from my memory until now.

[Sapphire Silk]

Thank you, I had managed to completely block that from my memory until now.

Always happy to share

[ralerin]

Activated Charcoal. This usually gets vomited up as well, usually on the nurse as well as all over the patient's front. And it does NOT come out in the wash. I've lost more scrub sets that way.

Hm. I take activated charcoal tablets if I haven't taken my lactose pills quick enough and I get the stomach "grumblies" as I call them once the dairy works its way through my system. They smell nastier than they taste, IMO.

Oh dear. You just reminded me of something that happend to me as a kid. Apparently I had the runs and the dr. told my mom to give me Kaopetate. Which was NASTY with a capital N. So I guess Iwas being not so cooperative and my parents had to kind of force it down, and I promptly spit it out on my dad, all over his new suit!

I like Kaopectate and Milk of Magnesia. Go figure.

[Dragon_Dreamer]

Ceftin. HUGE horse pill (I choke if I take pills with liquid, so I have to swallow without), that causes me to puke pretty much immediately. My doctor wanted to try a stronger antibiotic for my bronchitis flareups, and it backfired. They at first told me to just keep taking it, so I resorted to putting it into a tablespoon of marshmallow fluff. When that lead to me getting sicker due to a reaction to the actual med, they switched me back to Z-Packs.

ANYTHING strong will cause my system to reject it violently, medicine-wise. Can't take Percoset, Vicodin, or the generics, either. It comes right back up.

[NorthernZel]

Sometimes I have to take a sort of Panadol (paracetamol) pill called Zapp - those pills are HUGE and cannot be cut in half.

When Lil Zel had a mild case of pneumonia he got prescripted some liquid penicillin that was vanilla flavoured - then a year later he had an ear infection that also had to be treated with penicillin, only that the vanilla stuff had been taken off the market and substituted with some bad-smelling, bitter stuff. Yet Lil Zel took it all in stride, and downed his medicine from a shot glass, instead of having it masked with cocoa milk as suggested from the nurse.

Though I still dread for the day when he can't have liquid medicine and needs to swallow a pill when needed. I have bad memories from when I had to adapt, and to this day I still get gag reflexes whenever I need to take a pill, be it vitamins, pain killers or other stuff.

[trailerparkmedic]

I'm really hoping my current hospital does it IV. I'm sure I'll learn about that fairly quickly once I hit nights.

I gave Mucomyst a few days ago and apparently we only do it PO. This is especially lame because we don't have any cranberry juice or soda on the unit so we usually ask family members to buy something. There used to be a soda machine in the break room and nurses would just buy a soda. Maybe I'll keep some cranberry juice in my locker.

The only good thing is that we have 20% solution instead of the 10% I used previously. I gave it as protection before IV contrast so the patient only needed a small amount so he just took it like a shot.

[CorneliaMarieRocks]

APAP is an abbreviation for the chemical name for acetaminophen (Tylenol) or paracetamol in Australia. Acetyl-para-aminophenol.

Many narcotics work more effectively when combined with aspirin or Tylenol. Because of the risks with bleeding or Reye's syndrome involved with aspirin, it has fallen out of favor and isn't used much anymore.

Thanks for the info Panacea, that's kinda what I figured it was but wasn't sure. Must also be why they tell you that if you're taking narcs not to take Advil etc at the same time. I've found though that when that monthly time rolls around I HAVE to take Advil for the cramps as the hydrocodone doesn't touch it

[SongsOfDragons]

Some paracetamol in the UK - we can get it generic for something like 15p - is really chalky and nasty-tasting. I always look for the capsules if I can. But it's not as bad as other things mentioned here, and it goes almost immediately.

[fireheart]

Though I still dread for the day when he can't have liquid medicine and needs to swallow a pill when needed. I have bad memories from when I had to adapt, and to this day I still get gag reflexes whenever I need to take a pill, be it vitamins, pain killers or other stuff.

Get Lil'Zel to practice with jellybeans or M&Ms first. Alternately, the way I coped with it (I used to gag as well) was that I'd put some water into my mouth, shove the tablet in, swallow the whole lot and wash it down.

[K'Z'K]

I never mastered taking pills like a normal person. Instead, I basically pill myself like I would a dog. Open wide, stick tongue out, drop pill right into esophagus. Follow with water or other liquid. The few times I tried the traditional method, I ended up either choking or swallowing the water but not the pill.

It means I can't be subtle about taking my drugs, but it works. Just make sure your hands are clean.

[Sapphire Silk]

Thanks for the info Panacea, that's kinda what I figured it was but wasn't sure. Must also be why they tell you that if you're taking narcs not to take Advil etc at the same time. I've found though that when that monthly time rolls around I HAVE to take Advil for the cramps as the hydrocodone doesn't touch it

Actually, you CAN take ibuprofen (the active ingredient in Advil) with acetaminophen.

Ibuprofen works better for menstrual cramps and other muscular pain than hydrocodone. I wouldn't take hydrocodone for that. Hydrocodone is good for short term treatment of acute injuries (fractures, dental work, kidney/gallstones) and long term chronic management of severe pain from conditions like cancer.

[SongsOfDragons]

Acetaminophen is paracetamol over here, isn't it? *looks it up* well that's exactly what Wiki brings up...XD

When Housemate or I have pain issues, she with her dental problems before her surgery and me rarely, we 'double-dose'. Kind of a bad term, but it's take a normal dose of ibuprofen at say 12:00 then at 14:00 take a normal dose of paracetamol, then at 16:00 and 18:00 repeat and so on. They say four hours between doses of each so it's essentially leapfrogging. We've been told it's safe, by I think a medical practitioner that Housemate's mum knew (Housemate's snoozing still at the moment so I can't confirm) It works quite well before crawling to doctors and whatnot but it doesn't half blast through our medicine cabinet quickly.

*pokes liver* I think it's okay...I do get liver function tests every six months.

[Sapphire Silk]

Acetaminophen is paracetamol over here, isn't it? *looks it up* well that's exactly what Wiki brings up...XD

When Housemate or I have pain issues, she with her dental problems before her surgery and me rarely, we 'double-dose'. Kind of a bad term, but it's take a normal dose of ibuprofen at say 12:00 then at 14:00 take a normal dose of paracetamol, then at 16:00 and 18:00 repeat and so on.

I used to recommend this, but I no longer do. The practice has been researched and they have found that in fact people are overdosing themselves unintentionally.

It's safer to take one or the other, but not both.

[SongsOfDragons]

*nodnod* There is a 'do not exceed 4 doses in 24 hours' or something on the box.

Luckily neither of us two have had need of double-dosing for some time. *touches wood*

[PandaHatBear]

I used to recommend this, but I no longer do. The practice has been researched and they have found that in fact people are overdosing themselves unintentionally.

It's safer to take one or the other, but not both.

I didn't realise until recently that ibuprofen was meant to be taken only 3x a day, not 4 like paracetemol. Oops! I've started double dosing if I really need to, but I have an app to record what I've taken when...