Common meds

[Mommy of 2]

Hi all,

Just wanted to know what common medications do you give to your patients? And have you ever experienced side effects that were difficult to notice?

Thanks.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

Common meds that I give to my patients? Do you have a couple of hours?

What's the assignment?

[Mommy of 2]

HAHAHA I guess I should have known better than to ask that.... Im just curious what are the most common meds but I understand now it's a silly question. Wanted to know what meds to brush up on for job at LTC....

[himilayaneyes]

That's a really broad question asking for the most common meds. It really depends on what type of floor/facility you're working at. On a cardiac tele floor, I gave of course lots of cardiac meds. I can't help you as far the LTC though...but I'm sure you'll still come across Coumadin, BP meds, stool softeners/laxatives, and antiseizure meds along with dementia and psych meds. Alot of pts I admitted from LTC seemed to be on a lot of these. As far as the side effects, I suggest you get a pocket drug guide. Don't try to go for rare side effects like fulminant liver failure or something like that...try to remember the ones you see most often. Ex. stool softeners..look out for diarrhea. BP med look out for s/s of low BP.

[pistolchick]

stool meds:

colace

lactulose

miralax

metamucil

reguloid (ick)

senna/senna-s

milk of magnesia (!)

stool meds can be difficult to accurately regulate in LTC. You must rely 1) Your aides knowing the difference between one or two loose stools and full-blown diarrhea and 2) Excellent communication to that effect.

heart/BP:

lisinopril

metoprolol

digoxin

cardizem

coreg

hydralazine

nitro: PRN tabs, daily patches, and messy, annoying, time-consuming paste

frequently MDs will write orders for these to be held if SBP

psych:

prozac

celexa

abilify

effexor

paxil

risperdal

aricept

namenda

sinemet (carvidopa/levodopa)

ativan

xanax

ambien (a little silly I think, but I see it a lot - most of my residents who have this prescribed sleep all the time, seemingly without any issues)

analgesics:

darvocet (I heard that this was recently considered unsafe for geriatric populations, but my facility still gives it?)

percocet

neurontin

antilipidemics:

lipitor

simvastatin

anticoagulants:

coumadin (#1)

occassionally lovenox or heparin

oral antidiabetics:

glipizide

metformin

multivitamins, of course, and calcium, potassium

LASIX! hydrochlorathiazide (which, I personally think is REALLY fun to say, especially three times fast...)

albuterol

combivent

atrovent

advair

serevent

your inhaled corticosteroids at the bottom, there, and then of course some are MDIs, some are nebulizers, some could be either/or!

various eye gtts... we have a unit I jokingly call the "Hall of Glaucoma"... I swear every single resident has 1 or more bottles daily/bid/TID, you name it.

travatan

lumigan

alphagan

xalatan

timoptic

I'll take a more critical look at the MAR tomorrow and see if there's anything common that I may have missed...

[PoetOfMyHeart]

haha HCTZ IS really fun to say!

The only addition i can think of is Lyrica..I give lots of that in the assisted living facility I work at part-time.

[Caffeine_IV]

Great list pistolchick

I'd like to add

insulin

remeron

clonopin

tylenol

[StrwbryblndRN]

Can't forget tylenol.

[evolvingrn, BSN, RN]

Common pain meds

Morphine intensol

Morphine ERT (MS contin)

Dilaudid (hydromorphone)

Methodone

Gabopentin (neurotin)

Vicodin

Tylenol

Ibuprofen

Naproxen

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

Ativan, Klonopin, Seroquel, Risperdal, Haldol, Methadone, Neurontin, Tegretol, Depakote, Percocet...the list is almost endless.

[Mommy of 2]

"That's a really broad question asking for the most common meds. It really depends on what type of floor/facility you're working at. On a cardiac tele floor, I gave of course lots of cardiac meds. I can't help you as far the LTC though...but I'm sure you'll still come across Coumadin, BP meds, stool softeners/laxatives, and antiseizure meds along with dementia and psych meds. Alot of pts I admitted from LTC seemed to be on a lot of these. As far as the side effects, I suggest you get a pocket drug guide. Don't try to go for rare side effects like fulminant liver failure or something like that...try to remember the ones you see most often. Ex. stool softeners..look out for diarrhea. BP med look out for s/s of low BP."

Thanks himilia but I was just referring to LTC meds. :)

[Mommy of 2]

stool meds:

colace

lactulose

miralax

metamucil

reguloid (ick)

senna/senna-s

milk of magnesia (!)

stool meds can be difficult to accurately regulate in LTC. You must rely 1) Your aides knowing the difference between one or two loose stools and full-blown diarrhea and 2) Excellent communication to that effect.

heart/BP:

lisinopril

metoprolol

digoxin

cardizem

coreg

hydralazine

nitro: PRN tabs, daily patches, and messy, annoying, time-consuming paste

frequently MDs will write orders for these to be held if SBP

psych:

prozac

celexa

abilify

effexor

paxil

risperdal

aricept

namenda

sinemet (carvidopa/levodopa)

ativan

xanax

ambien (a little silly I think, but I see it a lot - most of my residents who have this prescribed sleep all the time, seemingly without any issues)

analgesics:

darvocet (I heard that this was recently considered unsafe for geriatric populations, but my facility still gives it?)

percocet

neurontin

antilipidemics:

lipitor

simvastatin

anticoagulants:

coumadin (#1)

occassionally lovenox or heparin

oral antidiabetics:

glipizide

metformin

multivitamins, of course, and calcium, potassium

LASIX! hydrochlorathiazide (which, I personally think is REALLY fun to say, especially three times fast...)

albuterol

combivent

atrovent

advair

serevent

your inhaled corticosteroids at the bottom, there, and then of course some are MDIs, some are nebulizers, some could be either/or!

various eye gtts... we have a unit I jokingly call the "Hall of Glaucoma"... I swear every single resident has 1 or more bottles daily/bid/TID, you name it.

travatan

lumigan

alphagan

xalatan

timoptic

I'll take a more critical look at the MAR tomorrow and see if there's anything common that I may have missed...

You are awesome!!!! Thanks for the extensive list. I could assume what categories of drugs are used but I was looking for the actual drug name and you went far and beyond!!! Thanks a million.