Meds you hate to give....

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What are the top medications that you hate to give and why?

Mine is Amphotericin B (called "Ampho-terrible" at my hospital).

Anything that can't mix with Normal Saline makes me nervous. It makes me wonder what's going to happen when it gets into the vein--isn't blood a fairly salty environment?

Specializes in Psych.
Meds used in hematology.

Mylotarg is used for older patients with recurrent leukemia that cannot handle standard treatments.

Atgam is short for Equine antithymocyte globulin, used for treating transplant rejection, graft vs host disease and severe unresponsive aplastic anemia.

Mylotarg almost always causes severe fevers even with premeds (103-105 degrees or more.)

Atgam can have some wretched anaphylaxis in many patients.

Thank you for the clarification.

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Specializes in Psych.
I can NOT stand waking someone up to give them a sleeper or giving someone a pain pill who is alert enough to tell me i'm not in any pain probally the worst smelling one is that keflex when you have to open it and mix it with applesauce i feel so sorry for those old ladys even if there taste buds aren't very good i know it has to taste awful just by the smell of it

Where I practice, a pt always has the option to refuse medication and I let them know that. I am especially thankful for this when a pt prescribed stool softener tells me they are having diarrhea. IMHO, if a pt says they are not in pain, they should be given the option to refuse the pain med. Why give it if they don't need it? It can usually be given later if needed as long as you don't double dose or follow a late dose too closely w/a scheduled dose. That's the way I do it, anyway. Opinions?

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Specializes in ACNP-BC.

The one med I HATE giving is potassium pills-especially when the patient is elderly. The reason is one that you all probably already guessed: the size of the pill! They always look accusingly at me and say "Awww geez, why do they make them so big?!" Like I created them or something! lol If I had a penny for every time a patient said that to me....

-Christine

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You have to wonder why we even stock those giant k+pills. When you look it up in Davis's, they have effervescent tabs, powders, liquids. But every time I have to give it, it is horse pills. Really a challenge in LTC, many swallow challenged folks there. I am always sure I'm ten seconds away from the hiemlich... Makes me real nervous!

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Specializes in Geriatrics, acute hospital care, rehab.
Keflex, smells like cat pee.

Suppositories (any of them).

LMAO too funny :roll

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Specializes in Geriatrics, acute hospital care, rehab.
Go-Lytely.

Don't you mean Go-HEAVILY??:chuckle

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Specializes in Geriatrics, acute hospital care, rehab.
Mucomyst....ick.

OMG.... I think I'd rather smell the actual rotten eggs than that crap:barf01:

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Specializes in Geriatrics, acute hospital care, rehab.

Is this milk and molasses enema a southern thing?????

I have never heard of it? What's the benefit of giving it other than prolly an ungodly mess to clean up?

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Specializes in Geriatrics, acute hospital care, rehab.
I work in rehab and the worst is VAG CREAM!!!

LMAO ew..:no: Thats when I trade that duty with the other :nurse:

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Specializes in Geriatrics, acute hospital care, rehab.
I have never heard of Promod! What is this?

A nurse's nightmare hehe

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Specializes in Geriatrics, acute hospital care, rehab.
what? i've been a nurse 22 years and never heard of this one! haven't heard of the milk & molasses thing either.......but we used have have the 'black & white' mom+cascara ( or warm prune jc).

how bout the "pink lady enemas"? we use those up here!

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Specializes in Geriatrics, acute hospital care, rehab.
Seems kinda strange that somethign can't be crushed, yet it can be dissolved in water.

I need to find out more on this, because i have a family member who was prescribed K, and was given a huge supply of the white horse pills that are so hard for her to swallow. We're looking for more options of forms of K for her.

I believe that some forms of K+ come in little packets, just dissolve the granules in H20 and drink it. I'm sure I've given it that way b4. It was an orange flavored thing

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