Side effects "normal" to medications

[rbscc]

I had a question on a test that was about Ondansetron (Zofran). The question was that a patient was having a headache after taking Zofran. What should the nurse do type of question. One of the answers was call the physician or give a prescription pain reliever. The answer was give pain medication because it's a common normal side effect.

I want a list of drugs that have normal side effects that are treated with other drugs. for example headache? flushing? Can anyone think of any? I have a HESI pharm exam coming up and this would help study.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Zofran also causes constipation when used regularly, so we will typically also prescribe docusate.

But as far as a list of meds - an exhaustive list would be too large to even imagine. Pretty much all drugs have side effects.

[CardiacKittyRN]

What answer did you pick? Just curious, but to me when a pt has a headache Tylenol would be my first thought to give.. Most questions are really just common sense. Give some examples of side effects and I'll share. Too tired at the moment to come up with any..

[rbscc]

True, there are so many drugs but even just a list of common drugs and symptoms. Frequently seen drugs? I guess I could just look it up in a book but it would be nice to have some sort of list to make it easier ;p If it's not doable that's ok though.

[rbscc]

I picked see the physician. I thought maybe it could mean the drug caused some chemical imbalance or I don't know. I know constipation is just a give away. But like flushing could be bad couldn't it?

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Call the physician will rarely be the answer on NCLEX questions. They want to see nursing interventions.

[firstinfamily, RN]

Every single drug has some side effect, some are able to be treated by other medications. However, if the side effect is severe enough the treatment should be to discontinue the drug which would be a MD decision. We had one pt experiencing diabetic neuropathy that was so severe it was interferring with her therapy. The MD prescribed neurontin. The Neurontin made the pt very lethargic, so the neurontin was discontinued. She was able to take Ultram which helped a little, never really took away the neuropathy. We give KCl to replace the potassium depleted by Lasix and check potassium levels frequently. This list would be so long that it would not be feasible. Sometimes notifying the MD and making him aware will determine if the medication is continued. Flushing is usually caused by vasodilation, Niacian is a typical drug that can cause flushing. As long as the pts b/p is stable this is really not a negative side effect and can be tolerated by the pt.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

As everyone has said, making complete a list is not possible.

Many antibiotics cause nausea and/or diarrhea. You wouldn't stop doxycycline for nausea when your patient needs it to treat Lyme Disease. I got to be on the receiving end of that this summer. I took OTC anti-nausea meds (getting PO zofran covered by insurance on an outpatient basis is next to impossible if you're not on chemotherapy) and sucked it up since 2 weeks of nausea was better than the effects of untreated Lyme.

Narcotics can cause constipation, hence why you see things like docusate, senna, MiraLax ordered in the post-op period when the patient is on narcotics.

Headache is a very common side effect of zofran. Flushing can be a side effect of many meds but would normally not be treated with another medication.

Reglan can cause dystonic reactions. For patients on high doses of reglan, they are often instructed to take benadryl with each dose and for 24 hrs following the final dose.

Vanco can cause Redman's syndrome which is not a contraindication to continuing to give it if it is the best antibiotic. We usually premedicated with Benadryl and ran it over 2 hrs if a patient had a Redman's reaction.