tid question with lomotil

[jessysea]

I am a new nurse very new. My question is I have an order that reads Lomotil tid PRN. Does that mean they can get it up to three time a day or q8hrs. The order does not say q8hrs just tid. I was told by a fellow nurse previous to this incident that if the order reads tid they can get it up to three times a day not every 8 hrs. Can some one help me out?

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

tid means three times a day

med usually given spaced out over 4-6hr interval rather than interpretation of q8 hrs = every 8 hours.

see lomotil official fda information, side effects and uses.

lomotil dosage and administration

do not exceed recommended dosage.

adults: the recommended initial dosage is two lomotil tablets four times daily or 10 ml (two regular teaspoonfuls) of lomotil liquid four times daily (20 mg per day). most patients will require this dosage until initial control has been achieved, after which the dosage may be reduced to meet individual requirements. control may often be maintained with as little as 5 mg (two tablets or 10 ml of liquid) daily.

clinical improvement of acute diarrhea is usually observed within 48 hours. if clinical improvement of chronic diarrhea after treatment with a maximum daily dose of 20 mg of diphenoxylate hydrochloride is not observed within 10 days, symptoms are unlikely to be controlled by further administration.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

this order is also incomplete,,,as in ALL prn orders, you need the reason for giving..