Doctor talk, translation help, please.

Factual Questions
1

I was finally released from hospital yesterday, having spent Easter weekend being tested and pierced mostly.

I was so excited to be getting out I didn’t really hear a lot of the specifics, but it was all written down, concerning my meds. I could use some help translating though.

“Please take XXXXX (80/10), one tab PO BID.”

Say what now?

Also,

“only take one XXXX, per day if your BP is <130”

That 130, it’s the top number, right?

Most of the other meds the pharmacist will have translated the ‘DR talk’ onto the label. But this specific med is very expensive, so they gave me a 3 month supply, so no translation onto the pharmacy bottle!

Your help greatly appreciated, thank you!

2

Sorry I can’t help but perhaps this is an issue worth making a phone call to the doctor about. If you get it wrong there could be seriups’problems depending on the meds. Even a pone call to the pharmacy should clear it up.

3

“PO BID” is by mouth twice a day. 130 should be the top number although some folks can have it as a lower but I think if that was you case you’d have a lot more meds to take. Call the Docs office to check to be sure. That is what you pay them for.

4

The first one must be a combo medication, which is why the dosage is given as two numbers. PO means “by mouth” and BID means “twice a day”.

You should check with your doctor or pharmacist about the second one. Are you sure it just says BP, not SBP or something like that?

5

Sounds like a combination product, like Sulfamethoxole 800 mg and Trimethoprim 160 mg. One orally every twelve hours (twice a day).

6

Thanks so much, y’all. (You’re right it is a combo drug!)

Couple more? TID? PRN?

And I’m off to the pharmacy to pick up yet more drugs! I’m not used to medication, never mind, lots of it. It makes me feel somewhat heaty and feeble, but apparently, I’ll get used to it.

7

Indeed. You pretty much nailed it. I was in the over 200 (on the top), over 100 (on the bottom), range when admitted to hospital on Good Friday. Over the days there, I was truly astounded at the sheer quantity of drugs they were putting in me, I’m not a big person.

As crummy as I may feel, it’s awesome to out of the hospital and home again. And don’t worry, I’m taking it, exceedingly easy, I promise. Whatever it takes to stay out of hospital and on the mend!

8

TID = three times a day (every 8 hours)

PRN = as needed.

9

TID three times a day, PRN as needed

10

Back up, back up. Abbreviations aren’t usually pulled out of somebody’s ass. How did all those letter combos get chosen? What do they really stand for?

11

Latin. Here.

12

Apparently from latin. From here

13

Is that the same XXXX as the other you listed, or a separate medication?

My MiL recently came home with several prescriptions that looked like that. She was supposed to take a dose twice a day, unless her BP was under a certain number, in which case she only took one pill a day. But some of them were “take once a day with certain BPs or none at all for other BPs”.

You definitely need to doublecheck that one with your pharmacist and/or physician - some of those dosages get confusing! But it’s very important to get them right!!

Congrats on getting home again (it’s grand, aint’ it) and hope you keep feeling better.

14

Your pharmacist should be using language you should understand on the bottles. If abbreviations like BID, TID, and prn that you don’t understand are actually on your prescription bottles you need to complain. IMHO, pharmacists should not be dispensing medications that the patient can’t understand.

15

Separate med, for the same issue.

The pharmacist has, indeed, put language on the bottles that I understand, it’s the one the hospital gave me I was wondering about.

But y’all have provided me the info I need, I just wanted to be sure. I was giddy, and a little wobbly, with getting released, so some of it went passed me.

I have a few other questions too, but I’m wondering if I should start another thread. I haven’t been in an emerg in over 30yrs, and things have changed. A lot of things were happening somewhat quickly, and there was little opportunity to ask questions about the how and the why.

From the patient stand point, I was never sure if I should be alarmed by what was happening, or reassured? I chose reassured. Not sure my husband felt the same.

What kind of questions?

Why did they keep lifting the covers to check my ankles, when the problem was clearly my BP/heart?

And stop calling me tacky! That’s just rude and uncalled for!

When they do the ECE (I could have that wrong! Rolling cart machine, stick on tabs, mostly on chest area, I think I had 3 total) why do they put one way down on your leg calf?

Why did they keep asking me to demonstrate that I can touch my chin to my chest?

I have other, but what do you think, my original question had been promptly well answered, ( I expected nothing less! ), or a new thread of general emerg/medical questions?

16

Swollen ankles could be a sign of heart disease, heart failure or blood clots in the legs. Probably also why they put a sensor down there, to check circulation in your femoral arteries which are pretty major.

17

That’s an EKG (or ECG) – electrocardiogram. And it’s perfectly normal to have leads on your legs and arms. For a 12-lead EKG, which provides views of your heart’s electrical activity over 12 different axes, these leads are required.

18

  1. Ankles checked for Edema and swelling, so if the problem was your heart/elevated BP- one sign would be swelling in your ankles, and then they poke to see how high the swelling goes, is it ankle, shins, or above the knee. Higher up = more swelling and fluid pooling. Plus if you’re in a bed for long periods, always the risk of clots and DVT (Blood clots in legs) due to immobility.

  2. “Tacky”–> Tachy, short for Tachycardia= HR>100

  3. EKG’s actually use 3 leads- one on each arm, and one by the leg to form a triangle this creates Leads I, II, and III (Diagram) Basically creates 3 currents- Right arm to Left Arm; RA to Left Leg; and then Left Arm to Left Leg. But there are more than just those leads. But that’s the quick and dirty. If you want more jargon and explaination, try here.

  4. Not sure about the chin to chest one- testing for mobility of the neck, if any clots in the neck, checking for any neck pain if it was a meningitis case, just seeing if you were alert and could follow commands, there’s lot of various reasons for that one, so I think it’d have to depend on the context for the Chin to Neck one.
    Hope that helps,
    -R

19

Well, there’s also that clothing issue, but we can talk about that later. :eek:

20

The heart’s a pump, right, so if the pump is not working well, fluid builds up on the intake side of the system. This presents as fluid in the base of the lungs, the lower extremities, or both. It can also be a ‘side’ effect of hypertension medications.

Individual response to hypertension treatments is variable, so it’s no surprise if you need to make adjustments to your meds, especially at the beginning, best of luck.