# I hate having to ask for OTC meds! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 14, 2021, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520 "2021-07-14T22:55:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/1 "2021-07-14T22:55:59Z")
My knees are shot. I can feel it. My masters here have heard them and seen the X-rays without cartilage. So why do I need to ask the CNA to ask the RN to give me some acetaminophen? And why does it need to be every six hours? It wears off after four. I don’t want to kill my liver. I’m just tired of the pain. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/2 "2021-07-15T02:29:58Z")
Because they are slaves themselves to the system. No meds can be given without approval from their damn masters. It sucks. Last time I went to the hospital I knew to pack my own meds. But in long term care it isnt possible. Sucks big time. Do you have someone who can sneak you in anything? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/3 "2021-07-15T02:42:47Z")
several daughters. middle one also lives here, oldest will pick her up to go shopping on Friday. oldest will also pick up the 5-hour energy bottles that were confiscated last week. no, I didn’t know I couldn’t have those, given the instant coffee that’s ok. I’m treated like I’m 12. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/4 "2021-07-15T02:57:25Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > So why do I need to ask the CNA to ask the RN to give me some acetaminophen? And why does it need to be every six hours? It wears off after four. IANARN (or MD, but am a former CNA in a long-term care facility). Assuming this isn’t a rhetorical question, RN’s are not allowed to prescribe meds, and in a long-term care facility any meds administered must be ordered by a physician – your physician. Even OTC meds must have a physicians order to administer on file. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen are usually prescribed per label directions. Acetaminophen is (IIRC) 1gm every 6 hours, NTE 3gm / 24 hours. A physician may tweak that schedule / dosing based on your specific needs and possible interactions. Hence the need for specific orders for every med. Failure of an RN or CNA to follow these protocols can (and almost surely would) result in the loss of their license at best. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/5 "2021-07-15T03:07:38Z")
Well, there you go, bringing licensing into it. It’s why I don’t lasso my Oldest (CNA, RN school) into my schemes. The 5-Hour is for her. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/6 "2021-07-15T03:11:59Z")
This, and I’m a pharmacist who has worked in facilities that filled meds for LTC homes. You are correct, the nurse cannot give you any meds without a doctor’s order, and if you bring your own, it has to be kept in the medication storage room and its administration charted along with the meds packaged by the pharmacy. My grandmother lived in a LTC for her last few years, and she was hospitalized a couple times for critically low sodium levels (my father has too, and I seem to trend that way, so I eat extra sodium). One day, he told me, “Next time I visit, I’m going to bring a bottle of salt tablets with me, and give them to the nurse and tell her to make sure my mother takes them!” I replied that they wouldn’t be able to do that either. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/7 "2021-07-15T03:20:20Z")
What…evah. Could you at least tell my CNA to yell at me in English, not Swahili? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/8 "2021-07-15T13:59:17Z")
And fix my gd TV. It’s been a month. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/9 "2021-07-15T20:01:32Z")
So, I had my nighttime meds at 10:15. Fair enough; the night nurse and I have a procedure worked out . At 4:15 I lit my call light but didn’t get my next dose until 5:30. I can add six hours so I pressed it again at 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, and 2:30, annoying my African Queen. “Why do you keep calling me?” “I’m actually calling the nurse, but she keeps ignoring your messages.” So now it’s 3:00PM (shift change) and I still don’t have my meds. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/10 "2021-07-15T21:13:32Z")
There’s a reason lawyers advertise on shows aimed at seniors ln LTC, but most oldsters can’t document it like I can. Before I came here they were losing a suit because patients were dehydrated. It’s still like pulling teeth. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/11 "2021-07-15T21:23:41Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > Acetaminophen and ibuprofen are usually prescribed per label directions. Acetaminophen is (IIRC) 1gm every 6 hours, NTE 3gm / 24 hours. A physician may tweak that schedule / dosing based on your specific needs and possible interactions. Hence the need for specific orders for every med. > > Failure of an RN or CNA to follow these protocols can (and almost surely would) result in the loss of their license at best. And it’s for a good reason, because they need to know exactly what you’re taking and when, because they have side effects of their own that can be even worse when interacting with other drugs. And not all ATC medicines are suitable depending on what your health condition is (ibuprofen can be very bad for asthma, for example). It’s easy to think of them as insignificant meds if they can be purchased over the counter, but they’re not really. A month in hospital can make most people cranky, though, especially if you’re in pain. Is there any light at the end of the tunnel, dropzone? ---
**Author:** ![Ranch\_Dip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranch_dip/32/5238_2.png) [@Ranch\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranch_Dip)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/12 "2021-07-15T21:44:53Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > And why does it need to be every six hours? It wears off after four. Ask if it’s possible to alternate acetamenophen and another med, so you have something on board every three hours. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/13 "2021-07-15T22:13:53Z")
Oh, my CNA would FREAK if I asked her to do more! She needs to run the Hoyer lift to get me into my wheelchair and that’s a two person job. Except she’s the only CNA. And then she says I’ll have to wait for the shift change to get me out of it. Except she works doubles every day so I’m stuck until 11:00PM because she can’t be arsed to ask for help the next hallway over. And my shrinkette wonders why my depression is palpable. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/14 "2021-07-15T22:36:44Z")
Complaining about her language and calling her “my African Queen” _sounds_ racist, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/15 "2021-07-15T22:42:12Z")
Fair cop, but I still can’t understand her. She took off her mask and it helped. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/16 "2021-07-15T22:43:58Z")
Yes, I find it easier to understand people without masks, as well. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/17 "2021-07-15T22:51:14Z")
And I have better luck if the person is from a former British colony. SA? no problem, bu she’s from Cameroon. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/18 "2021-07-15T22:58:29Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Complaining about her language and calling her “my African Queen” _sounds_ racist, FWIW. It really does. And I doubt she’s actually yelling in Swahili. Personally I’m cutting dropzone a break due to pain and time in hospital and previous behaviour, but it’s, um, yeah, not what you’d want to be saying at any other time, eh dropzone? Maybe try and hold off on that despite everything that’s going on with you? I have had problems in hospital with staff whose accents were so strong it made it difficult for me to understand them, and it’s difficult to bring up without feeling like a big ol’ racist, but it was a problem. They got very annoyed when I asked for them to repeat what they were saying, but I genuinely couldn’t understand, and I’m better at understanding accents than most people are. Masks definitely wouldn’t help. Where are you, Dropzone? Can you get a tablet to watch stuff on instead? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/19 "2021-07-15T23:05:28Z")
I’m on a laptop. I’m leaning on a tablet that needs some help. I’m not lacking computer power. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520/20 "2021-07-16T00:00:55Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > And I doubt she’s actually yelling in Swahili. Okay, she has a Bluetooth and I asked what language she uses when talking to phone friends. “Swahili” Part of my problem with her is that she doesn’t modulate her voice; she’s either silent or shouting. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-having-to-ask-for-otc-meds/946520.md?page=2)