Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
Okay, sometimes I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. Got a prescription for Pilocarpine for dry mouth/eyes. . Bottle says take 1 pill 3 times a day. Okay....my brain goes to the MTX pills all at once. Doc says take one one Tues, 2 on wed and then 3 on Thursday, building up 3 a day.
Okay...so what dumb thing do I do? Yesterday morning I take 2 at once first thing in the morning. After my shower I brush my teeth and I can't believe the amount of saliva coming out of my mouth. I have to actually lean over the sink because it's Niagara falls in my mouth. I go into my office to start work, get messages before breakfast and then all of a sudden I start to get the chills....BAD! Like flu like chills and nausea too. A couple pf times I thought I was going to have to pull the trash can from under my desk. I start sweating and feel damp and clammy. I think it's the MTX injection I took the night before so I decided to call the doctor. Nurse says if it gets worse go to urgent care, As I'm talking to her I start to feel better as I am also eating breakfast. I never felt so bad. She thought I was coming down with something.
Well, today I read the side effects of the Pilocarpine and yep, those were all side effects because I took too many pills at once. My daughter who is a CMA reads my bottle and says, "Mommy, one pill three times a day means spread them out!" DUH! Thank God I figured it out or she did before I took 3 today at once. Doctor probably told me but I have the same memory as 10 second Tom from 50 First Dates.
I took one already this morning and I can already feel the saliva (which is a good thing) and had a bit of a chill and felt flush. I will call the doc again today to tell them of all this.
Does anyone else take this med and do the side effects eventually go away?
I really have to be careful now that I have all these prescriptions. Yikes.
Okay...so what dumb thing do I do? Yesterday morning I take 2 at once first thing in the morning. After my shower I brush my teeth and I can't believe the amount of saliva coming out of my mouth. I have to actually lean over the sink because it's Niagara falls in my mouth. I go into my office to start work, get messages before breakfast and then all of a sudden I start to get the chills....BAD! Like flu like chills and nausea too. A couple pf times I thought I was going to have to pull the trash can from under my desk. I start sweating and feel damp and clammy. I think it's the MTX injection I took the night before so I decided to call the doctor. Nurse says if it gets worse go to urgent care, As I'm talking to her I start to feel better as I am also eating breakfast. I never felt so bad. She thought I was coming down with something.
Well, today I read the side effects of the Pilocarpine and yep, those were all side effects because I took too many pills at once. My daughter who is a CMA reads my bottle and says, "Mommy, one pill three times a day means spread them out!" DUH! Thank God I figured it out or she did before I took 3 today at once. Doctor probably told me but I have the same memory as 10 second Tom from 50 First Dates.
I took one already this morning and I can already feel the saliva (which is a good thing) and had a bit of a chill and felt flush. I will call the doc again today to tell them of all this.
Does anyone else take this med and do the side effects eventually go away?
I really have to be careful now that I have all these prescriptions. Yikes.
Glad you figured it out, and you didn't end up in the ER. But please, be careful next time you are starting a new med. I have a weekly med container. All my drugs except the injections and inhalers go into the container, morning noon supper and night. (I don't use the noon one). You could put the new med into the box three times a day, and then you would not have to worry about it.
I had a doctor recommend the box to me almost 15 years ago, when almost OD'ed taking my meds. wrong. Yep, I know all about that bad memory. It's just that is can become dangerous with the wrong medications.
you on the 5mg or the 7.5? the single hit dose I think is not supposed to exceed 10. i am thinking you should have been OK with your mistake of 15....but if you are on the 7.5, then yuckers for you, sorry. the flush is supposed to happen and I get it but it doesn't last. I have learned to ignore it, for the most part, and I am good with what the drug therapy delivers in terms of saliva production.
let the rheumie know - yeah you are supplementing your saliva production throughout the day....that's why it's spaced out....
glad you are OK. You are trooper with the side effects at work. you get the brass plate let's try our best to hide the side effects of these crappy drugs while at work award!
depot
I can fit a lot of drugs in the one I have. But it fits nicely inside a large Ziploc bag if I travel. I do close the tops, and put a couple of elastics around the middle, to keep it tight.
The only thing is, I rapidly became unhappy with having to fill the boxes once a week. In fact, I often dread it! Esp. when the pain levels are high. Yesterday went well when I re-loaded it. I'm feeling almost normal today, so maybe if this keeps up, filling the box won't be an issue any more.
Oh yes, for vitamins, I got some little containers at Staples. I also use the second smallest size of Tupperware for my evening minerals.
But some of those supplements are like horse pills. I'm lucky that swallowing is not a big issue for me. I can throw back 20 vitamins of every size and shape, and down it in one try with a few gulps of water.
And, since I tend to forget - now and then - I have my cell phone set to an alarm to remind me. I have the alarm play something from Tommy, a clip that sings "extra, extra, read all about it, Pin Ball Wizard in a miracle cure".
I have a pill box but it's only a 7 day. Maybe I need to change it.
call the rheum next week and ask for a call back.
They are not supposed to make you feel that weird. carry a water bottle with you.
my brother had his spit glands removed (cancer) and he passes on these pills and carries a water bottle (he can choke to death without having water always accessible, immediately as in welded to his hand when he is eating).
for your eyes, you can do the restasis drops if you want. i love em. they have made a huge difference in my sjogrens.
depot
I did stop finally on Sunday. Saturday I tried one in the morning and made heart race afternoon was fine then that evening before bed I took one and it's been cold out this way so I wear flannels. I ended up sweating, ripping off everything only to put on one of husbands T-shirts to lie in blankets with the chills now. Sunday I had a big planned group ride and lunch and decided to stop and talk to the doctor. Oh yeah, I am never without water.
Those pills have the worse side effects of ANY pill I have ever taken.