Monday, June 9, 2008

never TAKE anything for granted...


(not my meds...)


since my hospitalization a couple of weeks ago for a hemorrhage, i have been racking my brain as to what could have gone wrong with my coumadin (blood thinner)!!! for nearly 15 years i have taken the same dosage and have always been able to regulate my meds myself. there have been a couple of times over that period of time that my levels have gone awry. however, one of those times i had been on high-power antibiotics and the other i was given vitamin k (a blood thickener).

i have not been looking forward to all that goes along with getting myself regulated to a new dosage. (it takes time and a lot of trial and error... or it did at least the first time.)

well, last night i was standing in the kitchen pouring my meds into my hand. i'm taking 6 meds right now plus giving myself two lovenox (a blood thinner) shots a day. at one point i looked into my palm to make sure i had everything i was supposed to take. the light hit my coumadin tablets. i stood there for a few seconds in a complete stupor. i pulled my hand closer to my eyes then pulled it farther away in an attempt to focus in on the numbers i was seeing stamped on the two pills.
7 1/2??? 7 1/2???

WTH???

i grabbed the bottle i'd poured the tablets from, "warfarin (generic for coumadin)7.5 mg".
i looked at the date, "4/16/08".
i looked at the count, "60".
i looked back at the tablets in my hand.

i know this means nothing to you; but, it meant everything to me!!!
for nearly 15 years my prescription has always been the same as i've already stated... "5 mg"... i have always taken 1 tablet/2 tablets every other day...

however, since april of this year instead of taking 5mg and 10mg, i have been taking 7.5mg and 15mg... 150% MY DOSAGE!!! somewhere along the way someone had changed my dosage, and i was none the wiser... i took for granted that the medication i was taking was the same as always. but, it wasn't!!! i was overdosing on a very, very dangerous medication and didn't realize it.

RELIEF was definitely the first emotion i felt...

my body hadn't changed. i wasn't going to have to go through all that "trial and error" craziness again. thank goodness!!!

STUPIDITY was the second emotion i felt...

how could i have not noticed the difference in mgs on the bottle for the past 3 months??? why had i not already noticed the DIFFERENT number on the pills???

then FEAR!!! "what if???"...

what if i had bled to death two weeks ago??? what if i hadn't noticed the number and had gone along with the assumption that i was still dealing with 5mg dosage and the same thing occurred again in a couple of weeks but i would not be so lucky the next time???

but, i did catch it!!! RELIEF won out...

followed by GRATEFULNESS...

i called the notorious d to tell her of my realization... after coaching me on how i should handle the situation, she told me she'd prayed earlier in the day that GOD watch out for me since d couldn't... well, HE answered her prayer in a most timely manner... thank you, GOD!!! thank you, d!!!

the moral of the story???

NEVER TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED... EVER!!!
it might mean your life.

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

23 comments:

Tabitha said...

Wow Dani ~ thank goodness you noticed ~ I am so relieved that you did. It is so funny ~ I started to write a post tonight on not taking life for granted amongst other things ~ but when I read it back I decided it was maybe a bit morbid and didn't publish it!!! After reading this, I think what the hell ~ I will publish the post anyway ~ life is so very fragile and none of us knows what tomorrow will bring!!
Thankfully you are ok and the situation is rectified ~ I am so glad that d got god to watch over you!!!

sending love and hugs and a little guardian angel to sit on your shoulder and take care of you!!!
Tabitha XXXXXX

dani said...

tabitha, you know given that i've had several "brushes", i thought that i wasn't taking anything for granted. little did i know... i'd let something "small" slip between the cracks. i don't think reminding people how fragile life is is morbid at all.
i look at the reminder as a gift:D
thank you, t!!!
love,
dani

Kellan said...

Oh My Gosh - that is so crazy and sooooooooo great that you caught it - figured it out!!!!! I know - you can take anything for granted!

Take care - Kellan

dani said...

crazy is right, kellan... and, that is only half the story. HA!!! but on the upside, i'm still kickin'!!!
love,
dani

Tanya said...

Dani thank goodness God is watching over you!!! who changed your dosage & why didn't they tell you!!!! I agree about it not being morbid to remind people just how fragile life really is... we never know what tomorrow brings! but I guess being human we are on guard for awhile & gradually little by little we slip back to taking things for granted etc.. & it's usually because of something like your incident & the fact that you have shared your story... that we snap back to reality!!! Thank you for the reminder & I sooooooo relieved that you are ok!!

I will be keeping you in my prayers!!

Take care & have a great day & REST, REST, REST!!!!!

Love & big hugs,
Tanya xxxx

dani said...

i don't know what happened, tanya. i hope to get some answers tomorrow. i have an appointment with my internist.
not only did i realize that my dosage was wrong. but my bloodwork results sat in the office last week for three days "lost"... with urgent markers because my blood had gone from too thin to too thick. no drama queen here; i was literally a massive stroke or heart attack waiting to happen.
it was not caught until friday afternoon!!!
i will talk to him tomorrow about it all. i just don't want it to happen to an elderly who possibly cannot see the stamping on the medicine or who doesn't have a health advocate.
my doctor is a great doctor. i think he just needs more safeguards in place to see to it that things like this don't continue to happen.
thank you sweet tanya, i will get rest... it seems that's all i've been doing lately:D
love,
dani

Elise said...

Hi Dani

That is so scary. How did the dosage get changed? I am so thankful that God was watching over you and protecting you from any further harm.

You and Tabitha have both written posts that have reminded me to never take anything for granted. I try to live in the moment and appreciate everything that surrounds me, but sometimes I do forget and get caught up in the small stuff. Thank you for the reminder.

Rest my friend. I hope you are taking it easy. I wish I lived closer so I could check in on you daily and make sure you have everything you need. I will say a prayer of thanks and also pray that God continues to keep you safe.

Love
Elise

dani said...

elise, i wished we lived closer... but, right now we'd be the blind leading the blind. HA!!! we would all just have to lie around and look at each others' pitiful selves...
it's funny that you mentioned the coincidence in the taking things for granted posts. leslie at "lester lou and the aarons too" also wrote about taking things for granted today.
God must really be talking, huh???
love you,
dani
have you had your dr.'s appointment, yet???

Tanya said...

Hi Dani.. just me checking in again!! just want to make sure that you are feeling better & that you remember to rest!!! I wish I could bring you some gorgeous food so you wouldn't have to worry about cooking... and do your housework for you until you are 100% again!! I shall be keeping you in my thoughts & prayers! I hope you get those answers! It's just terrible that test results get lost!! NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!!

Take extra special care...

love you...
T xoxoxo

Elise said...

Dani,

How funny, we would make a great pair at the moment. One thing is for sure we'd have a great time together, laughing our pains away.

We have been to the doctor and I can use heat and/or cold packs, take panadol and that's about it. He said the main thing to do is rest. Sav and rest just don't go together. He said that I have inflamed tendons coupled with Mini pushing on my ribs. I certainly didn't have any of this with Sav. Anyway, it is bearable if I can manage to take it easy. My mum had the day off work today so she helped out heaps with Sav. Troy has also been fantastic and been there for me.

Thank you so much for asking how everything is going. You are so thoughtful, even though you have your own (more serious) health issues.

Dani, how are you feeling? What have you been doing while you are resting and recovering?

You will certainly be in my prayers tonight.

Love and hugs
Elise

Anonymous said...

Oh Dani,
I'm so glad you found out. God made all the circumstances right for you to see the mistake before anything else happened!
I'm so glad my friend!

dani said...

tanya,
you are so sweet and thoughtful. actually, the house is fine, and john and kat haven't missed a meal:D
i have been on complete bedrest since i was released from the hospital and will be until my numbers (bloodwork) is where they want it. so, believe me, i have had PLENTY of rest, HA!!!
further, honestly, as long as i lie here i feel fine. so, i'm ok... really. it's just been an exhaustive situation more than anything...
love you for caring<333,
dani

dani said...

elise,
i hope the compresses and panadol work!!! i am so relieved that you have your mother and troy; what a blessing that they are able to help with sav:D
the two of us together laughing would be so fun but quite painful for you; i'm sure!!! take care, sweetie!!!
love,
dani

dani said...

i'm glad, too, jenn... GOD has been very good to me, indeed:D
love,
dani

Amanda said...

Thats scary Dani, and i'm just thankful that everything turned out ok! Someone was watching over you!
Are you going to the Dr's to get you INR levels checked frequently?
Love Amanda xx

dani said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dani said...

i am NOW, amanda... i just got home from the doctor's office. they did a finger prick and i'm pretty close to my therapeutic level.
i had not been going regularly because i had become complacent after all these years of being on the same dosage. i took for granted all was normal.
love,
dani

Robin said...

Thank heavens you're fine! I can't begin to tell you how many times my meds have been messed up and I paid the consequences for it. God was definitely guiding you at that moment..
Blessings,
Robin :-)
PS. Cancun was fun!

Dana said...

Love you!!! Praying for you!!!
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone…” 1 Timothy 1:14
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” Colossians 1:9
l, d

dani said...

thank you for your blessings, robin... and cancun is ALWAYS fun!!! i'm so happy you had a great time:D
love,
dani

dani said...

phillipians 1:3 back to you, d!!!
ly2,
d

PhotoChick said...

Dani, I had tears in my eyes after reading this. I'm SO glad that God (and 'd' with prayers) was really watching out for you. You're absolutely right - never take anything for granted! I'm so grateful you're OK!

All my love,
Amanda

dani said...

He really was watching out for me, amanda. actually, when i went to the doctor's office the following tuesday after realizing what had happened, my dr. looked back and told me the mistake had been made in november.
for 7 months my blood had been thin enough to have cause a cerebral hemmorhage, internal bleeding, and even the slightest of wrecks would have been fatal. i am truly blessed to be here now:D
thank you for your concern!!!
love,
dani