Need your opinion on my daughter and her meds.

Several times I have seen her look really "out" of it.

Tonight, I really noticed it and her boyfriend says she has been like this for hours.

I know the Doctor gives her Phenergen, Prozac, Klonopin, and Ambien.

An OB/Gyn just gave her 20 Tylenol 3's for cramps (possible ovarian cysts) because she is on Mirana for birth control.

Her boyfriend said she had the 20 pills gone in 3 days which I am sure he meant to be taken throughout the month.

Maybe she is going to have a problem with being a responsible pill taker and I am worried sick about it.

I wish you could be here to see her.

When you ask her a question, she gives an answer that makes no sense at all.

Couldn't even get out of her how many pills she has taken.

I had her boyfriend go down to her room and take all her pill bottles for now until we can get her back into her regular doctor and I told him I want him to go with her so he can explain how she was acting tonight and see what she thinks they should do.

I know the Ambien she sometimes takes during the day.

That isn't right is it?

I don't know because I have personally never taken it but I thought it was to be taken at bedtime only.

Anyway, please let me know what you think.

My understanding is the Doctor has her on all these meds for sleep, nausea and Bi-Polar.

I don't know what to do.  Help if you can.

Cindy

Wow you might want to watch her very closely tonight.  If she took too many pills she could be needing to go to urgent care for side effects.

Ambien is definitely only supposed to be taken at night as a sleep aid.  Even then, it can cause crazy side effects.  One of my ex boyriends was prescribed it, and when he took it, he didn't fall asleep.  Instead he just hallucinated for hours and didn't remember anything later - I had to tell him what happened!

It sounds like she is not taking her pills responsibly if she is taking Ambien during the day and took 20 pills in 3 days.  Also, there are quite a few strong meds she is on right now.  Can you talk to her doctors about this and let them know your concerns?  Maybe they can change her prescriptions to less dangerous medications.  It could be that she is in a lot of pain and doesn't know how to deal with it, and the meds aren't addressing the issue so she takes more and more.  In the future, you could consider having her stronger meds in your own personal care and giving her the pills when she is supposed to take them.

People with bipolar disorder can sometimes make very rash decisions that don't make sense to others. It's possible that this is affecting her ability to take her meds responsibly.

Seanine, thanks for your post.

It never occurred to me that the BiPolar could be influencing what she is doing right now.

When I was standing there talking to her and she was shaking her head "Yes" like she understood me, she then asked me if I had a Flexeril she could take!

In the first place, Flexeril is not anything I have ever taken, but after everything we were saying to her about the danger of taking too many drugs, she was willing to take more!

That really scares me.

I have never been worried about my drugs, but will start hiding them just in case.

Will watch her tonight and make sure she is OK.

Thanks for your post.

Cindy

There are legal and ethical issues with hiding/withholding your daughter's medicines, despite your best intentions. You are also diving into
codependency, which will not serve either you or your daughter. I suggest you consult with your own primary care doctor as to how you can best help.

-Platy

Thanks for your replies.  

I think I will just let my daughter's boyfriend handle things for right now.

She will be going into her MD this coming week to see if they need to change her meds and he will be telling the Doctor how she was acting that night.

Then he will be letting me know what the Doctor decided to do.

You are right in that I can't do much more than that.

Of course, I am not willing to let her hurt or kill herself so I will be keeping watch myself to make sure she is not in that condition again.

It is difficult to watch an adult child do these things because being their Mom never changes no matter how old they get.

Anyway, thanks for your posts, they were very helpful and your support means so much.

Cindy

Hi,

I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter's problems.

Is there anyway that you and her boyfriend could go with her to the appointment. This way you can talk and everyone is one the same page. If not, you could write a note and have her boyfriend give it to her doctor expressing your concerns. I have had friends do that before to describe the fainting.

Ambien can make a normal person have problems. I have been on it twive- the first time, my bed spread and sheets turned into things. All I really remember is running downstairs scared. I ended up sleeping with my mother in the same bed that night. (I think I was 18) The second time, it caused me to have more fainting spells, but I didn't know my name when I came out of the faint. Stopped the ambien and went back to zanaflex. If she is taking it during the day, she would be out of it.

I think asking about the bipolar thing is good as well. It might be time to switch some meds.

As to holding on to the meds- I have had my parents do that several times. I was on valium for a while and it made me out of it. So I ended up giving the meds to my father and telling them when I needed it. I keep some meds in my roommate's closet so I won't take too many. You could let her boyfriend have control or get a pill organizer- fill it with enough meds to get to the dr and see if that helps. This way, she can't take too many at once.

I know she could be taking too many because of the pain. If so, she should let her dr know that this isn't working and switch around some meds.

I hope things improve soon. If nothing else, it sounds like she has a great boyfriend and a family that cares and that is half the battle.

Pain free days,
sailingm

Sailing,

Thanks so much for your post.

Her boyfriend is going to set up her meds in a weekly pill organizer so she can easily tell whether she has taken her meds for the day or not.

If that doesn't work we will go from there.

I happen to know the PA she will be seeing very well so I think I will write her a note about how she was acting that day and my concerns.

If it were any other doctor I would wonder how they might take it, but I know this Doc will appreciate the info and not see it as interferring.

I have been a part of this site for many years and it never ceases to amaze me how caring and knowledgeable people here are.

We really should appreciate this site and each other because let me tell you that I have seen many other sites where people are just mean and everyone is fighting all the time.

Anyway, thanks so much for your help.

Cindy