pharmacist help! Need to know if sister is on too much meds...?

Question

her doctor has her on Methadone for pain because other things werent working anymore...supposely. She is on 100mg Serequel, ambian cr, diet pills(phentremine),ativan and some kind of liquid pain killer i think codeine/codone. I feel like it is too much. My family and i are wanting to get help for her, i think she on way too much. She lives in a different state than us and has 2 young kids and we are worrying. Is this too much medication?

Answer 1

You have a legitimate concern I suppose. You don't mention what condition your sister has that has caused her doctor to prescribe methadone etc. A lot of people think that methadone is only used to help heroin addicts. Wrong. Methadone is also used to treat chronic pain, when the patient has become tolerant to other pain meds, and they don't relieve the pain anymore.

Liquid pain killer doesn't sound right. If she's able to swallow pills, there's no reason for a doctor to prescribe a liquid pain med. However, there is a liquid form of methadone. It's usually acquired in "methadone clinics". THESE are the places that give out methadone doses to recovering heroin and opiate addicts.

You may feel that it is too much. It may be. But your sister and her doc are the only ones that know for sure. You will not be able to find out anything from her doc or pharmacist due to privacy laws. Talk to your sister, try to see if you can get her to open up to you. If she needs rehab, who will look after her kids while she's away? Are you willing to help if she needs it? Good luck.

Answer 2

Methadone is to help her get off these meds without too many side effects (including pain). Ambian is a sleep aid for people who suffer from insomnia.Serequel is used to treat schizophrenia or a manic depressive disorder. The liquid codein is usually given for a persistant cough but may be used as a pain killer which is probably the case here. The only medication she should be on right now is the methadone in order to get off Ambian and the codein and the ativan. If she is a diagnosed schizophrenic or a manic- depressive patient, she should continue to take the seroquel under her doctor's close supervision. The ativan is not necessary (other sleep aid and also relieves anxiety) and the amphetamines are pointless right now. If she wants to lose weight, she first needs to get off the aboved mentioned meds which can retain a lot of water and then focus on loosing weight the old fashioned way.( healthy diet and steady exercise)The Ambian dose is tricky and requires constant care until the right dose is found.Hopefully, that is already the case for her. So, In a nut shell, the methadone is for her to get off the pain meds and the sleep aids and the seroquel needs to be watched closely by her md. Make sure she only sees one md. She absolutely cannot drink alcohol at all and needs to avoid driving until she has gone through her withdrawal and her md has given her the ok. So, she is now in the process of getting off some of her meds. Support her and keep a close eye on her appointments. She is problably able to function quite well and take care of her kids (we call that a functional addict) but once she gets off her meds, she will truly be more of herself again. Good luck and don't hesitate to contact me if you have more questions
Annie

Answer 3

Wow-she is being over medicated. Is the same doctor giving her these things? Methadone and codeine on top of the ativan is crazy!!! Just because medicine is prescribed doesn't mean that they can't be lethal. There is such a thing as "accidental overdose." I believe that she may be getting tolerate of the pain medications and therefore, requires stronger ones and that indicates a possible addiction. Someone needs to have a serious talk with her.
You could try going to a pharmacist and ask what are the effects of all of these meds-like ask them if and how they counteract.

Answer 4

It sure sounds like it to me. I thought the only reason a person was put on Methadone was for Heroin addiction. If she is a long term drug user, then she probably has to use a lot of drugs to thwart whatever pain she is in. I would suggest that you do get help for her, her childrens safety is at stake. The Serequel is for some sore of mental disorder, probably bi-polar, the Ambien is for problems with sleeping, the Ativan is for anxiey and I assume she is taking the codeine for some sort of pain she must be experiencing.

Answer 5

If she is on the Methadone for chronic pain, the liquid medication (Likely OxyFast drops, I take them too) is for breakthrough pain. If she is getting all these medications from one daoctor then he knows what she is on and she is not over medicated. I myself take Oxycontin, OxyFast Solution (both for chronic pain), and Klonipin to help me sleep at night. You and your family don't have chronic pain and shouldn't judge whether your sister is on too much medication. (I would mostly be concerned about the diet pills.) My family does this to me and it has caused an un-fixable rift between us. The fact is, I have chronic pain and I will for a long time if not forever, and I HAVE to take these medications to be pain-free and be able to live my life. All they see is "NARCOTICS!!!!", so they judge unfairly. I'm not an addict, I take only my prescribed dose, I do not get high from my meds (or sleepy or anything else except relief). Most chronic pain patients are the same way. You shouldn't judge what you don't understand.

Also, for the previous answerer: I can swallow pills fine, but the doc prescribed the liquid Oxycodone for me for breakthrough pain because it contains 20 mgs per mL of liquid, and I can mix it in juice and drink and get relief within 10 minutes, where a pill only comes in 5, 15, or 30 mgs (Plain oxycodone) and takes 30 minutes minimum to work. MANY pain patients take the Oxycodone drops. Again, don't judge what you don't understand.

Answer 6

WAY too much. 2 narcotics? Diet pills (are completely unnecessary) and she doesn't need Ambien CR and the Ativan.
So she should only be on 1 narcotic, the Seroquel and EITHER the Ativan or Ambien CR (Ativan is MUCH more addictive, though).

Answer 7

My older sister has to take three blood pressure medications every single day. She takes them all in the morning, and she has not had a problem with any of them. The only problem she has is trying to keep her blood pressure at an acceptable level, even with the three medications.

Answer 8

Methadone is very dangerous especially when taken with other medicines. She is on more medicine than a person with cancer. I would worry and do something other than a polite conversation with her ASAP before you get that 5:00pm phone call from one of her kids telling you "mommy didn't wake up today"

Answer 9

nobody here (myself included) is qualified to render medical judgement on what is third hand and incomplete information.

I know you mean well for your sister.......but butt out. Your interference will only make here dig her heels in more. Until she asks for help, you can't give it.