A Dangerous Mistake

Today, I was eagerly awaiting some new prescriptions to be filled.  These were to help with my osteoarthritis in my back.  I was practically foaming at the mouth to get some relief from the pain.  Finally, the prescription was ready!  After I picked it up, I went back to my work area to take my medicine.  As I was taking the pill, I thought it awfully small for an anti-inflammatory.  Terri was there and she looked at the bottle.  "Brendal," she said, "This is a water pill, not an anti-inflammatory!"  Low and behold, it was hydrochlorothiazide, a water pill used for patients who have high blood pressure.  And I took it!

Fortunately, in my case, the pill I took will not be detrimental to my health.  I had been given someone else's prescription; the other person had my prescription in their bag.  When I returned to the pharmacy, I explained the situation.  They were very calm and pleasant about it, but I could tell that the pharmacist was a bit upset.  I wasn't worried about myself in this instance.  It could have really affected the other patient though.  Mobic (my anti-inflammatory) is not to be taken by people with certain heart conditions.  The pharmacy filed an incident report, informed my physician about what happened, and called me later in the day to check and see how I felt.

Even though I was not injured, this could have been a fatal error on the pharmacy's part.  In 2006, the National Academies stated that 1.5 million people are injured annually due to medication errors.  Some of these injuries have been fatal.  So, remember, please check your prescriptions to make sure it's the correct medicine, dosage, and that it belongs to you.