Pharmacology

There are a variety of sign-offs that you need before being released after a transplant.  One of them is being able to demonstrate to the staff that you understand your medication regime.  To ensure this, there is a transition to self-medicating--initially under the supervision of the nursing staff.

Friday, one of the pharmacists came by with a shoe box-sized plastic tote full of prescription bottles.  We then went through each, her explaining what the medications are for, dosage and time of day, side effects, etc.  We then used one of those seven-day, four slots per day pill boxes to distribute the meds into the proper partitions.

Eighteen different medications, several in multiple doses.  21 pills in the morning, 12 more in the evening and 9 at night. The most important of these are the anti-rejection drugs:  Tacrolimus, Mycophenolate and Prednisone.  These will be part of her daily regime for the rest of her life (Or as Shirley suggests--at least until they perfect stem cell research and she's able to grow her own new lungs).

Others are to prevent various kinds of infections, lower heart rate, cholesterol and prevent strokes. And then there are a bunch that are basically there to counter the side affects of the other drugs.  It's all a balancing act and I suspect that there will be adjustments over the next few weeks.

The routine now is that when each pill-taking session takes place, Shirley pulls the pills out and explains to the nurse what each is and what it is for.  This process will be repeated until she is discharged.