Tuesday 26 May 2009

Medicine time line

Came back from Singapore with fever, sore throat, running nose and headache. For a while, I thought I was having swine flu. But the doc said I didn’t really have the symptoms and asked me to rest. He gave me 2 days of MC and quite an amount of medication.

The medication completely knocked me out yesterday and I think I have been sleeping for the last 24 hours, waking up somewhere in between to take my medication before hitting the bed again. The medication given to me has to be taken in different intervals, some twice a day, some 3 times a day and there was one I have to take 4 times a day.

I am curious, is there a universal timing in taking medication? My Mom used to give me these guidelines…
4 times a day = every 4 hour
3 times a day = every 6 hour
2 times a day = after waking up & before sleep

Do you have a specific medicine time line? Should there be one?

I think the medication is kicking in, I am hitting the bed again…


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25 comments:

leyaw said...

Mother is always right, so better listen to your mother :)

Get well soon!

Fi-sha said...

My dear Zewt

yes, mommies are always right and make sure you follow that timeline starting from the first time you took the medication ok.

Get well soon Zewt!

p.s. Sleeping is the nest best medicine...

Yvonne Foong said...

Hey, make sure none of those prescribed are sleeping pills. Blek.

I don't take sleep time into account. So if a medicine needs to be taken 3 times a day, I take one during breakfast, one during lunch, and one during dinner.

I am not sure about medications prescribed for specific sumptoms, but when I take supplements, there is a recommended daily quantity. So as long as three dosages combined meet the required daily quanhtity, it does not matter when exactly I take it.

If this can be said about pharmaceutical drugs prescribed to treat specific sumptoms, I won't be surprised!

Perhaps the reason for dividing them into multiple dosages is to make sure your body can tolerate the drug each time you take it. But the timing does not really matter as long as the total amount you take per day is sufficient.

pinknpurplelizard said...

I just recovered from something with all the same swine flu symptoms but doc said it was a bad flu. I also got 3 types of meds but I finished my med, I still needed 3+ days to recover.

Its a pain... A pain to be sick. I spent my sick week just sleeping. MC from work for 4 days (2 times kena halau from work too). Drink lotsa water too. Get well soon, Zewt!

doc said...

strictly speaking, if you're supposed to take a pill 3 times a day, it should be at 8-hourly intervals, eg. 8am, 4pm then 12mn. this is to make sure that there is a steady level of the drug in your blood/body. this is especially true for live-saving medication like antibiotics, anti-coagulants & anti-convulsants.

but because few follow this strictly, eg inconvenience, forgetfulness, & because the human body is a wonderful piece of machinery that can withstand all matter of insult & neglect, the medication can be taken according to the the hours we are awake,eg. 8am, 2pm & 8pm, & we all still
get away with it.

HOWEVER, taking a tablet 3 times a day at 6 hourly intervals is NOT the same as taking 3 tablets at 1 go & repeating this after 24 hours!!!

Terra Shield said...

I usually get the 3 times a day type of medication... so it's 7:30 am, 3:30 pm, and about 11:30 pm... fits well into the daily routine!

annna said...

Yes, listen to mummy. She knows what is best for you.

Get well soon!

ven said...

Technically speaking, 4 times a day means 4-6 hourly, 3 times will be 6-8 hourly and 2 times a day is 12 hourly. Having said that, for most medication, you can get away by taking it a bit late or early. For certain medication, even missing one dose (not advisable) will not do any harm.

Cindy Khor said...

that's what my mum taught me too... she says that if the medicine states 3 times per day then we have to take 24 hours and divide by 3, and then this would be the hours we take med... and sometimes this also means that we would have to wake up at the wee hours to take our med...

until now, i still follow this rule...

day-dreamer said...

Get well soon!

suituapui said...

Thank God it's not the Swinehini! And glad that you're getting better! It's the weather! Lots of people coming down with flu... I take Clarinaise for flu, available at pharmacies - one per day and non-drowsy! Malaysian made ones cheaper - half the price.

Petite Lass said...

Mmm....If it's 4 times a day: I will take one dose during breakfast, lunch, dinner and before bed. 3 times a day: one dose during breakfast, lunch, dinner. 2 times a day: one dose during breakfast and one during dinner or one during lunch another during dinner.

Get well soon!

elaine said...

i had the same symptoms as you too, except that i'm in the uk. guess what? i waited for 15 minutes to see the GP and was out in 2 minutes. all he did was asking me a few questions and proceeded to checking my heart beat and throat. he told me that it was just a viral infection. no further action taken. take some panadols if there's fever. lol!

zewt said...

leyaw - of cos :)

Fi-sha - slept non stop for so long... fatique feeling...

Yvonne Foong - i guess there is no universal rule then.

pinknpurplelizard - yeah, it's a pain to be sick. the only consolation... no need to work :P

doc - thanks doc for the info.

Terra Shield - you wake up at 7.30am? that's too early :P

zewt said...

annna - :)... thanks.

ven - the only dose we should not miss is... antibiotics i guess.

Cindy Khor - i guess i should continue to follow them...

day-dreamer - feeling much better now...

suituapui - definitely the weather, stupid haze!

Petite Lass - hahaha... what if we have irregular meals?

elaine - they dont really give damn whether it's swine or not eh? :P

Huei said...

take care!!

well i just take only whenever i remember =P

Petite Lass said...

Haha, then that person will have medicine doses at irregular intervals.

zewt said...

huei - that's the thing, sometimes i totally forgot.

petite lass - that's why gotta ask the doc if that is ok...

Ven said...

Oh no, everyone is advised to follow the regime prescribed and for antibiotics, complete the course.

neno said...

hmmm..for us we normally advised to divide by 24 hours..so 4 times = 6 hourly..3 times = 8hourly..2 times = 12 hourly..

but i dunno y Mums like to say

4 times a day = every 4 hour
3 times a day = every 6 hour
2 times a day = after waking up & before sleep

wakakaka..cos my mum said the same thing to me when i was a kid..

for me, i take my meds if i rmr them..wakakaka..

zewt said...

Ven - sigh... actually, antiB is so bad for the body.

neno - maybe she has her own formulae... never got around asking her though.

neno said...

dunno..my mum also has the same timeline too..kekeke..but i find it hard to rmr..

zewt said...

neno - best... just ask the doc.... hah!

neno said...

kekeke..wrong..best is dun fall sick..wakakaka

zewt said...

neno - amen to that!