Ghost Pill

Over the past several years I have battled with my potassium level. Low or high, it can cause problems. Sometimes severe. Luckily, mine were manageable by medicine. Once, I had to be admitted to get it balanced out, but it really wasn’t that big of deal to me. I thought being admitted might have been a little over kill. But, I’m not the doctor, right?

Well, at some point over the past several years, I managed to balance out and therefore medicine wasn’t required any longer. However, this year, at my physical, that I thought my family physician would be so proud of me at because I was eating healthy, feeling great, and exercising regularly, I was surprised when he told me I wasn’t doing as well as I had thought. Well, my potassium was out of range and therefore I had to start taking Potassium medicine again. I ran this by my cardiologist, since she pretty much manages my medicine regiment. When I received these pills, they were different than I remembered them looking like before. They used to be big white horse pills. These were big, round, slick on the outside, and a pretty light orange color.

So, as directed, I began taking the medicine. I had been taking this pill for several months  just fine. According to my lab results, the medicine did seem to be working and things were balancing out again. That’s good.

Now, here’s where the real story starts. I’m sure not everyone checks their “poop” on a regular basis. Even I don’t regularly, but I’m sure I am more in tune with my bowel’s dirty tricks than most people. I noticed something large and thought it looked maybe like a peanut or something. In examining it a bit closer, I realized it was my potassium pill. “That’s weird,” I thought. I didn’t make a big deal about it and just chalked it up as my bowels were acting up and I didn’t digest it completely.

Well, about a month later, the same thing happened. I told John, my husband, about it. He tends to get nervous about anything medically that changes with me, but he didn’t get too crazy and thought that it’s probably something not to worry too much about because my readings had been looking good. But we agreed that I would keep an eye out for future pill findings.

Sure enough, about a month went by again and I noticed the pill again. I called the pharmacist and asked if there was a different method of taking the potassium because apparently my body didn’t digest this type of pill well. She told me that I would have to call my doctor and get a new prescription for a different kind of pill.

I called my cardiologist right away and left a message with the nurse — because you can never get lucky enough that they will actually answer the incoming call. I explained what was going on, and asked for a different prescription. The nurse left a message which indicated that my cardiologist said it was fine and to keep taking the medicine as directed.

Well, I wasn’t feeling all warm and fuzzy about that answer. How can it be good to continue to take a pill that the entire pill comes back out? So, I have a friend who is an excellent pharmacist and she can explain things so well to me. I called her and filled her in on what was going on and what I’d learned (or not learned) and asked why it would still be okay for someone to take a pill that comes right out.

She answered my question so sweetly. “Oh, yeah. That’s a “Ghost Pill.” As the pill travels though your body, it releases the medicine and the shell is what you are seeing. It’s a relatively new pharmaceutical technology and there are several other pills that behave this way.”

I found this so interesting. But, I have to admit, I had several questions about why I had to take so much time investing the reason for seeing the pill. Why couldn’t the pharmacist or the person I spoke with on the phone, informed me of this? Why didn’t the doctor tell me why I shouldn’t worry about it? At any rate, it’s a fun tidbit of information to be able to put in my medical history.

I share this story so that if you yourself, or a parent of yours, or any other loved one spots a pill in their poop and you confirm with your doctor and pharmacist that you are just wanting to verify that the medicine is a “Ghost Pill,” they will probably be so impressed by your knowledge.

Ghosts may or may not be true, but Ghost Pills are real!

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