A nurse is teaching a client who has a new prescription for doxepin. Which of the following instructions should the nurse include in the teaching?

• Pressured speech is a hallmark of mania, reflecting heightened psychomotor activity and accelerated thought processes. It often overwhelms conversation partners and makes logical communication difficult. This symptom reflects the individual’s racing mind and inability to filter or regulate their verbal output, often seen in manic episodes.
• Disorganized thought process is seen in both psychosis and mania, but manifests differently in each. In psychosis, it is often due to a breakdown in logical thinking or connection to reality. In mania, it reflects flight of ideas, rapid topic shifting, and distractibility. The presence of both symptoms indicates overlapping features.
• Excessive spending habits are consistent with manic behavior, often driven by grandiosity and poor judgment. Clients in a manic state may feel invincible or overly generous, leading them to make irrational financial decisions. These behaviors can result in significant personal or financial consequences, including debt or loss of savings.
• Hallucinations are perceptual disturbances where individuals see, hear, or feel things that are not present, primarily associated with psychosis. Auditory hallucinations, like hearing voices or unseen persons, are especially common. This indicates a loss of reality testing, which is central to diagnosing psychotic disorders.
• Lack of sleep without fatigue or distress is a key feature of mania, often preceding or accompanying a manic episode. Unlike insomnia in depression or anxiety, clients with mania may report feeling energetic and productive. The sleep deficit contributes to cognitive and emotional instability seen in manic phases.

Rationale for Correct Options:

• Apply oxygen via nasal cannula: The client is experiencing shallow respirations, SPO2 92%, lethargy, low urine output, and decreased DTRs, which are classic signs of magnesium sulfate toxicity. Administering oxygen helps improve oxygenation and mitigate hypoxia while preparing for further intervention.
• Calcium gluconate: This is the antidote for magnesium sulfate toxicity. Given the client’s clinical signs such as depressed DTRs, lethargy, and shallow breathing, immediate preparation and administration of calcium gluconate is essential to reverse potentially life-threatening effects.

Rationale for Incorrect Options:

• Reduce fluid intake: Although urine output is decreased, the primary concern is not fluid overload but rather signs of magnesium toxicity. Fluid restriction would not address the current emergent symptoms.
• Discontinue IV infusion: Magnesium sulfate infusion should be discontinued if toxicity is suspected, but it's not the first action compared to applying oxygen. The infusion should be stopped as soon as respiratory support is provided.
• Hydralazine: While this antihypertensive can treat severe hypertension in pregnancy, it is not the immediate priority in the setting of magnesium toxicity. Stabilizing respiratory and neurologic status takes precedence.
• Nifedipine: This antihypertensive has already been prescribed and possibly administered earlier. Re-administering it would not be the correct response to signs of magnesium toxicity, and could exacerbate hypotension or bradycardia.