Here's a little paragraph from a blog I like; MD Whistleblower As much as I like the blogger, sometimes I read something that is very scary. Scary when I was LEAST expecting it. Here's what he says about sedation. We all know what 'sedation' he's talking about don't we?
"I recall a science teacher whose prior occupation was serving as a commander of a nuclear submarine. Even years later, his secrets remained tightly held, despite my gentle entreaties. He was, to borrow a phrase, a tomb of confidentiality. Perhaps, the sedation I would be administering prior to a future colonic violation might loosen his tongue. Oh, the secrets I've extracted in the endoscopy suite! Relax, patients. What's uttered in the endoscopy suite, stays in the endoscopy suite, our own version of the Vegas Rules."
I don't know about you, but I am very alarmed and unhappy about this revelation, 'Vegas Rules' be damned. This doc whom I previously liked and trusted just demolished my whole opinion of him. This doctor looks hopefully towards 'sedating' his patient so as to extract secrets from him. OMG this makes my skin crawl. Then to go on and CROW about the secrets he's extracted in the endoscopy suite, this is just unconscionable. Totally outside the realm of decent behavior. "Relax, patients." Are you freakin kidding me? Who could be 'relaxed' (a word with evil connotations for me after my Versed debacle) with the idea that your friendly health care provider is going to seize the moment of your complete vulnerability to extract secrets for their own creepy curiosity?
We have zero privacy anymore, not even in our thoughts and minds because medical people are doing things like this to us. Versed should be banned. How many 'secrets' have been compromised by unscrupulous medical workers like this guy. This is horrifying. This doc has NO RIGHT to deliberately access things which this poor man had no intentions of divulging. Sickening. You all know that this is part of what medical workers like about Versed. They can knock out the censorship in a person with Versed and violate the sanctity of the patients mind. It matters not to me what is done with the information, rather that such information is obtained in this sneaky, dare I say EVIL way. NO EXCUSE for this kind of behavior.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
More Violent Patients...
Sometimes I read some whining crybaby type article about how mean patients are. (sniff) These patients are attacking us. (boo hoo) I'm here to tell you that I love posts about angry, physically violent patients who were assaulted with Versed without warning and without INFORMED consent! I don't have one little shred of sympathy for the people who do this to us. They deserve what they get, and more. Once again I am warning medical types about what my reaction will be if they try to sneak Versed into me again. I will respond just like the lady below...
(Anonymous) wrote:
(Anonymous) wrote:
Feb. 16th, 2012 06:01 pm (UTC)
"Lack of informed consent with Versed
I work in a large med-surg hospital that does lots of outpatient procedures and most if not all involve administering Versed (midazolam). Most clinicians tell the patient: "sign here so that we can give you something to keep you comfy" before administering Versed, when the truth is more like: "sign here so that we can give you Versed that will prevent you from remembering the procedure (at least immediately) and it will make you compliant; it has no pain-relieving properties, but don't worry, you probably won't be able to communicate but you will be quite "awake"..just sort of zombified. Don't be alarmed that the patient in the next room getting a colonoscopy is screaming in pain, we will get her out the door in a hurry and she won't realize that she was given an amnesia drug." One patient was lied to in the usual manner about the Versed that she was given; when she was told the truth about it being an amnesia drug she promptly smacked the endo doc right in the mouth...and the patient can't be held accountable since she was put "under the influence". Sorry, giving Versed without telling patients that it's purpose is to induce amnesia is unethical. I have seen way too many educated, reasonable and calm patients become furious after being given this amnestic drug without informed consent."
I love this sentence "One patient was lied to in the usual manner about the Versed that she was given; when she was told the truth about it being an amnesia drug she promptly smacked the endo doc right in the mouth...and the patient can't be held accountable since she was put "under the influence"."
OMG! The patient was LIED TO IN THE USUAL MANNER about Versed. LIED TO in a USUAL manner. That says a lot about medical care and the people who populate these centers doesn't it? She smacked the endo doc right in the mouth. Dear Lord forgive me, but I can hardly contain my delighted laughter! I will be doing the same, if at all possible. As far as being "under the influence" yeah baby, I'll be using that one. Will these medical people have the police shoot me dead because MEDICAL PEOPLE gave me a drug which I will always refuse, which is on my medical alert bracelet and in my wallet, not to use? So I could actually end up dead because some fool wants to turn me into a compliant zombie, for their own selfish reasons? At any rate, I won't be going to jail for the damage *I* do because I will be "under the influence". I just hope they don't kill me for my response to their high handed illegal use of this drug.
As for the "I have seen too many educated, reasonable and calm patients become furious after being given this amnestic drug without informed consent." That's exactly describing me and my experience. Uncanny isn't it? Medical workers will swear to their dying breath that Versed is universally beloved by their patients and zero side effects or untoward effects have been noted EVER in regard to this drug. Yet we have this statement from 'anonymous' who is obviously in the health care field reporting these things to us... So who is lying? Anonymous and all of us who have been battered with Versed, or the (mentally compromised) medical people who are addicted to using Versed?
PS once again I have to say that my thoughts here are my own opinions. Yours may be different, but I have a complete RIGHT to speak out against the abuse we are suffering at the hands of those who are supposed to be helping us. In fact it's a moral imperative.
Here's the link: Esprit de Carp - Now where was I?
A Scientific Study: Benzo's Cause Dementia!
A fellow sufferer sent me an e-mail in reference to this article: Anxiety Drug Use May Boost Dementia Risk (as much as 60%!!!) So after all the screams and howls of denial from our lazy narcissistic medical drug pushers (did I leave anything out?) at last some medical people ADMIT that the use of benzo's for anxiety actually causes dementia later on. Wonder why they even did a study on this? Could it be that a few medical workers (the ones without the Versed lover addiction) NOTICED what we have been saying all along? That Versed in particular, in this benzo class, is creating memory problems and unusual behavior?
I am not a medical person. I have never had any formal training in the medical or drug fields. How is it that *I* and others like me that have had a severe reaction to Versed have arrived at the same conclusion that scientists (finally!) have? It's because, unlike medical (ahem) professionals that have a BIAS that prevents them from using critical thinking in regards to Versed, we trust our own experience. You know and *I* know that Versed caused unusual mental problems along the lines of PTSD. We KNOW that this drug disrupted the orderly progression of our thoughts. We KNOW that Versed created a heightened sense of danger and high anxiety in our previously mundane lives. So why is it that those people responsible for injecting this poison have NEVER, EVER seen anybody react badly to Versed? Hint: They have, they just can't accept the truth. They don't WANT to deal with cognizant people, so they can and will destroy people's lives in order to make their own easier. They have no shame.
Apparently none of these highly educated (so they say) medical folks have taken a step back from their Versed reliance and thought to themselves, "Say, all these patients can't be wrong! I might be harming my patients by depending so heavily on this class of drugs!" They don't appear to ever doubt themselves or to question medical dogma. They seem to lack extrapolation skills, so necessary in most people's lives. They truly cannot see that we patients are right, especially about their precious Versed? What would cause this unenlightened, callous attitude in medical practitioners? I can't fathom it. For me, knowing that I was personally causing this much damage in the very people I was tasked with helping would send me into a depression.
So for all you medical people who have been reviling me, ridiculing me, calling me names, threatening me with all manner of harm, both physical and financial, I am right! I have been right all along about Versed. I have arrived at the correct conclusion about Versed vis a vis dementia and Alzheimer's-like symptoms. I was right all along! And I'm not even a trained medical person. How does that make you feel? The dumb truck driver and all the rest of us productive members of society that you people have such disdain for ARE RIGHT! You medical people are WRONG about the safety of Versed, the drug YOU can't live without! How do you like me now?
Medical people: QUESTION the current thinking on Versed! (and the rest of the benzo's) Use your mind! Look at the evidence that is right before your eyes! Medicine isn't a done deal. It is always evolving and you need to evolve with it. Especially with the brain poisoning drugs which you are now using. NOBODY understands the brain, don't be so sanguine about destroying it with drugs. Recognise how much you don't know. Use your powers of observation. Extrapolate! Trust your own conclusions as they pertain to the idiotic medical reasoning shown by others. Take a step outside the box, like the doctors in the link above. Your patients are depending on you.
I am not a medical person. I have never had any formal training in the medical or drug fields. How is it that *I* and others like me that have had a severe reaction to Versed have arrived at the same conclusion that scientists (finally!) have? It's because, unlike medical (ahem) professionals that have a BIAS that prevents them from using critical thinking in regards to Versed, we trust our own experience. You know and *I* know that Versed caused unusual mental problems along the lines of PTSD. We KNOW that this drug disrupted the orderly progression of our thoughts. We KNOW that Versed created a heightened sense of danger and high anxiety in our previously mundane lives. So why is it that those people responsible for injecting this poison have NEVER, EVER seen anybody react badly to Versed? Hint: They have, they just can't accept the truth. They don't WANT to deal with cognizant people, so they can and will destroy people's lives in order to make their own easier. They have no shame.
Apparently none of these highly educated (so they say) medical folks have taken a step back from their Versed reliance and thought to themselves, "Say, all these patients can't be wrong! I might be harming my patients by depending so heavily on this class of drugs!" They don't appear to ever doubt themselves or to question medical dogma. They seem to lack extrapolation skills, so necessary in most people's lives. They truly cannot see that we patients are right, especially about their precious Versed? What would cause this unenlightened, callous attitude in medical practitioners? I can't fathom it. For me, knowing that I was personally causing this much damage in the very people I was tasked with helping would send me into a depression.
So for all you medical people who have been reviling me, ridiculing me, calling me names, threatening me with all manner of harm, both physical and financial, I am right! I have been right all along about Versed. I have arrived at the correct conclusion about Versed vis a vis dementia and Alzheimer's-like symptoms. I was right all along! And I'm not even a trained medical person. How does that make you feel? The dumb truck driver and all the rest of us productive members of society that you people have such disdain for ARE RIGHT! You medical people are WRONG about the safety of Versed, the drug YOU can't live without! How do you like me now?
Medical people: QUESTION the current thinking on Versed! (and the rest of the benzo's) Use your mind! Look at the evidence that is right before your eyes! Medicine isn't a done deal. It is always evolving and you need to evolve with it. Especially with the brain poisoning drugs which you are now using. NOBODY understands the brain, don't be so sanguine about destroying it with drugs. Recognise how much you don't know. Use your powers of observation. Extrapolate! Trust your own conclusions as they pertain to the idiotic medical reasoning shown by others. Take a step outside the box, like the doctors in the link above. Your patients are depending on you.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Versed and RAPE and TORTURE!
Take a look at this newspaper article. Still want to tell me how wonderful medical people are and how this kind of thing COULD NEVER HAPPEN WITH VERSED? Unbelievable, or at least it should be... These women were SEDATED WITH VERSED AND THEN SEXUALLY ABUSED! Both in the hospital and out of it. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. I truly believe that this kind of thing is MUCH, MUCH more prevalent that medical professionals will lead us to believe. Look how long this man was ALLOWED to get away with it. How many victims were there? The ones who got full amnesia will never know, now will they?
, a common drug by Anesthesiologists, is well known to induce amnesia, especially retrograde amnesia. It's very useful especially for painful procedures as the patient might be conscious at the time of the pain but not remember anything later.
Oregon Doctor Sentenced to 23 Years After Pleading Guilty to Rape and Sex Abuse
Bonnie King Salem-News.com
Dr. Frederick Field is off to prison for the ultimate breach of trust~ what's next for his victims?
Dr Fred Field pleaded guilty to rape and sex abuse in Wasco County court on Sept 18.
Still Photography by Willie Hayward, Salem-News.com |
(THE DALLES, Ore) - Dr. Frederick Field now will be known as one of Oregon’s most notorious serial sex offenders. The bad doctor pleaded guilty to 11 counts of first-degree sex abuse and one count of first-degree rape in the Wasco County court last Tuesday.
This was a change in plea which came after lengthy negotiations between the district attorney and Field's lawyer. 47-year old Frederick George Field was sentenced to 276 months in prison (23 years), based on Measure 11 guidelines.
For five years, Field, an anesthesiologist, worked at the main hospital in The Dalles, the Mid-Columbia Medical Center (MCMC).
Frederick George Field obtained his license to practice in Oregon in 2005. He earned his medical degree at Tulane University School of Medicine in 1998 and completed residency training in internal medicine and anesthesiology at Brown University in Providence, R.I.; he is currently married, and has two young children.
He was first indicted by a Wasco County grand jury and accused of abusing two patients. He was arrested July 28, 2011, and charged in August with rape and felony sexual abuse. He was held on more than $1 million bond.
Field's mugshot taken within hours of court.
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The allegations began with two victims but quickly became more. Soon he was charged with sexually abusing seven women; six patients and one hospital employee, revealing that they were incapacitated by drugs when they were assaulted.
Then, the Oregon Medical Board suspended his license while the investigation was underway. The OMB had no record of disciplinary actions or malpractice claims against Dr Field prior to these sexual assault charges.
Whistleblower Victims Speak Out
A 66-year-old woman filed suit against Mid-Columbia Medical Center in August 2011 shedding more light on the sordid situation. She had undergone surgery in February 2011, conducted by Field.
"As soon as she was able to speak, she told her surgeon that Dr. Field had forced her to touch him sexually during the surgery. Dr. Field denied the allegations, and said that [she] had been hallucinating under the effect of the anesthetic," stated Kafoury & McDougal, the Portland law firm that represented the woman, on their website.
The woman said she took her concerns to hospital management but they did not take her seriously. Hospital officials disagree. They say when the patient first told them about the sexual abuse in May, they immediately notified The Dalles Police Department.
Richard Baltus, spokesman for Mid-Columbia Medical Center, said the hospital "took every precaution to ensure Dr. Field was not in a position to compromise patient safety and was never in a room alone with a patient."
The last known case of sexual abuse took place on July 24, over two months later. It wasn’t against a patient this time; instead he abused a female employee.
And what of the Oregon Health Authority? Were they apprised of the imminent risk to patients? The OHA is "the organization at the forefront of lowering and containing costs, improving quality and increasing access to health care in order to improve the lifelong health of Oregonians". This case is an example of when their guidance would have been especially helpful to patients in Oregon.
MCMC reportedly reaps $100 million a year from their vast healthcare empire; that is a lot to protect, but at what cost?
By sentencing last Tuesday, twelve victims had come forward, including co-workers, who said they were abused by Field between 2007 – 2011, and joined the cause to find justice.
According to reports, some of the victims said they awoke as Field touched them, and some had convinced themselves that their memories were dreams until the doctor was arrested.
Wasco County Chief Deputy District Attorney Leslie Wolf said the victims who were sedated by Field for surgery or other medical problems and then touched inappropriately. Six of Field's accusers say he touched their genitals or breasts, or forced them to touch his genitals, and one woman said Field forced her to have sexual intercourse in 2008.
In the cases involving co-workers, Field “asked if they wanted medication to ease a headache or some other ailment. He then took them into a room and administered medication that incapacitated them before they were abused,” Prosecutors said.
There are several drugs that would have been accessible to Field. Versed
As an Anesthesiologist, Fred Field had not only access to this drug and others, but also the expertise to use it to his advantage.
Who Knew and When? Adding Insult to Injury.
All of the crimes did not take place at the hospital itself. The admitted rapist allegedly took at least one of his victims to a house owned by the hospital foundation, used by visiting doctors and those on call. In Afghanistan, the Taliban and Russian soldiers were well known to use “rape rooms” as part of their torture of the locals. Being drugged and trapped with a rapist behind closed doors in The Dalles, Oregon, is no less torture.
809 Union Street in The Dalles is leased to MCMC for use as a "call house", and may be an integral piece of the puzzle as the investigation into the possible cover up of Dr Field's crimes continues.
The one rape victim in this case so far was a nurse working at Mid-Columbia Medical Center and lived about an hour away. She thought their anesthesiologist and her co-worker, Dr Field, was a trusted friend when she asked him for something to relieve her of a bad headache. When she "came to", Fred Field was on top of her - raping her on a couch in that MCMC leased call house on Union Street. Oregon State police DNA tested semen found on the MCMC "rape house" couch and it was identified as that of Dr. Field, likely contributing to his change in plea to guilty.
Field did not speak in court except to admit guilt to the charges against him at the hearing presided over by Judge Paul Crowley, but several of his victims did. Field stared forward, not reacting to their pleas for his remorse, not showing any sign that he even cared what they had to say.
"How could this happen?” One victim asked. “How could this man damage other women's lives ... how is it possible that this was allowed to happen?"
“You will be as powerless as I was once,” another victim said. “Your crimes can only have come from an unimaginable void within the moral fabric that exists within the rest of us; you have none. I hope I can someday find a way to forgive you; not because you deserve it but because I do.”
“What was really disappointing is that the doctor made no statement, and he made no effort to acknowledge what he had done to the women that had not been the subject of indictments and it shows what an unregenerate man he is,” said attorney Greg Kafoury.
“I think they were all offended at the fact that the man wouldn’t speak, they wanted to hear something.
“He is a coward. He wouldn’t stand up and say it, he talked through his lawyer. If there was ever a time for someone to stand up and say they were sorry, and to acknowledge what they had done, this would be the time to do it,” Kafoury said.
Whether or not there are additional victims remains to be seen. Kafoury is convinced there are more.
“I think there are women out there who have a story to tell, who are reluctant to step forward. If there are women who believe he should serve even longer, and they know what he did to them, they need to search their consciences and find the courage to do what these other women have done."
The civil trial is expected to begin in about a year, and Kafoury’s law team is seeking $14 million or more in damages from the hospital for pain and suffering on behalf of his clients.
Hospital administrators were allegedly advised of Field’s criminal behavior in 2008, but failed to act. The next three years put many other women in the position of being victimized by Dr Field. The Oregon Medical Board waited until after his arrest to take action. Why?
Dr Field had access to unconscious female patients every single day. It is possible that in the years he was at MCMC he committed far more sex abuse crimes than the 20 or so times described in this case.
In this rural Oregon town of 16,000 on the banks of the Columbia River famous for its fruits, wheat and wines, people in the know have been afraid to speak up, even when their wives, mothers or even grandmothers are being raped and sexually assaulted. Intimidation comes in many forms, and it must be removed as a factor once and for all in Wasco County.
Motherly Love
Joan Field, the convicted doctor’s mother, told Salem-News.com that her son “didn’t rape anyone”, and that the charges have more to do with money than truth.
“It was a consensual affair, it occurred twice in two different places; once in her apartment and once in the hospital. It was a consensual affair, it was not rape. She is a very good actress.”
When asked if she had anything to say to the many women victimized by her son, Ms Field shook her head and said, “I don’t think there were many. I think there was only one, I think it was Allen. I think all the rest were...otherwise.”
“There is a lot of money involved here, and I think a lot of people are in it for the money. I’m sorry.”
She also does not believe it was possible for him to get a fair trial in Wasco County. According to Joan Field, a survey was conducted to determine what percentage of citizens in the county were aware of the proceedings against Frederick Field. Of the 1000 people polled, 80% were aware of the case, and 65% believed him to be guilty before the trial.
Frederick Field did not receive a change of venue to another county based on that information.
Complicity Can Be Criminal
By most accounts, The Dalles is an unpretentious, unsuspecting, “salt of the earth” rural community. The people that call The Dalles “home” have a good quality of life. They trust their friends, neighbors, and especially their doctors. In many cases, for generations.
This case is a serious affront to all area citizens that work to keep their city an honorable place to live. That may be the reason that this story has been kept strangely quiet.
A Letter to the Editor signed by several The Dalles community members expressed outrage at the lack of public outcry. “Our community has its own Penn State scandal going on,” they wrote.
“Why is the Hospital Board sitting on its hands? This scandal is a blight on our whole community. It makes us all look bad. Let’s put our support behind the victims, not those who allegedly let it happen.
“It seems to us that having the CEO of the hospital being a member of the board is an exercise in futility if the board’s true purpose is to police the hospital. How can they possibly be objective?” The letter asked.
Greg Kafoury said, “The hospital is in a bunker. All of its administrators are in a bunker, they talk through counsel and we’re going to pry the lid off the bunker and we’re going to make them all talk under oath and produce every document. We promised today, to this community, that they would have a trial and those who knew about what this man was doing, all those who concealed it will have to face the community under oath in a courtroom.”
Duane Francis, chief executive officer for the medical center, did not attend the court proceedings and he opted to have a spokesperson answer our questions. Richard Baltus, Director of Public Relations and Marketing spoke to Salem-News.com via telephone exclusively after the sentencing.
He said, “In general we are pleased that the criminal proceedings against Dr Field have come to an end with the result appropriate for the despicable nature of his crimes, but also spares his victims from having to relive them in court.”
When asked if he expected more victims to come forward, he said, “We certainly have not heard of any. It appears to be the end of it, from the criminal standpoint.”
I asked him what he would say to the women of Wasco County to give them the confidence that the Medical Center is a safe place to be, and is watching out for their best interests?
“We have reviewed every single one of our policies in regard to patient safety to ensure that we are continuing to provide the safest possible environment for our patients and I’m confident that we are.
“This was a single individual determined to do harm, and certainly our hearts go out to his victims but his despicable actions don’t define our organization or what we’re all about. We are confident we’ve always had the right safety measures in place; he was just determined to do harm. (taps table) Sometimes there’s not anything you can do about that.”
“Have all the cases that Dr Field has worked on been reviewed?” I asked.
“No. I can’t answer that,” Baltus said.
Regarding the timeliness of the hospital’s report to the police when they knew of the accusations, Baltus said, “As soon as we had the information we could to go to the police, we immediately went to the police with that. I really can’t elaborate on that, but it’s certainly not a case of us ignoring accusations, ever.
“We have been providing care at the main hospital since 1959, and this is the first incident of anything like this ever happening.
“MCMC is not some giant, faceless corporation. It’s the largest employer in town, and as such it’s a microcosm of this community so we’re confident when people put a face on MCMC it’s the face of their neighbor or friend or family member, it’s not going to be the face of Fred Field.”
Oregon State Prison for Twenty-Three Years
Field will not be eligible for early parole, and when he leaves prison in over twenty years, he will have to register as a sex offender according to Wasco County Chief Deputy District Attorney Leslie Wolf.
She said that Field will also pay fines and assessments, and restitution of $5,308.02 for counseling expenses for five of his victims. A request to give Field's posted bail money to victims was denied by the judge.
Field is led away in cuffs.
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"He's on Measure 11 time, so he's not eligible for any early release programs. He will have to register as a sex offender, and will have no contact with any of the victims and their families."
“I think the guilty plea was important to the victims to hear that he was accepting accountability and responsibility for the acts that he did to them.
“This is the time this community needs to start healing. Fred Field is the one that did these actions to these women, these women were completely vulnerable, they did nothing wrong. We ask the community to remember that, and to start respecting and having compassion for them and their families at this time,” Wolf said.
There are many more victims who may be suffering in silence and some whose memory of the abuse may have been wiped out by the sexual predator, using his knowledge, expertise and socioeconomic status to prey on his victims.
The victims of these crimes are not limited to those who physically had hands put upon them, as these events have changed the lives of everyone involved forever, including the families, friends and coworkers of every victim. The impact is like a pebble in a pond, the ripples go on and on.
When all was said and done, Stephen Houze, the Portland attorney representing Field made a plea to the victims, community members, the judge and prosecutor.
“He’s a human being; he’s not a monster,” said Houze, in court. “He’s a man who has contributed significantly in his life to the welfare of others. He is a husband and the loving father of two children with elderly parents who will live out their lives before he is free. I think it’s important to bear in mind that criminal cases, criminal justice, involves a number of victims.”
Dr Frederick Field put
Stay tuned to Salem-News.com as this investigation continues. The Dr Fred Field story is not nearly finished.
WATCH THE VIDEO NEWS REPORT BELOW:
Video produced by Bonnie King, Salem-News.com
Photography by Sean King
Field Producer Austin King
Still Photographer Willie Hayward
Bonnie King has been with Salem-News.com since August '04, when she became Publisher. Bonnie has served in a number of positions in the broadcast industry; TV Production Manager at KVWB (Las Vegas WB) and Producer/Director for the TV series "Hot Wheels in Las Vegas", posts as TV Promotion Director for KYMA (NBC), and KFBT (Ind.), Asst. Marketing Director (SUPERSHOPPER MAGAZINE), Director/Co-Host (Coast Entertainment Show), Radio Promotion Director (KBCH/KCRF), and Newspapers In Education/Circulation Sales Manager (STATESMAN JOURNAL NEWSPAPER). Bonnie has a depth of understanding that reaches further than just behind the scenes, and that thoroughness is demonstrated in the perseverance to correctly present each story with the wit and wisdom necessary to compel and captivate viewers.
Video produced by Bonnie King, Salem-News.com
Photography by Sean King
Field Producer Austin King
Still Photographer Willie Hayward
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Bonnie King has been with Salem-News.com since August '04, when she became Publisher. Bonnie has served in a number of positions in the broadcast industry; TV Production Manager at KVWB (Las Vegas WB) and Producer/Director for the TV series "Hot Wheels in Las Vegas", posts as TV Promotion Director for KYMA (NBC), and KFBT (Ind.), Asst. Marketing Director (SUPERSHOPPER MAGAZINE), Director/Co-Host (Coast Entertainment Show), Radio Promotion Director (KBCH/KCRF), and Newspapers In Education/Circulation Sales Manager (STATESMAN JOURNAL NEWSPAPER). Bonnie has a depth of understanding that reaches further than just behind the scenes, and that thoroughness is demonstrated in the perseverance to correctly present each story with the wit and wisdom necessary to compel and captivate viewers.Sunday, September 23, 2012
Well Written E-mail From a Reader
"Remember, I am no medical authority, and information is hidden from us patients, so listen to your doctor, but here goes with my opinions.
Over 30 years ago, as part of a job I had in a JCAHO (then JCAH) accredited hospital, I was tasked to convince people to undergo surgery. I worked closely with the medical staff, surgeons, nurses, technicians, etc. We always arranged for informed consent. Our mantra for explaining such procedures was that if we told you you were going to be helped by an arm operation we also had to let you know that there was perhaps an 8% chance that you would die or a 12% chance your arm would fall off. We also informed them about pain. It is disturbing that I received none of that before or at my recent colonoscopy.
What would I tell people now? It appears that anesthesia has changed since 'my day'. Putting you out was always dangerous. The doctor or nurse (we used to call them 'gas passers' as they used gas) had to be skillful, but they put you out for many big procedures. They also gave you tranquilizing drugs like Valium (diazepam) if you were not to be put totally out, to relax you.
It appears that has changed. Instead of putting you to sleep they block pain in various areas, more often perhaps then they did in the past. But the real change is that they use certain drugs deliberately so you will not remember what they did, specifically midazolam AKA Versed and Propofol (Propofol's nickname is Milk of Amnesia). To repeat, they use these drugs specifically because the wipe you memory of ‘the procedure.’
For example, as far as I can tell, colonoscopies are always painful, either a little, or moderate, or a lot. They can give you pain medications, but if they do, how much, who knows and who remembers, as there is no recording or independent monitoring of these ‘procedures.’ And the drugs they use for ‘twilight sedation’ appear to be chosen because they wipe your memory of what they did, as well as to incapacitate you from resisting as opposed to being out of pain. It also seems that Versed (Midazolam) does not wipe the memory of some people (like perhaps you) and they remember what happened. Do you feel pain if your memory of it is erased? I think you do. How did you feel lying there perhaps in great pain, following their commands or trying to fight them, enduring it, yet knowing this memory would probably all or partially be wiped out, or would it come back to you some night? Some people therefore refuse to be ‘sedated’ for colonoscopies. It appears that this forces the medical people to give adequate pain medication and to treat you well as you will remember it.
One of the Law and Order Special Victims shows features versed in an episode wherein the criminal assaults a woman who cannot then fight back, and dies I think, or could not remember it enough to testify. Star Trek Enterprise has an episode called twilight that addresses issues of having one’s memory erased.
I was lucky with my endoscopist, a GI doctor with decades of experience. It was done at the office but an anesthesiologist was present, and I had Propofol. Propofol is better I think. President Bush II had it. (Obama had a virtual). I have had no psychological problems. I have not found the complaints on the web about Propofol that I see about versed. I have read it is very painful going in, but all I remember is something going into my arm and then being asked to dress and leave.
You really are at the mercy of the practitioner. There is so much profit that the general practitioners have been approved to do it. The insurance companies do not want to pay the extra costs for propofol, which can mostly put you out (it worked for Michael Jackson, mostly), and for which some states require the presence of an anesthesiologist.
And the better choice seems to be a hospital or surgical center as they would have the better pain meds and CRNA and anesthesiologist services to give you propofol like Bush II got, i.e. Milk of Amnesia, with real anesthesia possibility and instant sick free wake up. And a less private place where rumors might start as they see many clinicians.
Some of my favorite references: From the wonderful Center for medical consumers http://medicalconsumers.org/2009/01/01/how-good-are-colonoscopies/
A spectacular site that does not appear to be always updated, but has terrific information on colonoscopies and other stuff www.hospitalsoup.com
“let’s think about the setting and your frame of mind when you arrive for a procedure. First of all, … the colonoscopy preparation procedure requires fasting as well as hours spent in the restroom so that one’s bowels are clean. Then, you generally either have to get up at the crack of dawn or well before dawn depending upon where you live, the traffic, and the time of your procedure, and finally when you arrive exhausted at the hospital or surgery center, you are then checked in, placed in a room, told to remove all your clothes, and put one of those very attractive hospital gowns on, and asked to sign a multitude of papers. Your glasses and personal belongings may even have been removed so that you are signing papers which you can’t even see, but in your tired and hungry state you may be so focused on getting out of the hospital that you’re not too concerned about what you are being given or the documents you are signing. The next step after you’ve handed over your glasses, stripped out of your clothes, and are possibly nervously awaiting your procedure, is that you will probably be approached by a nurse who comes in with a huge smile and pokes you in the arm to start your IV. You are probably then approached by either the same smiling staff member or another member of your medical team with an equally large grin that you will be “given something to relax”. Not one to want to ruffle any feathers and certainly wanting to be a “good patient” you probably simply say “ok” and may be totally oblivious to what happens next.
…
It’s primary use is that of an amnesiac drug, or a drug that will cause you to forget. What many patients are not aware of is that if you are given Versed it does not necessarily mean that you will not have pain, but it may cause you to forget pain.”
How about the Mayo clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DR600929 “Midazolam is used to produce sleepiness or drowsiness and to relieve anxiety before surgery or certain procedures. Midazolam is also given to produce amnesia (loss of memory) so that the patient will not remember any discomfort or undesirable effects that may occur after a surgery or procedure .
“The most common drugs used in date rape …include … Midazolam… See also Law and Order special victims season 5 episode 5 The episode is entitled "Serendipity.”
From the US National Library of Medicine: “Midazolam is given to children before medical procedures or before anesthesia for surgery to cause drowsiness, relieve anxiety, and prevent any memory of the event.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000482 /
“We conclude that midazolam, given in small incremental doses, in combination with meperidine, produces effective conscious sedation for colonoscopy and exceeds diazepam in its amnestic effect”. http://www.giejournal.org/article/S0016-5107%2892%2970559-8/abstract
For fun, watch Dr. Oz’s colonoscopy, the second or third video if it is still up. He does not appear to be having a good time. He thought about it all summer I think. And he did not follow up as ordered until much later. Now he, I am told, is an enthusiastic proponent of the procedure.
From a blog, almost an exact quote: ‘While it is true that versed and fentanyl are common and acceptable drugs for outpatient GI procedures these drugs are not as effective as propofol. Additionally, these drugs are generally given by an RN who does not have training in anesthesia as a Nurse Anesthetist or Anesthesiologist would. This limits how far they can go in dosing which is likely what happened with your neighbor. Having said that, many people have GI procedures daily with versed and fentanyl without incident. It is rare to have a patient crying and screaming with these drugs. So the answer is that yes there is a risk of under-sedation with any drug but the risk is much lower when you have a nurse anesthetist giving you propofol.’ Mike MacKinnon MSN CRNA http://en.allexperts.com/q/Anesthesiology-962/2012/5/conscious-sedation-1.htm
This shows you are fully awake. FULLY AWAKE!!! http://science.howstuffworks.com/anesthesia.htm/printable “Under procedural sedation, you remain fully awake and can respond to questions and instructions. … You typically won't remember the procedure or the short period of time following it.”
I have removed salutations from this letter and corrected the spelling of one word. Otherwise this e-mail is exactly as I received it.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Some Stuff From an Askapatient Reviewer
I got some e-mails from the lady who wrote this review of Versed on www.askapatient.com
She has kindly allowed me to reproduce some of what she says here;
The anesthesiologist the 2nd time made me furious, and unfortunately he is the HEAD GUY not only at this place but at a number of centers around town.
I do feel fortunate that the surgeon and his assistants were kind and meticulous and I didn't have any of the horrible, disrespectful and cruel experiences that others have had. And having read in advance, I was not surprised by either wetness around my eye or the purple and black "light show" I saw (microscope light and stuff) during the surgery.
But I sure am worried about any future procedures and getting what I want at that time. Reading about propofol on askapatient is not too reassuring, and I think (not sure) I would rather just get valium or ativan, but that could be quite difficult. Sigh. (I would be interested in what thoughts you have about propofol if and when you have time.)
Thanks for making your experiences and those of others known. I was shocked by the exchanges on the CRNA message board you pointed to, it shows that bad attitudes are incredibly common and unfortunately typical, which again worries me. After my experience I ordered several books used to train medical personnel about sedation and they absolutely tend to omit a lot of what can occur.
I knew I was not doing well and if someone had ever even asked me how I was doing, I'd have told them so (too immobilized to take any initiative though). I'm stunned that there is no acknowledgement that people can react differently to this drug as to MANY others and that this needs to be allowed for and respected.
| 1 | cataract surgery | Got Versed+morphine IV for cataract surgery. I was totally aware of the cataract surgery and absolutely terrified (though the surgery itself was not bad) -- awful experience. I was slowed down and near immobilized but coming-unglued anxious and doing all I could to not come totally unglued and cooperate with surgery. Sheer terror. | what made me the angriest is when I got the second cataract surgery and an anesthesiologist tried to bully me into taking it again, saying I hadn't gotten enough. I absolutely refused and the second surgery was fine. Worst drug I ever took. | F | 61 | don't know 1X O | 12/18/2011 |
She has kindly allowed me to reproduce some of what she says here;
The anesthesiologist the 2nd time made me furious, and unfortunately he is the HEAD GUY not only at this place but at a number of centers around town.
I do feel fortunate that the surgeon and his assistants were kind and meticulous and I didn't have any of the horrible, disrespectful and cruel experiences that others have had. And having read in advance, I was not surprised by either wetness around my eye or the purple and black "light show" I saw (microscope light and stuff) during the surgery.
But I sure am worried about any future procedures and getting what I want at that time. Reading about propofol on askapatient is not too reassuring, and I think (not sure) I would rather just get valium or ativan, but that could be quite difficult. Sigh. (I would be interested in what thoughts you have about propofol if and when you have time.)
Thanks for making your experiences and those of others known. I was shocked by the exchanges on the CRNA message board you pointed to, it shows that bad attitudes are incredibly common and unfortunately typical, which again worries me. After my experience I ordered several books used to train medical personnel about sedation and they absolutely tend to omit a lot of what can occur.
I knew I was not doing well and if someone had ever even asked me how I was doing, I'd have told them so (too immobilized to take any initiative though). I'm stunned that there is no acknowledgement that people can react differently to this drug as to MANY others and that this needs to be allowed for and respected.
Pelvic Exams On Anesthetized Women
We seem to be having a problem among medical workers. They are viewing us as living cadavers and perpetrating sexual assaults upon us, while we are unaware. This must stop. These bodies belong to US and we are paying these people OBSCENE amounts of money to help us. Using us in such a vile way is inexcusable.
The ethics of conducting a pelvic exam on an anesthetized woman
These UNinformed consent forms bear part of the responsibility. In every single one of these documents I have perused, there is always a clause or two about allowing "anybody the doctor directs," "anything the doctor deems necessary" or something about allowing others to observe. Did you know that this allows anybody at all to expose your vagina and dig around in it, in front of of anybody who wants to watch? Drug reps, device reps, the janitor? Did you know that your sedation for a toe bunion can be used to hide the fact that people are doing pelvic exams on you? Remember that amnesia and "cooperation" are the main components of sedation with Versed. They will tell you to spread your legs and you will do so. Then they can claim that because you spread your legs for them, that you wanted it. You won't remember it anyway, (probably, but not necessarily) so ANY humiliation is just fine with them.
Just so you know, this is rape. It doesn't matter if it's medical people or some maniac. Sticking foreign objects, fingers and the like into a woman's body without her consent is rape. Look it up. Do you see anything in the LAW about this being OK if the woman is anesthetized? The informed consent document which doesn't SPECIFY what is going to be done and by whom isn't a legal consent. So the phony little clauses that medical workers like to point to ARE ILLEGAL! This turns informed consent on it's head!
When are patients going to be able to defend themselves, their bodies and their minds against this kind of rapist mentality. When are we going to get true INFORMED consent? You know, the ones which document what they can and cannot do, and by whom. Why are these people being allowed to do this kind of thing?
I already know that medical people were playing with my exposed crotch or I wouldn't have gotten a kidney infection when (according to the patient relations, lawsuit mitigation nurse) I never had a catheter. I guess I'm to imagine that they let me pee all over myself when they illegally gave me general anesthetic? Yeah right. I'm not that stupid. How many people had access to my vagina etc. while I was under? Who knows? This has to stop. Suppose some person who was fingering my privates decided that a hysterectomy was "medically necessary?" Would I have woken up to discover that I had been gutted? According to the misleading and unlawful "informed consent" I signed, this would have been perfectly fine. WOW! Did I get lucky or what?
I could have gone in for a simple bone break in my wrist area and awakened to find that I had no female parts left! I mean, I already got sedation which I had refused. I got general anesthetic which I had refused. I got anesthesia performed by a NURSE which I would certainly have refused. I got a botched surgery performed by who knows who, which was so bad it required corrective surgery by somebody else. I would have refused to allow whoever that was to perform the surgery. So all the way along people were doing things to me which I had refused, passed off to people who I wouldn't have allowed to touch me and in general treated me as an expendable piece of medical equipment, IE the living cadaver. Then they charged me for the assault.
If medical people want to treat us like this then they need to pay US! They also need to get permission for all of this stuff, the SPECIFICS. PRIOR to the injection of Versed.
The ethics of conducting a pelvic exam on an anesthetized woman
These UNinformed consent forms bear part of the responsibility. In every single one of these documents I have perused, there is always a clause or two about allowing "anybody the doctor directs," "anything the doctor deems necessary" or something about allowing others to observe. Did you know that this allows anybody at all to expose your vagina and dig around in it, in front of of anybody who wants to watch? Drug reps, device reps, the janitor? Did you know that your sedation for a toe bunion can be used to hide the fact that people are doing pelvic exams on you? Remember that amnesia and "cooperation" are the main components of sedation with Versed. They will tell you to spread your legs and you will do so. Then they can claim that because you spread your legs for them, that you wanted it. You won't remember it anyway, (probably, but not necessarily) so ANY humiliation is just fine with them.
Just so you know, this is rape. It doesn't matter if it's medical people or some maniac. Sticking foreign objects, fingers and the like into a woman's body without her consent is rape. Look it up. Do you see anything in the LAW about this being OK if the woman is anesthetized? The informed consent document which doesn't SPECIFY what is going to be done and by whom isn't a legal consent. So the phony little clauses that medical workers like to point to ARE ILLEGAL! This turns informed consent on it's head!
When are patients going to be able to defend themselves, their bodies and their minds against this kind of rapist mentality. When are we going to get true INFORMED consent? You know, the ones which document what they can and cannot do, and by whom. Why are these people being allowed to do this kind of thing?
I already know that medical people were playing with my exposed crotch or I wouldn't have gotten a kidney infection when (according to the patient relations, lawsuit mitigation nurse) I never had a catheter. I guess I'm to imagine that they let me pee all over myself when they illegally gave me general anesthetic? Yeah right. I'm not that stupid. How many people had access to my vagina etc. while I was under? Who knows? This has to stop. Suppose some person who was fingering my privates decided that a hysterectomy was "medically necessary?" Would I have woken up to discover that I had been gutted? According to the misleading and unlawful "informed consent" I signed, this would have been perfectly fine. WOW! Did I get lucky or what?
I could have gone in for a simple bone break in my wrist area and awakened to find that I had no female parts left! I mean, I already got sedation which I had refused. I got general anesthetic which I had refused. I got anesthesia performed by a NURSE which I would certainly have refused. I got a botched surgery performed by who knows who, which was so bad it required corrective surgery by somebody else. I would have refused to allow whoever that was to perform the surgery. So all the way along people were doing things to me which I had refused, passed off to people who I wouldn't have allowed to touch me and in general treated me as an expendable piece of medical equipment, IE the living cadaver. Then they charged me for the assault.
If medical people want to treat us like this then they need to pay US! They also need to get permission for all of this stuff, the SPECIFICS. PRIOR to the injection of Versed.
Medicare Billing FRAUD!
Here is a really good article about medicare billing fraud. How Doctors and Hospitals Have Collected Billions in Questionable Medicare Fees | NationofChange I have already talked about the expensive (cough) "consultations" which are nothing more than a few minute office visit with some coercion thrown in for good measure. I have gone on at LENGTH about the stunning claim from medical workers, crna's in particular, that "supervision" is only a MEDICARE BILLING PLOY! They claim that they "suffer" no supervision at all, that the LAW is simply a way to bilk medicare for a supervisor which was never there. They proudly proclaim this little fraud all over the internet. Our government must be so incompetent that they deserve to be ripped off by medical workers EXCEPT that they are using our tax dollars to pay off these cheats!
SEDATION via Versed is the biggest ripoff of all! This nasty brain poison adds THOUSANDS of dollars to each and every simple little procedure done in this country. It also has been shown to cause mental deterioration in elderly patient. Hmmm. What "insurance" might these elderly people be using by and large? Why it's MEDICARE! So now we get to send these poor people whose brains have been fried by Versed to a nursing home. Who pays for that? Why it's MEDICARE again! It ain't cheap either! I looked into one for my uncle near me... It's a lovely facility, unlike the ones I've heard about, but it's $5,800 a MONTH for a shared room, with medical expenses and other misc. added on for good measure.
Maybe some of those 16,500 new IRS agents tasked with enforcing the provisions of the Obamatax in the UNaffordable Care Act can go after these drug pushers, liars and medicare cheats?
SEDATION via Versed is the biggest ripoff of all! This nasty brain poison adds THOUSANDS of dollars to each and every simple little procedure done in this country. It also has been shown to cause mental deterioration in elderly patient. Hmmm. What "insurance" might these elderly people be using by and large? Why it's MEDICARE! So now we get to send these poor people whose brains have been fried by Versed to a nursing home. Who pays for that? Why it's MEDICARE again! It ain't cheap either! I looked into one for my uncle near me... It's a lovely facility, unlike the ones I've heard about, but it's $5,800 a MONTH for a shared room, with medical expenses and other misc. added on for good measure.
Maybe some of those 16,500 new IRS agents tasked with enforcing the provisions of the Obamatax in the UNaffordable Care Act can go after these drug pushers, liars and medicare cheats?
Saturday, September 8, 2012
How To Avoid Versed; From Somebody Else
How To Say No To Versed | Jnspire Hypnosis Versed avoidance is mainstream no matter how much your anesthesia provider may protest. Remember, it is my opinion that the reason we patients are meeting with such obstreperous resistance from anesthesia providers is because they LOVE Versed. It makes it so much easier to abuse patients and be careless with them that they probably can't IMAGINE having to actually deal with patients and have some concern about them.
PANIC Sets In!
I was checking up on the crna Aaron, the crna who is completely responsible for the existence of this blog, and guess what? He has moved to my city! Just when I thought I was safe, I read that he has moved to my new state AND my city. I am panic stricken! This man must NEVER, EVER touch me again, or in any way be responsible for any kind of care in regards to me.
I can't seem to find out which hospital(s) he works at or what group he is working under. We need some kind of laws so that we can track these people who are responsible for injecting us with poison against our will, lying to us, and treating us in an illegal and unlawful manner. I never want to even hear his voice! I heard his voice ridiculing me after he smashed into my brain with his 'vitamin v' the 'simple muscle relaxer.' I'll never forget the smirk on his face as he deliberately and maliciously drugged me against my will. NEVER!
Unfortunately my daughter is attending a good school here and I can't move for 3 more years. A crna should not cause this kind of fear and loathing in his patients. Panic City!
This crna person also went to the same college as my daughter was planning to attend for 2 years! This will have to change as well. Since my kid will only be 16 when she graduates with her AA degree, that means that I must MOVE so that she can be at home with her parents until she finishes her her BA and turns 18. I don't think she will want to leave home at 18 either because she wants to go to college for a number of years and get several PhD's all of which cost lots of money.
All this drama to avoid a rogue crna who is intent on defying patient wishes and imposing his will upon them. I can't risk being injured by or subjected to this horrible crna again. I realize that there is only a very slim chance of encountering this particular man, but the nature of PTSD is that being rational about the root cause of the illness is impossible. I KNOW it's irrational, but the fear is real. If he would treat me like pond scum because I was "just a truck driver" albeit a "pleasant woman in no distress" what will he do to me now? I can't risk it.
I wonder if my gp can put in my chart that Aaron can't work on me in any circumstance? Do you think that the hospital would go along with this directive? Or would they just claim some exigent circumstance to avoid my following my wishes? I mean, it didn't do me a damn bit of good to refuse sedation or g/a with Aaron! He went right on ahead with his notion of what HE wanted me to have. What in the world would make me think that refusing to allow this nurse access to me would make a single bit of difference at a hospital?
I can't seem to find out which hospital(s) he works at or what group he is working under. We need some kind of laws so that we can track these people who are responsible for injecting us with poison against our will, lying to us, and treating us in an illegal and unlawful manner. I never want to even hear his voice! I heard his voice ridiculing me after he smashed into my brain with his 'vitamin v' the 'simple muscle relaxer.' I'll never forget the smirk on his face as he deliberately and maliciously drugged me against my will. NEVER!
Unfortunately my daughter is attending a good school here and I can't move for 3 more years. A crna should not cause this kind of fear and loathing in his patients. Panic City!
This crna person also went to the same college as my daughter was planning to attend for 2 years! This will have to change as well. Since my kid will only be 16 when she graduates with her AA degree, that means that I must MOVE so that she can be at home with her parents until she finishes her her BA and turns 18. I don't think she will want to leave home at 18 either because she wants to go to college for a number of years and get several PhD's all of which cost lots of money.
All this drama to avoid a rogue crna who is intent on defying patient wishes and imposing his will upon them. I can't risk being injured by or subjected to this horrible crna again. I realize that there is only a very slim chance of encountering this particular man, but the nature of PTSD is that being rational about the root cause of the illness is impossible. I KNOW it's irrational, but the fear is real. If he would treat me like pond scum because I was "just a truck driver" albeit a "pleasant woman in no distress" what will he do to me now? I can't risk it.
I wonder if my gp can put in my chart that Aaron can't work on me in any circumstance? Do you think that the hospital would go along with this directive? Or would they just claim some exigent circumstance to avoid my following my wishes? I mean, it didn't do me a damn bit of good to refuse sedation or g/a with Aaron! He went right on ahead with his notion of what HE wanted me to have. What in the world would make me think that refusing to allow this nurse access to me would make a single bit of difference at a hospital?
New Word: Contumacious
I found a new word to describe the behavior of medical workers who like to inject unsuspecting patients with Versed. Often they do this against the precise instructions of the patient. They inject us without informed consent. They make false statements about the effects, side effects and the exact nature of this drug. They get belligerent and abusive if we discuss our bad experience with their (cough) wonder drug.
I m very pleased to present the word 'contumacious' into my blog to describe the behavior of medical workers. I have exhausted my current supply of multi syllabic words so this 'contumacious" is a real jewel.
Contumacious - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
This word is often used in court proceedings to show 'contempt of court." I will be using it to show the attitude of medical workers towards patients. By LAW, we patients are the judge of what we find acceptable. We patients hold the authority to determine if Versed is used. These medical workers are in contempt of both their patients and the law. They willfully and illegally use Versed against us in a medical setting. They are contumacious.
I m very pleased to present the word 'contumacious' into my blog to describe the behavior of medical workers. I have exhausted my current supply of multi syllabic words so this 'contumacious" is a real jewel.
Contumacious - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
This word is often used in court proceedings to show 'contempt of court." I will be using it to show the attitude of medical workers towards patients. By LAW, we patients are the judge of what we find acceptable. We patients hold the authority to determine if Versed is used. These medical workers are in contempt of both their patients and the law. They willfully and illegally use Versed against us in a medical setting. They are contumacious.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Private Jet Pilots
Today I was working at the very airport where my boss keeps his corporate jet. Here's what it looks like;
My boss sends this aircraft to fetch us when he sends us out of town and needs us back quickly, among other things. It's always the same pilot and while the rest of the employees are drinking cocktails in the passenger area, I sit up front in the co-pilot seat and chit chat with the pilot. I LOVE big machinery that can be driven, operated, ridden or flown, so I really like it when I get to go in the little turbo prop jet. Can you imagine the brain power it must take to engineer this kind of machine? It boggles the mind. I digress, back to the pilot.
Our pilot is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365.242199 days per year including leap year. He is a former aeronautics mechanic, so he can explain every little detail about the craft itself and the flight; things like uncommanded slat deployment or the major importance of setting barometric pressure in a small plane. Yeah, yeah, get to the point lady! What's this got to do with Versed and Versed pushers? Are you ready for the big segue?
Guess how much money he makes to fly the plane and to know every single little detail and pretty much every single nut, bolt etc that's in this expensive little aircraft. $600 an hour. Remember he's always on call. He has to know everything about the plane so that if there is an emergency he can land it safely. I think his job is a teensy bit more involved (and more dangerous to himself and others) than an anesthesia providers job and they make $200 an hour more. I trust this pilot with my life, but anesthesia providers? Not so much.
$600 an hour seems fair for the job that our pilot does. $800 dollars an hour for some prissy little amnesia provider seems like such a RIPOFF! If our pilots were as careless as anesthesia is, there would be a whole lot more crashes, dontcha think?
There is a self preservation instinct that goes along with flying a jet, which is lacking with anesthesia. Just because they wreck YOUR life, it doesn't mean a thing to them as long as we just keep paying those $800 an hour ridiculous fees. NO WAY is an anesthesia nurse worth more than a private jet pilot. What a skewed system we have.
My boss sends this aircraft to fetch us when he sends us out of town and needs us back quickly, among other things. It's always the same pilot and while the rest of the employees are drinking cocktails in the passenger area, I sit up front in the co-pilot seat and chit chat with the pilot. I LOVE big machinery that can be driven, operated, ridden or flown, so I really like it when I get to go in the little turbo prop jet. Can you imagine the brain power it must take to engineer this kind of machine? It boggles the mind. I digress, back to the pilot.
Our pilot is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365.242199 days per year including leap year. He is a former aeronautics mechanic, so he can explain every little detail about the craft itself and the flight; things like uncommanded slat deployment or the major importance of setting barometric pressure in a small plane. Yeah, yeah, get to the point lady! What's this got to do with Versed and Versed pushers? Are you ready for the big segue?
Guess how much money he makes to fly the plane and to know every single little detail and pretty much every single nut, bolt etc that's in this expensive little aircraft. $600 an hour. Remember he's always on call. He has to know everything about the plane so that if there is an emergency he can land it safely. I think his job is a teensy bit more involved (and more dangerous to himself and others) than an anesthesia providers job and they make $200 an hour more. I trust this pilot with my life, but anesthesia providers? Not so much.
$600 an hour seems fair for the job that our pilot does. $800 dollars an hour for some prissy little amnesia provider seems like such a RIPOFF! If our pilots were as careless as anesthesia is, there would be a whole lot more crashes, dontcha think?
There is a self preservation instinct that goes along with flying a jet, which is lacking with anesthesia. Just because they wreck YOUR life, it doesn't mean a thing to them as long as we just keep paying those $800 an hour ridiculous fees. NO WAY is an anesthesia nurse worth more than a private jet pilot. What a skewed system we have.
Monday, September 3, 2012
I LOVE These Posts!
Here's another post about the patient assaulting their medical provider after being injected with Versed! I will be doing this as well, if some fool decides that he/she "knows what's best" for me again. Judging by my murderous rage the last time when I was AMBUSHED with Versed, the next time I will know the score and respond with violence well ahead of what I displayed in the PACU. Don't-give-me-Versed and we will get along fine! I won't tolerate any more abuse.
I grabbed it from here; Colonoscopy blog: Do you want conscious sedation?
Here's the quote for you if you don't want to go over to the linked article. There are LOTS more!
May 2, 2012 4:09:00 PM PDT 
Anonymous said...
I made the mistake of trusting the endo doc who did my colonoscopy; she promised "only a tiny dose of Versed" nad only if I asked for it. I signed the consent and: wham...she squirts 4mg into my IV and it was the most horrible experience..I was imobile and in severe pain, then I got very agitated and combative.......My memory was damaged by this drug, but the doctor ended upwith a black eye (from me) and the exam was not finished.....so they won't get paid...later, my wife and I met with this doctor (she had a nice shiner, complete with steri-strips) and she apologized for the Versed (as a patient control drug) which was inappropriate. My wife asked: "my husband has been your patient for 10 years, why did you lie to him about the Versed sedation?"..No answer. My wife said: "I hope that your black eye and broken eye orbit hurts like heck" (I don't remember hitting her)...but she deserved it.
To quote (name removed) "HAHAHAHAHA!" I love it! Sorry for finding amusement in another person's injuries, but I was ATTACKED by the medical profession and kicked in the head with Versed. Then they had their way with me, including sub standard, actually harmful surgery, a kidney infection and a whopping bill that there was no way for me to pay! Not to mention counseling and drug therapy for treatment of my hospital induced PTSD! This doc DESERVED IT! Don't abuse us, follow the law, don't give us quack drugs that we don't want... There are lots of ways to avoid the above scenario. Use them medical people. The life you save may be your own. (Yeah I know it's a trite cliche, but it works here!) LOL and a giggle or two!
PS, I've found that if I tell the story about my raging in the PACU after the Versed debacle, with a tone of shock and wonder, medical people forgive me. They are surprised that a nice lady like me could actually act like that! They assure me that they would never, EVER try to give me Versed. That's all I want. That's all the poster quoted above wanted.
I grabbed it from here; Colonoscopy blog: Do you want conscious sedation?
Here's the quote for you if you don't want to go over to the linked article. There are LOTS more!
To quote (name removed) "HAHAHAHAHA!" I love it! Sorry for finding amusement in another person's injuries, but I was ATTACKED by the medical profession and kicked in the head with Versed. Then they had their way with me, including sub standard, actually harmful surgery, a kidney infection and a whopping bill that there was no way for me to pay! Not to mention counseling and drug therapy for treatment of my hospital induced PTSD! This doc DESERVED IT! Don't abuse us, follow the law, don't give us quack drugs that we don't want... There are lots of ways to avoid the above scenario. Use them medical people. The life you save may be your own. (Yeah I know it's a trite cliche, but it works here!) LOL and a giggle or two!
PS, I've found that if I tell the story about my raging in the PACU after the Versed debacle, with a tone of shock and wonder, medical people forgive me. They are surprised that a nice lady like me could actually act like that! They assure me that they would never, EVER try to give me Versed. That's all I want. That's all the poster quoted above wanted.
Another Contradiction
I have had some crna's verbal me (so to speak) for suggesting that Versed is NOT the same as Valium. One of them actually argued with me in this thread; This is unreal. You have to see it. Look for armygas. I have no problems with Valium. I have huge problem with Versed. I have stated that Versed is to Valium as heroin is to poppy seed bagels. Same family but different. With that said, YOU ANESTHESIA PEOPLE CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS!
Look at this statement; "For question #2, definitely tell them you are allergic to Versed with swelling, breathing difficulties and hives. They will give you something else (if you need it). Valium is different from Midazolam so you shouldn't have an allergic reaction to it."
That quote is from here; Anesthesiology: Spine fusion, degenerative disc disease, dr levy
So now we have an anesthesiologist stating that Valium IS different from Versed! What the bloody HELL! One minute Versed is "just like Valium" the next minute oh, no, Valium is DIFFERENT from Versed. Of course it is. Look at the molecular structure of each of these drugs. Clearly they are different. If they weren't then medical practitioners wouldn't be so sinisterly intent on using Versed instead of Valium.
So as you can see, medical people will try to debate the issue on either side of the argument, so long as Versed the wonder drug is not denigrated. Valium doesn't cause amnesia, especially in the doses that Versed does. Valium apparently doesn't imbue the patient with an "anti-conflict" desire. I don't know if Valium has an anti analgesic property, but I've NEVER heard of Valium treated patients screaming in pain. I imagine that Valium allows patients to interact with the anesthesia provider, and because they don't have amnesia, their providers supply pain relief medications instead of ignoring them and their pain.
LOL How freakin' stupid do you anesthesia people think we patients are? Never mind, don't answer that, I already know how you people view us. It was a rhetorical question anyway.
Look at this statement; "For question #2, definitely tell them you are allergic to Versed with swelling, breathing difficulties and hives. They will give you something else (if you need it). Valium is different from Midazolam so you shouldn't have an allergic reaction to it."
That quote is from here; Anesthesiology: Spine fusion, degenerative disc disease, dr levy
So now we have an anesthesiologist stating that Valium IS different from Versed! What the bloody HELL! One minute Versed is "just like Valium" the next minute oh, no, Valium is DIFFERENT from Versed. Of course it is. Look at the molecular structure of each of these drugs. Clearly they are different. If they weren't then medical practitioners wouldn't be so sinisterly intent on using Versed instead of Valium.
So as you can see, medical people will try to debate the issue on either side of the argument, so long as Versed the wonder drug is not denigrated. Valium doesn't cause amnesia, especially in the doses that Versed does. Valium apparently doesn't imbue the patient with an "anti-conflict" desire. I don't know if Valium has an anti analgesic property, but I've NEVER heard of Valium treated patients screaming in pain. I imagine that Valium allows patients to interact with the anesthesia provider, and because they don't have amnesia, their providers supply pain relief medications instead of ignoring them and their pain.
LOL How freakin' stupid do you anesthesia people think we patients are? Never mind, don't answer that, I already know how you people view us. It was a rhetorical question anyway.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Here's A Quote For You!
You know how these anethesia people are always saying that Versed is an analgesic? They act like if you don't have Versed, you will be in all this PAIN? Well, get a load of this... "Furthermore, the antianalgesic effects of midazolam might worsen pain and increase the incidence of nonspecific agitation that resembles ED (75). " Here's the link Emergence Delirium in Children: Many Questions, Few Answers
I know it's a study about children, but the drug is the same in children as in adults. The "lawsuit prevention" nurse where *I* went (called a "patient relations" nurse, another misuse of the English language by medical 'professionals') claimed and I quote "The meds make you scream." That fits with the above doesn't it? Midazolam/Versed has ANTIANALGESIC EFFECTS. Versed EXACERBATES PAIN! How wonderful. Why would medical personnel give us such a dastardly drug? I just cannot fathom why medical caregivers would deliberately give us a drug which INCREASES PAIN, hoping that amnesia will hide it! What a nasty, dirty trick!
No wonder people like "Matt" talk about "very painful" procedures! They are using a drug to make the experience even more painful! Dorothy's (so-called "patient relations" nurse where I went) comments on the subject make more sense in light of the revelation in the article linked above. I still stand by my statement to Dorothy; PAIN IS WHAT MAKES PATIENTS SCREAM! Versed makes the procedure MORE PAINFUL, hence more screaming. How is it possible that these erudite, 'educated' people can't make a connection like this? (Nurse Dorothy could have cared less about the screaming. It was amazing how callous she was about it. Sure, no big deal, (yawn) patients are screaming their heads off in pain. Who cares, it's just the meds. What patient approves of this mindset? I certainly do NOT!)
We all know the answer to the question of why medical people can't make the connection between a drug which has antianalgesic properties and screaming patients, don't we? It's because Versed makes their job so much easier! THE PATIENT DOES NOT MATTER!!!! These people don't give a damn about us! It seems so obvious to me! In my opinion using the antianalgesic Versed with its unpredictable amnesia effects, especially without proper informed consent, is tantamount to legalized torture.
And I'm not talking about all the post Versed problems! I'm just speaking to the exaggerated pain patients go through for the benefit of their medical workers.
I know it's a study about children, but the drug is the same in children as in adults. The "lawsuit prevention" nurse where *I* went (called a "patient relations" nurse, another misuse of the English language by medical 'professionals') claimed and I quote "The meds make you scream." That fits with the above doesn't it? Midazolam/Versed has ANTIANALGESIC EFFECTS. Versed EXACERBATES PAIN! How wonderful. Why would medical personnel give us such a dastardly drug? I just cannot fathom why medical caregivers would deliberately give us a drug which INCREASES PAIN, hoping that amnesia will hide it! What a nasty, dirty trick!
No wonder people like "Matt" talk about "very painful" procedures! They are using a drug to make the experience even more painful! Dorothy's (so-called "patient relations" nurse where I went) comments on the subject make more sense in light of the revelation in the article linked above. I still stand by my statement to Dorothy; PAIN IS WHAT MAKES PATIENTS SCREAM! Versed makes the procedure MORE PAINFUL, hence more screaming. How is it possible that these erudite, 'educated' people can't make a connection like this? (Nurse Dorothy could have cared less about the screaming. It was amazing how callous she was about it. Sure, no big deal, (yawn) patients are screaming their heads off in pain. Who cares, it's just the meds. What patient approves of this mindset? I certainly do NOT!)
We all know the answer to the question of why medical people can't make the connection between a drug which has antianalgesic properties and screaming patients, don't we? It's because Versed makes their job so much easier! THE PATIENT DOES NOT MATTER!!!! These people don't give a damn about us! It seems so obvious to me! In my opinion using the antianalgesic Versed with its unpredictable amnesia effects, especially without proper informed consent, is tantamount to legalized torture.
And I'm not talking about all the post Versed problems! I'm just speaking to the exaggerated pain patients go through for the benefit of their medical workers.