Striking Things In Medical Consent Forms

There is one thing that I have noticed since my Versed debacle...  Apparently nobody actually reads the medical forms.  I can't stress this enough.  You MUST read the forms!  Don't just sign them.  The hospital I went to recently told me that NOBODY has ever read the forms or stricken ANYTHING!  They say that patients ALWAYS just sign the forms!  (except for me apparently)  I can hardly believe this is true, but even in my dentists office they claim that I am the only person who has ever perused their document and questioned it, let alone stricken any parts of the LEGALLY BINDING CONTRACT.  I don't answer their intrusive questions about my health either.  The dentist doesn't need all that information.  What are all you patients doing out there?  You do NOT have to agree to all their falderall in order to get treatment.  Stand up for yourselves!

I have been taken to task and called a "stupid bitch" for signing what I thought was a blood transfusion document which was really a blanket consent for anything and everything they wanted to do along with anybody at all doing the procedure.  I will never sign another "consent" document without reading and questioning anything I find in it that I don't like or understand.  I demand any "copy of the policy" which they imply will be given.  Am I the only person who does this, like they claim?

I also read every single line of their privacy policy and demand "opt-out" paperwork.  They have NEVER had this document on hand.  They are ALWAYS surprised that I would demand the document which is clearly delineated in their intake paperwork.  What the HELL???  After all my railing against unlawful treatment going way beyond the scope of what the patient wishes, desires, signs up for, NOBODY ELSE is questioning and striking the illegal parts in the"consent to treat" or "informed consent"? 

The LAW isn't going to help us as patients.  Nobody in the medical field cares about the LAW.  The government who made the laws doesn't give a damn about the law being followed.  The only defense we have is to read those contracts and refuse to sign, strike certain clauses and demand the other documents that the contract says we have a right to.  Stop letting medical workers take advantage of you.  Make them FOLLOW THE LAW!  We have rights, don't let medical entities steal them.

Mechanics vs Medical Workers

I often compare mechanics and the laws which restrain them and the laws which are supposed to restrain medical workers which DON'T in any way stop them.  Here is an example from my own life...

My "economy car" a 2005 Mustang has 140,000 miles on it.  Quite naturally it is beginning to need repairs.  My engine light has been periodically coming on, so I have taken it to a mechanic several times to correct the problem.  Unfortunately it hasn't been corrected in full as the light keeps coming back.  So I stopped by the parts store yesterday which advertises "free" diagnostics for the engine light problems.  You know why they do this...they hope you will purchase repair items from them, which is exactly what I did.  A forty dollar part was in order.  One of the fuel efficiency probes on my catalytic converter was burned out, causing the engine light to come on and forcing the fuel injection system to try to correct a perceived error in the gas/air mixture.  That made my car idle roughly.

The problem as been corrected for 40 bucks and a little of my time rolling around under my car.  My mechanic probably would have charged me 200 dollars for the same repair.  Too bad medical care wasn't as simple as this!  There are no "parts" stores where we can have a free diagnostic test.  We can't just fix it ourselves and avoid medical treatment, like we can generally avoid mechanics. 

With mechanics, we will always get an "estimate" of the cost of repairs.  We can shop around.  We can find a "good" mechanic.  Apparently we are not entitled to the same with regards to medical problems.  Just try to get an estimate from your medical people...  There is a wall of silence around their particular skill level.  You cannot stop them from doing things to you that you did NOT give permission for, like you can with mechanics.  It's odd because medical care is exactly equivalent to mechanical care.  Medical people are simply human body mechanics albeit the down side is more severe.  So why aren't medical workers held to the same standards as mechanics are? 

If my mechanic had caused harm to my car, I could get a monetary reimbursement to cover my out of pocket expenses.  Why can't we get this from medical workers?  Why are they the only (as far as I can see) industry that can get away with causing serious harm (iatrogenic) to people?  Why are the the only entity which can refuse to give a "good faith estimate"?  Why is medical care exempt from any kind of control?  There are a few basically toothless laws, routinely dismissed by medical workers, which are supposed to exercise control over medical treatment, why aren't they enforced like the laws covering mechanics are?  It's unfathomable.  My mechanic can't replace my engine without my consent, why is it that medical workers are allowed to go far beyond the intervention level that the patient prescribes?  We can't always fix it ourselves like we can with mechanical problems with our personal vehicles.

Gleaned From The Internet; I Hate Versed

Here's a mom chronicling her small son's experience with Versed.  She hates the drug and says so.  Does her description sound like Versed is just marvy?  Maybe not.

Mama Be Good: Goofy Juice

"Why I Love Versed"

I found this blog while searching the internet.  The Things Patients Say...: Search results for versed

Here's the whole essay;
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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Why I love Versed...

Versed is a miracle drug, in my experience. You see, one of the primary side-effects of Versed is that it causes memory loss. Now, don't get any funny ideas about that, you can't drop it in someone's drink or anything, but it keeps people from remembering rather horrible things we do to them, so it has its uses.

My first experience using the drug was in my intern year. I was on nights with a less-than-stellar upper level resident, so I did most of the work. We were called to a patient's room by one of the nurses and told that his foley catheter was stuck. I tried unsuccessfully to remove it, but were stopped when he yelled because of the pain.

Resident: "How are we going to get this thing out?"

Me: "Hold on, I have an idea. Nurse, go draw up two milligrams of Versed and bring it in here."

*Nurse walks out of the room and returns in a minute or two*

Resident: "Now what?"

Me: "You take that empty syringe and pull back hard on the bulb to remove the air. I'll pull the foley out."

Resident: "And that will work?"

Me: "We'll see. Nurse, go ahead and give him that Versed."

At this point I gave it about a minute to work, then had the resident pull back on the syringe while I promptly just pulled the foley out. The patient gave a brief scream, then kind of a whimper and a curse directed my way, but the foley did come out and there did not appear to be any other damage. I walked back out of the room and wrote a brief note about what we did. I walked back into the room about three minutes later to see the patient.

Patient: "Who are you?"

Me: "No one of consequence."

And with that I walked back out.

#betterthantheMenInBlackneuralizer

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 I wrote a response to this essay which the blog administrator decided to delete.  Why is that?  Well, that's because I asked a pertinent question about the event described by the author.  There is something missing from the narrative.  Can you see what it is?   Where is the "informed consent" for "conscious sedation"?

 

This whole post of his/hers is insulting to patients from the beginning with the "miracle drug" reference right through the hash tag "betterthantheMenInBlackneuralizer"  At least patients can see that this drug isn't for THEIR benefit, it's for the ease of hospital staff.  Why else would this person have a nurse give Versed instead of a pain killer?  "...it (Versed) keeps people from remembering the rather horrible things we do to them..."  So the Versed is used to conceal the sadistic acts of the medical personnel.  Does this seem even remotely like it's for the patients own good?  Or does it sound like cya to you?   "No one of consequence" exactly coincides with my own opinion of the author.  Too bad this cretin has access to brain poison and USES IT indiscriminately without consent from the patient.  (according to how the essay is written) 

 

PS YES YOU CAN SLIP THIS INTO SOMEBODIES DRINK! 

NYTimes Article On ICU Induced Mental Problems

I got this link from another Versed sufferer.  I haven't asked her if I can use her moniker, so she is not named.  It frightened both of us.  We NEVER want to be in the ICU....

Here's what she wrote; "It's WAY WORSE than I thought! No way do I EVER want to be in ICU for any reason. If I ever have to be, my husband had better be allowed to be with me ALL the time."

Here's the link she sent; Nightmares After the I.C.U. - NYTimes.com

I'm not sure what the person in the article was given along with the Versed to chemically straight-jacket her, but I can guess either Ketamine, the street drug gaining popularity in medical circles or the old hallucinogen Demerol.  This is what happens when you screw with people's brains for no particular reason except to make sure they don't bother the nurses.  There are pain killers and sedatives which don't involve this kind of nightmare but which may require more attention from our overpaid and under worked medical personnel. 

This article correctly identifies the MAIN CULPRIT, which is sedation via benzos.  Well hallelujah!  At last our concerns are being taken into consideration by medical people.  I knew they couldn't hide it forever.

I am very sorry that these horrifying events had to happen to medical people themselves before they took our "anecdotal" accounts into consideration.  If the medical community had listened to us, maybe they themselves wouldn't have been subjected to the same torture that we endured. 

This article VERIFIES every single detail that I and others have been railing about for years.  Thanks to the NYTimes and the brave medical workers who have come forward about this and joined us "tin-foil hat" people.

Allergy to Versed

As everybody who reads this blog should know, I hate Versed.  I hate everything about it, including what it does to the psyches of the Versed pushers.  This drug has no redeeming social value, or medical value according to me the all-knowing, all-seeing, majaJackie.  (stolen from Rush Limbaugh.  Now you know my political leaning.)  You should also know that I only want the truth and nothing but the truth to be spoken or written by ME or anybody else.  Here's what happened to me in the ER with regards to Versed.

When asked if I had any "allergies" to drugs I replied NO, I DO NOT HAVE ANY TRUE ALLERGIES TO DRUGS!  This is the truth.  An allergy in this context is a bad physical response to drugs.  I don't have that.  However I mentioned that Versed was NEVER to be used, not for any reason at any time.  Of course I got the gimlet eyes.  "Why don't you want Versed?" asked the medical worker in a snippy voice.  I looked her right in the eyes and said "I will try to kill you all.  Even if you drag my husband in here, he will be too scared of me to do you any good.  DON'T give it to me under any circumstances."  She quickly turned away and wrote ALLERGY TO VERSED on my intake documents.

We did talk about it some more.  I told her that apparently Versed made my amygdala go into hyper overdrive.  I told her that it was 3 MONTHS before I could sleep again.  I told her that this drug turned me into a monster, completely controlled by my "lizard brain."  Since I was speaking in a normal, conversational tone, I think it was more believable than if I gave her a bunch of crap about it, like I do some of the people who write to me here.  Whether or not I would ultimately have received Versed from some moron who can't read a chart remains to be seen, but at least in this encounter they took me seriously.  AND I didn't have to lie about it or be subjected to any more grilling about my refusal of Versed.

The One Thousand Dollar Blood Test

There are a lot of things about medical care that are outrageously expensive.  In general I speak of the "sedation for everybody" scam, but there are others.  Recently I got a blood test done at my doctors request.  The bill is $932.59!  Who the Hell can afford this?  A simple blood test and the bill is almost $1,000 dollars?  Guess who won't be having this again...  I have a lot of things that need money spent on them, like car tires and house payments.  Of course insurance doesn't pay for any of it.  This is absolutely OBSCENE!  No wonder health care is bankrupting our country.

I guess I should be grateful that they didn't want to shoot me full of Versed so that I could handle a needle stick, like they claim in the hospital.