"First time led to respiratory arrest, had to be resuscitated and reversed with Narcan. Next time I advised the nurse of this history, and she doubled the dose to see if it would happen again. I absolutely detest Versed and the horrible amnesia it causes. I have postponed my colonscopy despite the polyps found last time, just because of the Versed. I would rather die of cancer than die from respiratory failure."
This person had RESPIRATORY ARREST the first time they received this medication. This is one of the most serious side effects of the "safe" drug Midazolam/Versed. This can kill you. This can cause irreversible brain damage and damage to other organs! Yes I know these people are allegedly well trained in airway management, but there are always glitches aren't there? What if this person had a difficult airway or some other mechanical failure of the apparatus. Did this nurse ask the patient if they wanted to be a statistic? Doesn't look like it. Would this even be reported as a Versed related death?
Here's the scariest part of all "...I advised the nurse of this history and she doubled the dose to see if it would happen again." What the hell is going on here? A DOUBLE DOSE might not cause arrest if a single dose does? Or did this nurse feel that respiratory arrest is some kind of game to play with the patient? Did the nurse feel that HER skills were such that it didn't matter if the patient went into respiratory arrest because SHE could handle that emergency? Obviously the nurse didn't believe this patient OR more sinisterly she felt that the patient shouldn't have REMEMBERED that they endured a respiratory arrest and therefore opted for MORE of the same drug which caused the problem in the first place! I have to question the decision making process of this nurse.
WOULD THIS NURSE HAVE CARED IF HER PATIENT WAS PERMANENTLY DAMAGED OR KILLED BECAUSE SHE TOOK IT UPON HERSELF TO DOUBLE THE DOSE OF A DANGEROUS DRUG AS AN EXPERIMENT? WOULD SHE HAVE BLAMED HERSELF BECAUSE THE PATIENT HAD WARNED HER AHEAD OF TIME? WOULD THIS NURSE, UPON HARMING THIS PATIENT, HAVE STOPPED USING VERSED/MIDAZOLAM? I don't think so.... I think this nurse would have said to herself "Oh well, everybody reacts to drugs differently and Versed/Midazolam is a "safe" drug. So what if they are dead or a vegetable. NEXT!"
I have put up some other posts last month which go to this issue; Is it the job of medical personnel to "see if it will happen again?" This is breathtaking in its stupidity. It is not up to a nurse to decide for the patient what risks are acceptable to them! It is not up to medical personnel to decide unilaterally what is best for the patient. It is not up to medical personnel to perform experiments on patients to determine to the practitioners satisfaction that the patient truly has an adverse reaction to the med.
It is our RIGHT as a patient to decide for ourselves that we do not wish to have a certain drug, NOT MEDICAL PERSONNEL! Why would anybody trust a member of the medical field with their life on the basis of this post? This is obviously an ingrained personality flaw within the medical community as I have seen this attitude time and time again.
For the nurse who felt that her job is to see if Versed/Midazolam really would almost kill the patient because of her own desire to use it, congratulations, good job! You signed the DEATH WARRANT for this hapless patient by your little experiment. This is unacceptable behavior by anybodies standards and also AGAINST THE LAW!
No comments:
Post a Comment