Hope and Change? Maybe not!

Just after I posted the "Hope and Change" article, I went back and sure enough, the anesthesia providers are in attack mode. They are trying to ridicule me for agreeing with the thread. I say something nice and I get verbally assaulted by them. So anyway, please disregard my post on "Hope and Change" We have a very looooong way to go.

Here's one of the posts, isn't it nasty? Don't you want somebody like this doing your anesthesia? (the things in parenthesis are mine)

Quote from JWK; "Anecdotal evidence just won't get you very far - you say anecdotal evidence is still evidence. My translation of that is "I don't have anything else I can blame my problems on so I'll blame Versed". ( Yeah right! You a board certified shrink too? IT-WAS-THE-VERSED)

A few people get together on Facebook (nasty, nasty) or something similar and discover that they all got Versed somewhere in their lives and EUREKA - that's the source of ALL their problems. How many have had real issues with Versed? A few dozen? A hundred? Any idea? (do YOU have any idea? How many does it have to be before you ADMIT that the Versed caused it?) Compared to the many millions of patients (overuse and misuse of Versed) that have received Versed over the years, it's just not much to hang your hat on. (10% is the number I hear bandied about. I think that's low as we have people like JWK here denying that there are any problems) As noted - the animal studies are INCONCLUSIVE. You want to blow off the animal studies and say they're unnecessary from your N=1. ( Do you really think I am stupid enough to allow Versed again to see if that's what caused the problem? The problem is Versed) That just doesn't cut it. (How do you measure POCD in a rat? Are their brains just as good and as delicate as the human brain? How could animal studies be anything BUT inconclusive?)

BTW - what is "copious Versed administration" ? (7 mils inside 70 minutes, where 1 was too much) And how do you know Versed was the cause? (Because *I* was there. You weren't) What other drugs were given? (not one before they slammed me with this poison and caused PTSD PRIOR to surgery) Versed is usually not the sole drug given for colonoscopy sedation. (Here's where JWK goes completely off the rails. I did NOT have a colonoscopy. I clearly stated that I had minor surgery...) What other drugs do you take? (NONE) Did you have any of these anxiety disorders prior to getting Versed? (NO)

I can at least get my hands around the concept of POCD, although most of the recent studies I've seen are involving inhalation agents. But Versed-induced PTSD? Seriously? "Other anxiety disorders" Really? All from a single dose of Versed? (YES, if the experience was as bad as mine was, ABSOLUTELY! All it takes is a ONE TIME event to cause PTSD)

This is similar to the Carol Wiehrer-induced anesthesia awareness stuff from several years back. The difference is she actually had a problem, although the anesthesia awareness hysteria she has tried to generate is so over-the-top it's absurd. (WHATEVER) From her N=1, she thinks all patients receiving a general anesthetic MUST have and demand that a BIS monitor be used. (AGAIN, WHATEVER)

Fortunately you have an easy solution. Nobody has to have Versed. (this is NOT true) You can simply let your caregivers know not to give you the drug. (I don't think so...) Problem solved. (DON'T I WISH!) You can even have your next colonoscopy with no sedation at all. (I didn't have the first one, so what the Hell is JWK talking about?) Enjoy." (snide comment intended to be facitious I'm sure, aren't they sweet! Our choice is agree to Versed or get Versed anyway. No pain meds, get Versed and deal with your POCD and your PTSD, because we don't believe you.)