Jumpin' Jack Flash and Versed/Midazolam

There's an old movie, a classic really, called "Jumpin' Jack Flash" starring Whoopi Goldberg as an accidental spy.  It was made around 1986 or so just when Versed/Midazolam was coming into favor.  I watched it again today and discovered something really sinister...  It's an unfortunate side effect of my Versed experience that I'm hyper vigilant about these things. 

There's a part of the story line in "Jumpin' Jack Flash" that appears to include a drug exactly like Versed...  The same dis inhibition, the babbling on about anything and everything AND complete amnesia about events which transpired.  I had never noticed this before.  For those of you who have never watched the movie here's how it went.  Ominously a spy type injected Whoopi with a drug which was supposed to be a 'truth serum.'  Whoopi escapes his clutches and begins an adventure which includes telling people what she really thinks of them, snatching a toupee off of her bosses head and being insufferably rude and truthful to others.  Then, when one of the 'victims' of Whoopi's vitriol asks her about it, Whoopi claims to not remember a word of it.  Nothing.

INSTANTLY warning bells went off in my head.  OMG Whoopi's character was shot up with something like Versed (or it was Versed) which left her walking, talking and acting the fool, with zero memory for the duration of the drug.  Wow.  This is a comedy movie and here we have the worst drug ever devised by anti-social misanthropes in big pharma labs featured and we are all laughing.  It's not so funny to me now. 

When I first saw the movie I assumed that there was no drug such as they injected her with.  It's a comedy right, pure Hollywood?  Versed is such a tightly held secret that I didn't know about it until it was shot into me against my will 20 years later.  Even then I seriously HAD NO IDEA the depths of depravity our medical minions had sunk to in regard to this poison.  I didn't find out the whole truth about Versed until AFTERWARDS when the lawsuit mitigation nurse, called a "patient relations" nurse, (how's that for duplicity?) informed me of the whole truth about the date rape drug "Vitamin V."  You know, the simple muscle relaxant that my crna claimed.  I should have been paying more attention to some dumb comedy movie shouldn't I? 

Versed NOT Being Used?

I was delighted to come across this recent discussion here;  Midazolam for induction: yes or no? | Anesthesiology | Student Doctor Network  More and more it seems that Versed/Midazolam use is being curtailed by the MOST educated among us.  Thanks very much to all the doctors and student doctors who are writing on the above link against indiscriminate Versed use.  Of course now that I'm calling attention to their discussion, I'm sure they can expect the 'nurses' to go over there and attack them.  Sorry about that in advance.

There is a quote that I just love that one of the doctors used in his posts;  "The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is."  Our complaints about Versed/Midazolam are the truth.  Versed is a very bad drug.  You anesthesia nurses and others can attack me for saying it, your (willful) ignorance can cause you to deride me and others who tell the truth about Versed, but in the end, there it is.

There are a couple of reasons completely missing from the comments about NOT using Versed.  Those being, 1) THE PATIENTS DON'T WANT IT!  Nobody, not one person, mentioned the growing opposition to Versed by the patients themselves.   2) The growing body of evidence, empirical AND anecdotal, that Versed causes POCD and PTSD. 

BTW at last I have heard Versed being referred to as 'Vitamin V' again.  Until today, I've never heard Versed described thusly except by my crna when he wanted to conceal the name and true effects of the drug.  Here's the quote; 

"If you haven't given 10mg of Versed + .2 Mac of Gas... at least try it sometime for the experience. Pretty darn smooth. Especially when you are gowned up putting in lines and have your hands tied up. A lot of old timers do their inductions that way in the cardiac room.

Not my preference, but I've done it enough not to hate it, and still do it from time to time.

100 mcgs of sufenta and 5 mg of midaz usually gets me through a cardiac case. I see nothing inherently wrong with that. Usually 2 of Vitamin V in preop, 1 more once they hit the OR table before starting the a-line and the last 2 right after going on." Italics, underlining and bold are mine. 

Look at the AMOUNT of Versed this person wants to use.  10 FREAKIN MG'S OF VERSED!  It makes my blood run cold.  The reason given is that it makes THEIR JOB easier.  "Pretty darn smooth."  Thanks a lot!  Destroy my brain and my life as I know it so that your anesthesia can be "pretty darn smooth." for you?  

"...there's nothing inherently wrong with that?"  (Using large amounts of Versed for no other reason than the 'smoothness' of their job)  Really?  Does your patients brain function after all that Versed matter at all, or are you solely interested in the surgery itself?  Does it bother this person that they may be sentencing their patient to a nursing home as a result of poisoning their brain with Versed, for no good reason?  Other than the issue of the selfishness of only considering the 'smoothness' of their job..

I also hope that the doctors reading that post do NOT "try it sometime for the experience."  Are you kidding me?  Subject your patients to a huge amount of risk for your own "experience?"  What the Hell?  Why would anybody need to "experience" what this is like, to damage your patient and gain experience poisoning them with Versed?  I'm glad this is not their "preference," but this kind of experimentation doesn't bode well for those of us who have been damaged by Versed...

Don't be discouraged when you read posts such as the above.  The thread was started by somebody who stopped using Versed years ago.  There are several that totally agree with this idea.  Anesthesia providers  are running out of excuses to use Versed.  This is a good thing.  The best of them are beginning to notice that Versed is over-used and abused.  Hopefully it won't take long before the smart ones override the ones who are desperately holding on to THEIR drug of choice, and start weaning them away from it.  It really is better for us not to have Versed...

Injectable Midazolam Shortage: What To Do?

I got an absolutely giddy e-mail from one of my Versed-sufferers about the Versed/Midazolam shortage.  I agree!  Happy days for those of us who have been (permanently?) harmed by this horrible drug.  The entire article is here;  Current Drug Shortage Bulletin: Midazolam Injections

Here's an excerpt;

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Alternative Agents & Management

• During this shortage, use alternative injectable benzodiazepines.
• Consider midazolam oral syrup for pediatric patients. Typical doses of oral midazolam range from 0.25 mg/kg to 1 mg/kg in children 6 months to 15 years old. The onset of action following oral administration is 10 to 20 minutes.⁸
• Ravitskiy et al⁹ evaluated midazolam 2 mg/mL oral syrup for the treatment of perioperative anxiety in healthy adults undergoing Mohs surgery. Midazolam 10 mg oral syrup was safe and effective in this study.⁹ Data evaluating midazolam oral syrup for use in adults in other settings are lacking.
• There are no direct dosage conversions between the benzodiazepines because each has a distinct pharmacokinetic profile dictating the agent’s therapeutic use and dosing.
• Lorazepam and diazepam injection are also on shortage.¹⁰
• Institutions may consider reserving injectable benzodiazepines for initial treatment of status epilepticus, as no other well established injectable therapeutic options are available for this indication. Diazepam rectal gel may be an alternative for some patients.^11-15

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I especially like the third suggestion.  Just imagine our relief if medical workers can't SNEAK Midazolam into the IV!  Let's see how far they get asking us drink an unknown substance...  I'm thinking that this can force them to describe for us exactly what drinking some kind of poison will do for us.  Then we can refuse to drink it and THERE'S NOTHING THEY CAN DO!  At least for now competent adults have no need to fear numerous health care workers holding them down, clamping their noses and forcing them to drink.  Can you imagine the outrage? 

The last bullet point suggests "reserving injectable benzodiazepines for initial treatment of status epilepticus..."  I'm all for that!  I italicized 'initial' just for medical workers.  INITIAL treatment, not continuous infusion.  You guys do understand what "initial" treatment means don't you?  Isn't epilepsy CAUSED by brain damage?  Do people with epilepsy get even more brain damage from Versed?  Do they care?  Wouldn't the side effects from Versed make coping with epilepsy even worse?  Lots of questions for this one, BUT, as long as they stop damaging the rest of us, I'll live with it.

What is left out is this idea;  Learn to do your job without the amnesia and patient control drug Midazolam aka Versed.  People have been having acceptable surgical interventions well before amnesia became the pain management technique.  It's a piss poor substitution for pain relief anyway.  It's well past time that our overpaid, underworked anesthesia people started actually earning their living instead of simply turning people into vegetables, from which they may or may not recover. 

This is my opinion and nothing that medical workers can say will change it.

Elizabeth Bewley "Killer Cure"

I have written about a wonderful and easy to read book by Elizabeth Bewley some time back on this blog.  Everybody *I* know should have this book in their library.  Elizabeth is going to come out with a new book soon, which I also encourage my readers, whether they love me or hate me, to buy.  This includes YOU John and all the other medical professionals who don't like what you read here.  These books will give you a clue as to why that's so, in a manner which isn't as scalding as my tone is...

I'll put up the name of the new book as soon as I get permission...  In the meantime, re-read her first book "Killer Cure".

The Election and Health Care

Well, the election is over and Obama has won.  That means that the abominable "Affordable Care Act" is here to stay.  Is there any reason why I should keep writing about Versed?  If the government decides that it's cheaper to simply 'sedate' people instead of giving expensive general anesthesia, or trying to alleviate pain then that's what we will get.  After all, even our allegedly 'educated' anesthesia people prefer this method.  They want to give you AMNESIA instead of pain relief.  They can just strap us down and go at it.  Nobody will care.  If you scream too much (hurts your 'caregivers' ears) or struggle too much (irritates the doctor) you will simply be jammed with more Versed until your brain is completely destroyed or you are dead. 

It isn't inconceivable to me if we don't have new questions on the intake.  Better check the 'minority' box.  Better check the 'democrat' box.  Don't say anything that could cause the health care workers to be careless with you.  I have nothing to tell seniors except "Don't go in for any tests and avoid medical care like the plague."  We as a nation are broke.  Our elected officials have claimed that they can pay down the national debt with the health care laws.  Ever wonder how they plan to do that?  THINK about what that means.  I don't need to draw you a picture, do I?  If you can read this post, then you are smart enough to figure out just HOW this can be done.

Good luck to all who need any kind of medical intervention.

Doug Jones; Anesthesia Side Effects

At last somebody has recognised the myriad problems with anesthesia. is even offering help if you live in the Colorado area.  Doug Jones has some very informative short videos and a pdf file which explains even more.  This is a must read for all of us Versed 'sufferers' and also for any open minded anesthesia types who want to know the real truth about all the 'harmless' drugs they give us...  You know, all those drugs like Versed which clear the system so fast and have no residual effects. (yeah right)  Doug Jones nails all the weird problems we have had since our 'incident' at the medical treatment centers.  He also explains why our oh-so-brilliant and ever-so-educated anesthesia people (and other medical types) are so blind as to the damage they are inflicting upon us!  Enjoy.

Anesthesia Side Effects

Death From Anesthesia

Here's an interesting video about a hernia repair on a healthy young male patient which turned deadly due to anesthesia.  Unfortunately this video doesn't say WHICH anesthetic wasn't reversible, but my bet is on Versed.  Which other anesthetic is played with by anesthesia providers to the degree that Versed is?  You have probably all read about how 'safe' Versed is even in huge amounts.  Just go over to nurse-anesthesia and look at how they use this poison.  We all know that Propofol doesn't have a reversal agent.  The inhaled gasses, such as sevoflurane usually don't continue working after they are stopped.  The drugs to cause paralysis don't cause grogginess afterwards either.  That's why other drugs are used to cause a lapse of consciousness while paralytics are used.  You don't want chemically paralyzed patients cognizant of being paralyzed and aware of the surgery.  So my bet is on huge amounts of Versed to cause paralysis and amnesia.

Tim over at www.versedbusters.blogspot.com had his Versed experience due to hernia repair surgery.  I guess that he should be happy he survived the experience at all!  He survived with only problems with his Versed induced brain damage, or whatever this Versed thing is...

Here's the video;  Anesthesia Overdose During Hernia Repair- Patient Dies; NY Trial Attorney Gerry Oginski Explains - YouTube

We need WAY more information about what happened to this unfortunate individual.  It would be very helpful if we knew what the 'anesthesia' consisted of, the exact drugs and dosages.  We also need to know if this lawyer is using 'anesthesiologist' as a generic term to include crna's or 'anesthetists.'  The hospital where *I* went didn't understand that there is a difference between the terms and THEY work with this definition every single day.  I think this is deliberate, but that's another story.