More From The Comments

I got this little gem of wisdom from the comments on this post:  No Midazolam: Medical People Speak Out Against Versed

The article quoted was from a colonscopy discussion and yet, here is this comment...

 "Versed may be an evil drug but I'm pretty sure the patient not being aware while being cut open and the head of a bone sawed off was not entirely for the "staffs convenience""

Once again we have somebody, presumably a medical person, telling us that if we refuse the Versed, we will be subjected to torture and nothing else can or will be used to ameliorate the pain in what appears to be a painful, though unnamed, procedure.  I can assure you that colonoscopies do NOT include sawing off the heads of bones.  According to this commenter,  nothing but Versed can/will be used, no Propofol, no G/A drugs, no Fentanyl, nothing.  Does that sound right to you?

Can you imagine being cut open and the head of a bone sawed off with just an unpredictable amnesia drug?  What if, like me, you don't get amnesia?  It curdles my blood to think about it, yet this is what the commenter would have us believe.  It's either take the amnesia drug to (maybe) scramble the delicate processes of your brain while they do this, or you decide NOT to have the amnesia drug and they do this to you just the same.  Whether it works or not, they have no way of knowing.  The staff doesn't want you suing them for their inhumane treatment, so they give you amnesia, but not pain relief apparently.  Right.  How stupid do you think I am?

Even if this kind of surgery were done with ONLY Versed, it would still be for the staff's convenience, not the patients'.  They wouldn't want you to REMEMBER how vicious they are and how they tortured you without relief, but they still want to torture you, according to this poster.  The pain you suffer through is the same whether they give you amnesia or not.  Why is this fact so routinely dismissed?  Versed has ZERO pain relief properties, in fact studies have shown that patients actually feel pain more acutely with Versed in their brain.  It's called CONSCIOUS, as in awake and aware (see the commenter's lie above) and able to feel pain, SEDATION for a reason.  So Versed use in this scenario is ONLY for the benefit of the staff, the claims of this poster not-withstanding.

Videotaping: The New Breach of Patient Privacy

I have often spoken of the downside of Versed.  The immoral breaching of patient privacy, inside their own mind even.  Right on the heels of this comes videotaping, the new way to breach patient privacy as shown in this article.

Hospital in Secret Video Drama Offers Apology | Medpage Today

First we have the immoral use of Versed for the entertainment of the staff, wherein one injection can lead to many happy hours of eliciting the private thoughts of patients.  Then we have videotaping of same.  The prominent hospital near me actually had as part of the admissions paperwork, a little blurb about me allowing them to videotape my procedure "for training purposes" and other uses.  NOT ON YOUR LIFE!  While *I* would like a video of the procedure to monitor my  "teams'" behavior, if I were to need general anesthetic, I would never consent to any medical minion or entity having a copy.

While patients need to know exactly what is going on in these surgical suites, what we do not need is videotaping of ourselves in our most vulnerable moments being disseminated as was done in the above link.  Nothing is sacred any more, there are no depths to which you "caregivers" will not stoop.  DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, allow a medical entity to take away your "right" to privacy.  Do not sign any document giving them permission to film you.  Just because it is hidden in the intake paperwork, you don't have to sign it.  Strike the verbiage from the consent form and have them initial it.  Get a copy IMMEDIATELY of any paperwork that you have signed.  It's the law.  Any legal document that you sign MUST be given to you and that's what a consent to treat is.  Then if something like happened in the California hospital mentioned in the article happens to YOU, you will have a legal leg to stand on and can sue the dog snot out of them.

Please make sure to read your intake forms and the "informed consent" BEFORE you sign it.  Strike anything you don't like, and there will be some things that you find objectionable.  Lists of things to deny are in this blog elsewhere.  You have that right.  Take care of your most precious assets, your body and mind.  These are YOURS, not the medical behemoth's.  It's time we take back our rights to our own bodies and our own private thoughts.

Bad Experience with Versed?

I know a lot of people who have had a very bad experience with Versed.  I'm asking any of you who are willing to talk about it with people other than me to please contact me.  Thanks, Jackie

Another Professional Gets Hammered With Versed

Here is the piece I got today in my email.  I have omitted this individuals name,and job, but this person is a professional type.  As we are all aware, wrist surgery can be done easily with a Bier block, without Versed.  There was absolutely no reason not to discuss the anesthesia plan with her, especially in light of the fact that she has had previous problems.  I am hoping she gets a copy of her anesthesia from the hospital or anesthesia group so we can all see how well the "anesthesiologist" (probably a crna, not a doctor) followed her instructions and kept their word to use "barely anything."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Hi there,

I found your blog while investigating the drugs I was given. Here is my story:

On March 24, 2016 I went in for carpal tunnel release (endoscopic) surgery on my right wrist.

Pre-op, a number of staff members prepped me for surgery, the intake nurse, the phlebotomist, the anesthesiologist, the surgeon, and another nurse. Repeatedly I was asked about my medical record that stated I am allergic to narcotics (this is because I have extreme long lasting vomiting/nausea for hours/days with no relief except medical intervention). When asked, I confirmed it and was told "well then I will barely give you anything then."

That's it, no disclosure of what or if no sedation was an option, which I preferred.

Keep in mind I have had two c-sections with no sedations and had weekly aspirations of my thyroid gland (large needle repeatedly inserted into front of neck and fluid drawn out) during pregnancy with no drugs or even an anxious refrain to the doctor.

On the way being rolled into the surgery room, I felt dizzy and saw the room start to sway.  I heard the Anesthesiologist say "I see the cocktail I have you is taking effect."

Shortly after that began what I can only describe as tripping out of my mind into complete and total psychosis. I fragmented. Was transported out of the room, split into pieces of myself and traveled around fragments of my brain. I didn't know I was a person or what a person was. I was a collection of memories, fears, intentions, images, etc.  In the simplest terms, I was gone. In one moment I remembered Jesus was and is. I thought His name. Then I "saw" in my mind's eye a figure that looked like His form in the midst of the chaos. I feel Him say "focus on Me." So I did. I realized I was human and that I was having surgery. I opened my left eye (the other eye couldn't move.). I saw I was on the table and felt cool air I was breathing through a tunnel of sorts. (oxygen mask I guess) I could hear the staff chatting away happily.

I said to whoever would listen "I had a bad trip."

I heard a man say he wanted a corned beef sandwich and a woman talk about a girl she knew who "tripped" from anesthesia, but it wasn't bad.

When I came out of surgery I was ridiculously sick, heaving violently. 

I spent the rest of the day horribly I'll.

Since then, I feel like I am on a ship. Often nauseous (but burp instead of vomit thank God!) I am dizzy, off balance, and hallucinate (I will remember doing something and circumstances will show me I hadn't done the thing I fully remembered doing.) I've also seen a few things that weren't there. A man in my house, bugs, etc.

Today was my pre-op appt (I waited to make it out of fear and also to see if my troubles would pass).

I asked if no anesthesia was an option becasue if it wasn't, I didn't want to get my left wrist done. I told them why and just about the nausea and feeling like I'm on a ship.

The surgeon came back into the exam room to tell me they did a bier block so they didn't give me any anesthesia. I said "yes they did." Then he said "well they probably only gave you a little versed and that wouldn't cause that." So I said "well I'm allergic to narcotics so for me I'm extremely sensitive to that." He said well we will have to look at your chart and see what you were given and give you something else. I asked "can't I just have nothing? I've had two c-sections." He said "well just talk to them during the surgery and if you need something just tell them."

So..... I expected maybe....this type of response:

How long have you been experiencing the dizziness/nausea?

Are you having any other symptoms since the surgery?

Have you been eating and sleeping normally?

I'm so sorry to hear this.... we will have to figure out what's causing it and get you feeling better.

NOPE!

The response was directly aimed at two objectives:

1.  Deny any relation between the symptoms and the surgery/anesthesia 

2.  Set things up to get me in place for the next surgery with anesthesia. 

Now I am looking into switching into a different network and discussing my options with my insurance carrier. I may ask them if they have any interest in my experience being given a drug in a class I repeatedly confirmed I was allergic to and being charged for drugs that are not needed or specifically declined by the patient.

(why would they want to pay for drugs like this?)

Reform is needed!!! Feel free to share my story where ever you see fit! 

POCD The Gorilla in the Operating Room

Here is another article on the alarming incidence of POCD.  At last some anesthesia professionals are taking a second look at why this is happening to us.  I think they should be looking at the drug which CAUSES the very symptoms they don't like.  Versed.  Just because the "ultra short acting" drug is allegedly excreted from the body quickly doesn't mean that the effects are transient as well.  (new studies out which show Versed remains in the body much longer than they originally thought) When a hurricane blows through a city, is everything normal when the wind and rain are gone?

Surgeons Question Surgery's Impact on Brain | Medpage Today

The Bale of Hay

I got this excellent post in my inbox this morning.

 Is Surgery a Risk Factor for Cognitive Dysfunction? | Medpage Today

Even though this is well written, it ignores the one thread that runs through all of this.  Sedation via Versed. How many of these people had a procedure featuring a beloved little "sedative" called Versed?   Like the doctor says "Have you ever tried to get a cat to look at its face in the mirror? They won't look..."  Ever tried to talk to a doctor or anesthetist about POCD after Versed?  They won't look.  These people squirt a drug into our system which causes cognitive dysfunction and then when the condition persists afterwards, they feign surprise and just can't put the two together.  So very many smart, well educated, experienced people in the medical field and they can't see "causation" in POCD patients.  It's perplexing, but thankfully there are a few that are sounding the alarm.

Versed Use Explained by a Cardiologist

A cardiologist whom I am not going to use explained why he wanted me to have Versed...  See if you notice any problems with this statement.  "I want you to have Versed because I don't want anybody talking to me."  (scandalized look from me)  Then quickly "I don't want you to remember anything either."  (Hmmm)

Let's examine this.  First of all I have already had a heart cath without Versed, so I am familiar with the procedure.  A heart cath is a non-event!  Nothing whatsoever was scary about it.  Nothing.  The reason I don't use the first cardiologist was because of a lack of informed consent.  Not a big deal to most people, but HUGE for me.  There is no reason that I can see to need amnesia for this procedure.  If I were a freaked out patient there are still other methods besides Versed to keep me calm.  Remember that, according to a poster on this blog, heart patients are most at risk from POCD (post operative cognitive dysfunction)  Special care should be used, in my opinion, to minimize that risk by not using something as poisonous to the brain as Versed.  This pathetic excuse is just that.

As far as the "I don't want anybody talking to me" statement, are you kidding me?  One of the major side effects of Versed is a motormouth.  Most patients babble on and on about anything including any secrets they may have.  It is my contention that many medical minions seize this opportunity to have a little fun ferreting out deep dark patient secrets for the entertainment of the staff.  So the doctor doesn't want anybody "talking" to him, but it's OK to hear screams, babbling, begging for the procedure to stop, and revealed secrets.  Nice.  Are patients really stupid enough to fall for this?  Maybe once... If you DON'T have Versed, doctors can expect quiet, not with it.

It really isn't worth arguing over.  Don't squabble over it, just get another doctor.  They are a dime a dozen, just like patients.  You will both be happier.  Yes I got a phone call from his PA when I went to another cardiologist.  I didn't argue with her, I explained that even though I liked the doctor on a personal level, Versed was a deal breaker and I didn't want to make him "uncomfortable" by fighting over it.  All true.

The scheduling nurse at the hospital took the same vein (clever pun) when I said "no Versed".  She was horrified.  I had to hear about the excruciating pain, and how terrifying it would be for me to remember the wire in my heart, blah, blah, blah.  Maybe she should have looked at my chart (in the same hospital) to see that I had already had this procedure?  Whose side are these people on?  I said NO to any crna and NO to Versed.  (common usage of "no", not the medical "no" which appears to mean "maybe, if you want")  I haven't changed my mind in two years.  It wasn't exceptionally painful, not scary at all, interesting to listen to the conversations (because they knew I didn't have amnesia, it was pleasant conversation, not personal attacks like before)  My cardiologist was talking about a certain famous submarine Admiral whom I, as a submarine buff, am very interested in.  It was hard not joining in the conversation.  That was the most difficult part of the whole thing.

I DON'T NEED VERSED!  As far as I'm concerned there are a small minority of patients who might need something like Versed, although there are other drugs which can perform the same service without the horrible side effects like early onset Alzheimer's. Most of us do not need it, it's dangerous and mind numbing.  I wish these medical people would recognize that what we need is patient care, not being drugged until we are brain damaged.  We pay enough for medical attention that we DESERVE decent care.  Give me a good nurse, not Versed.  We do not deserve Versed.  (Plus all the additional costs associated with Versed, but that's another story.)