Turns out that if you take Zofran (or any other anti-puking medication currently on the market) on a regular basis for long enough, you run the risk of incurring permanent neurological damage similar to that of Parkinson's disease. Would have been nice to know that six weeks ago.
Riddle me this.
A. Take Zofran daily, risk developing MORE neurological damage that I already do with my other meds, causing permanent damage to handle a disorder that mimics the feeling of major damage but doesn't actually cause it.
or
B. Don't take Zofran, puke every day, get into a pain-puking cycle of not keeping liquids or meds down, and starting jumping in and out of the hospital for dehydration where they will treat the nausea with -- guess what? -- soluble Zofran via IV!
or
C. Knowingly break the law, risk my clean legal record, risk implicating my spouse thus damaging his clean legal record and employability, and possibly risk custody of my children, and use marijuana to stop the puking, incurring no known side effects or permanent damage.
This is a seriously screwed system.
Don't get me started on having been handed a prescription for Zofran during my last ER visit with *no* discussion about glaringly serious side effects that I might need to be aware of. Just yesterday a close family member was casually informed by one of his doctors that one of the meds he's on suppresses the immune system, thus being the probable cause of his newest case of skin cancer. That's a damn nasty side effect. Given an established medical record of skin cancer to start with, this is another one of those glaringly serious side effects that a patient might need to be aware of.
It's absolutely wrong for medical professionals to depend on the legal CYA (cover your ass) paperwork that comes with a prescription to detail the risk factors when deciding to start a medication. The patient doesn't get those papers until s/he fills the prescription at the pharmacy. This is NOT informed consent. Nor does it take into account the patient's specific medical history or which risk factors are more likely for him or her.
Apparently I had a couple different rants in me today. More to come, I'm sure.
HUGS! I'd post more, but it would turn into a long rant of my own. :cP
ReplyDeleteD. http://blog.norml.org/2011/07/05/connecticut-marijuana-decriminalization-measure-now-law/
ReplyDeleteI have not read the actual law, but it seems like possession of small amounts of marijuana is not a criminal offense, and will not affect your legal record. I'd do more research to make sure though.
People in Connecticut are making moves to legalize medical marijuana. I hope for your sake that it moves a little faster. In the meantime, do you know what it is that's making you so sick? I get really sick if I'm not on Elavil, but that's partly because I've been on Elavil for well over a decade now. Currently, I'm on Elavil, Savella, and Topamax. Now I need to find out what, if any, long-term side-effects they may have. Oy.
ReplyDelete