Maybe this belongs in another thread? Seriously f-d up.
Harris County sergeant treated after touching fentanyl-laced flyer, officials say
HOUSTON - A Harris County sergeant received treatment Tuesday after touching a flyer laced with fentanyl, according to officials.
Investigators said the flyers were found about 1 p.m. on the windshield of about 12 vehicles parked on the street at the department’s 601 Lockwood Drive facility.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
“Liked,” as an acknowledgement, not as an actual, “like.”
This is why I carry naloxone...I work in a suburban/and rural area, and an accidental fentanyl hit can be fatal. I recommend other patrolmen or people that have to go hands on in cars or places frequented by druggies do the same. Sucks. But not as much as dying from an opiate OD.
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I definitely wouldn't delay surgery out of a fear of narcotic pain control. Your doc will be more than happy to work with you in getting a post-op pain control regiment that's right for you, and they will be all too happy to prescribe you fewer narcotic pain meds if that is your desire. Depending on the surgery in question, you might not need very many to begin with. Enel can speak to this more than I can if he comes across this thread.Originally Posted by willie
That said, please don't shy away from them completely. They're one of the oldest medicines in existence for a reason, and small one-time prescriptions of an appropriate narcotic are not likely to cause addiction in most people. Good pain control has been shown to improve post-operative outcomes, so avoiding them entirely isn't necessarily the right choice for your health. Talk to your doc about your concerns - he or she should be happy to work with you.
Last edited by Nephrology; 06-27-2018 at 10:39 AM.
The surgery is complete shoulder joint replacement. I don't fear addiction but am concerned about one size fits all rules that might be adopted. For example, a local clinic announced that narcotic pain meds would not be prescribed for more than one week--even after surgery. This may be hype. I had back surgery a few years back and did well by taking as few as possible of the hydrocodone pills prescribed. I had immense success controlling pain by using ice packs. I also had a great surgeon. For years I've noticed that insurance companies contact doctors to encourage using lower cost offerings. That's ok within reason. I expect to see the same type participation with regard to pain meds.
A third party manages my particular Medicare plan. This third party has "everything" to say about everything. That may or not be ok. I look askance at corporate medicine and am cynical about their efforts to control medical costs. The guys at the top. of course, are happy, but I wonder whether or not everybody else in the organization is. Two of my personal physicians have thrown up their hands and left in frustration. I'm not happy when my doc is unhappy. Does that make sense? I came to the conclusion by myself that the new way erodes physician authority and then prestige and then professional development. That's my opinion. So what's this rambling got to do with pain meds? A lot. I wish not to get caught up as a helpless patient in a giant sick organization that may become non responsive.
I had heart surgery a couple years back. I opted (pre-operatively) for no PCA morphine, and afterwards, I opted out of the acetaminophen too. I had a wicked case of pericarditis post-operatively, and while it was miserable for a few days, I was back in the gym, lifting medium weights, 14 days later.
Pain is a very subjective thing. Some people moan when I put the mirror in their mouth. I’ve not pulled anyone’s teeth without anesthetic. I’ve had a few that requested no anesthetic, but they always change their mind once we start levering. But people never refuse pain meds (I only give a maximum of 16, and only if I let blood).
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Apparently false....
Testing Reveals No Signs of Fentanyl on Flyers Left on Sheriff’s Office Employee Vehicles
Final results of all testing were provided to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office on Friday morning. In addition to testing the 13 flyers, the HCIFS also tested clothing items, and blood and urine samples collected from a Sheriff’s Office sergeant who reported symptoms consistent with Fentanyl exposure. Those tests also were negative for the drug.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
https://www.acmt.net/_Library/Fentan...esponders_.pdf
"However, incidental dermal absorption is unlikely to cause opioid toxicity. If bilateral palmar surfaces were covered with fentanyl patches, it would take approximately 14 minutes to receive 100 mcg of fentanyl [using a body surface area of 17,000 cm2, palm surface area of 0.5% [26], and fentanyl absorption of 2.5 mcg/cm2/h [24]. This extreme example illustrates that even a high dose of fentanyl prepared for transdermal administration cannot rapidly deliver a high dose.
The above calculation is based on fentanyl patch data, which overestimates the potential exposure from drug in tablet or powder form in several ways. Drug must have sufficient surface area and moisture to be efficiently absorbed. Medicinal transdermal fentanyl utilizes a matrix designed to optimize delivery, whereas tablets and powder require dissolution for absorption. Relatedly, powdered drug sits on the skin, whereas patches have adhesive to hold drug in close proximity to the skin allowing both to remain moist. Finally, the above quoted figure 2.5 mcg/cm2/h represents delivery at steady state after drug has penetrated the dermis, which overestimates the amount of absorption in the first few minutes of dermal exposure. This initial period is of most relevance in unintentional exposure, because fentanyl that is observed on skin can be rapidly removed by mechanical (brushing) means or cleansing with water.. Therefore, based on our current understanding of the absorption of fentanyl and its analogs, it is very unlikely that small, unintentional skin exposures to tablets or powder would cause significant opioid toxicity, and if toxicity were to occur it would not develop rapidly, allowing time for removal."
Last edited by scjbash; 06-30-2018 at 10:41 AM.
What TF, may as well leave this here, while we are on the subject:
http://www.activeresponsetraining.ne...ioid-overdoses
Typically good shit from Greg E.
None of that is especially surprising or uncommon. The story of the woman described in that article is happening thousands of times per day all across America. Tomorrow, it will happen a thousand times again.
I've mentioned this before in this thread, but I was very mildly "hooked" on painkillers after I broke my arm in college. I was lucky that I had no idea how to get illegal opiates at the time, or I may have ended up like her. I definitely don't delude myself for a second by thinking that my story is really all that different from hers.
Last edited by Nephrology; 07-30-2018 at 06:36 PM.
We have an addiction recovery facility in our jurisdiction. I'm not very familiar with the treatment theories, but this place seems like they have a decent setup. All of the patients are put up in apartments about ten minutes away and their actions are tightly controlled. They are bused into our city for the counseling, AA/NA meetings, etc. at the actual facility.
The investigation of a recent overdose revealed that a local shitbird was selling pre-loaded syringes to recovering addicts outside of the treatment facility. What scum. It reminds me of the stories in Dreamland.
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