So Sorry to Hear About Your Loss

Did They Leave You Any Good Drugs?

 When my husband's father passed away at home last October, there was solemnity and quiet throughout the house.  He had been under hospice care, and they had attended to his every need, both before and after death.  When my father in law began the process of dying, having trouble with his breathing and becoming a little panicky, the nurses provided strong medications to ease his pain and fear.  Hospice believes in relieving the suffering associated with death, so they are not stingy with the drugs.  We watched him sleep for hours, his fingers slowly becoming blue, his organs shutting down one by one.  

When the moment came, it was peaceful and quiet.   At that point there are many things that need doing, and hospice was very helpful with that.  One of the most unusual things they did, was having an official looking woman come in, looking almost police-like in attire.  She performed the drug disposal before our eyes.

The recommended approach for an in-home hospice nurse to dispose of medicine at the home is as follows (with the exception of drugs noted on the attached list, which, by recommendation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), should be flushed down a toilet):

The nurse should perform the drug disposal in the presence of a family member or in the  presence of a second health care clinician to avoid the opportunity for or accusation of drug diversion. The witness to the disposal should sign a document indicating their witnessing of the disposal.

Render the medicine unusable and place in sealable plastic bags or in single plastic container with a screwtop lid and discard in the trash after completing the following:
· Liquids: Add kitty litter, flour or used coffee grounds to the container and recap.
· Tablets and Capsules: Add water to the container followed by kitty litter, flour or used coffee grounds and recap.
· Suppositories: Unwrap and place in container before adding kitty litter, flour or used coffee grounds.
· Transdermal Patches: Using disposable gloves remove patches from the packing and cut the patch in half carefully handing it by the edges. Place the pieces in a container, add kitty litter, flour or used coffee grounds and recap.
· Medicated Ointments/Creams: Squeeze/scoop medication into a container and mix with kitty litter, flour or used coffee grounds before recapping.
· IV/SC/IM cassettes or vials: The nurse is responsible for removing the controlled drugs from the cassettes and vials and verifying their disposal (see liquids above).

 

But when it comes to the following drugs, the FDA still recommends flushing down the toilet, even though environmentalists strongly discourage it, because of  the quantity of medicine that may require disposal and ability of the public to track deaths in media publications. 

Actiq, oral transmucosal lozenge Fentanyl Citrate

Avinza, capsules (extended release) Morphine Sulfate
Daytrana, transdermal patch system Methylphenidate
Demerol, tablets * Meperidine Hydrochloride
Demerol, oral solution * Meperidine Hydrochloride
Diastat/Diastat AcuDial, rectal gel Diazepam
Dilaudid, tablets * Hydromorphone Hydrochloride
Dilaudid, oral liquid * Hydromorphone Hydrochloride
Dolophine Hydrochloride, tablets * Methadone Hydrochloride
Duragesic, patch (extended release) * Fentanyl
Embeda, capsules (extended release) Morphine Sulfate; Naltrexone Hydrochloride
Fentora, tablets (buccal) Fentanyl Citrate
Kadian, capsules (extended release) Morphine Sulfate
Methadone Hydrochloride, oral solution * Methadone Hydrochloride
Methadose, tablets * Methadone Hydrochloride
Morphine Sulfate, tablets (immediate release) * Morphine Sulfate
Morphine Sulfate, oral solution * Morphine Sulfate
MS Contin, tablets (extended release) * Morphine Sulfate
Onsolis, soluble film (buccal) Fentanyl Citrate
Opana, tablets (immediate release) Oxymorphone Hydrochloride
Opana ER, tablets (extended release) Oxymorphone Hydrochloride
Oramorph SR, tablets (sustained release) Morphine Sulfate
Oxycontin, tablets (extended release) * Oxycodone Hydrochloride
Percocet, tablets * Acetaminophen; Oxycodone Hydrochloride
Percodan, tablets * Aspirin; Oxycodone Hydrochloride
Xyrem, oral solution Sodium Oxybate

We were surprised to realize that my father in law had been on several of the above mentioned narcotics.  And it made me wonder.  If there is a Heaven, and a God you meet when you get there, how are you going to know if it is real or just a drug induced hallucination.  I mean, you've gotta be feeling pretty good about the time you get there, right?

 SYNDROME OF THE DAY

Blue diaper syndrome is a rare, autosomal recessive metabolic disorder characterized in infants by bluish urine-stained diapers.
It is caused by a defect in tryptophan absorption. Bacterial degradation of tryptophan in the intestine leads to excessive indole production and thus to indicanuria which, on oxidation to indigo blue, causes a peculiar bluish discoloration of the diaper. Symptoms typically include digestive disturbances, fever and visual problems. (Thanks Wikipedia)

Syndrome of the Day

Things you probably don't want to know about, but they're just too damn fascinating to turn away.

Cri du chat syndrome is a group of symptoms that result from missing a piece of chromosome number 5. The syndrome’s name is based on the infant’s cry, which is high-pitched and sounds like a cat.

Symptoms

• Cry that is high-pitched and sounds like a cat
• Downward slant to the eyes
• Low birth weight and slow growth
• Low-set or abnormally shaped ears
• Mental retardation
• Partial webbing or fusing of fingers or toes
• Single line in the palm of the hand (simian crease)
• Skin tags just in front of the ear
• Slow or incomplete development of motor skills
• Small head (microcephaly)
• Small jaw (micrognathia)
• Wide-set eyes

A FLUKE OF NATURE

Just a fluke?Just a fluke?Just a fluke ?
When I was studying to become a medical transcriptionist, I bought a huge dictionary known as "The Dorland's" for referencing everything medical.   Nearly every time I picked it up, however, it seemed to open automatically to page 1385.  There at the top of the page was an image that has haunted me even to this day.

Schistosoma haematobium

It's a hideous little creature, looking sort of like a dog or an armadillo but with the body of a worm.   The female worm is wriggling in and out of the male's body, which is a foldover body sort of like a taco. 

just a fluke ?From Wikipedia, 

the free encyclopedia

Schistosoma haematobium is an important digenetic trematode, and is found in the  Middle East, India, Portugal and Africa. It is a major agent of schistosomiasis; more specifically, it is associated with urinary schistosomiasis. Adults are found in the Venous plexuses around the urinary bladder and the released eggs traverse the wall of the bladder causing haematuria and fibrosis of the bladder. The bladder becomes calcified, and there is increased pressure on ureters and kidneys otherwise known as hydronephrosis. Inflammation of the genitals due to S. haematobium may contribute to the propagation of HIV.[1] Studies have shown the relationship between S. haematobium infection and the development of squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder.[2]

just a fluke ?just a fluke ? just a fluke ? just a fluke ?

FLUKE ACTUAL SIZE

All that is very interesting, perhaps, until you get to the little gem of information which points out the actual size of this worm.  The approximate size of an adult fluke is as pictured below.  Some 2-3 mm in size, some up to 1/2 inch long.  These are visible with the naked eye.  And I hate to think of the horror of watching these little buggers being eliminated from my body as I urinate. 

IT'S KIND OF LIKE A PHOBIA OF MINE

 EWWWWW!

just a fluke ? just a fluke ? just a fluke ?

ANALYSIS OF A HAIR BALL!

From my dog when she was a puppy. 

 

After removing most of the hair and carpet and grass:

If you are really a glutton for grossness, you can click to enlarge these pics.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED

A List of Some Songs They Play 

 Don't You just love the music they play on All Things Considered?  You can actually buy this 4 CD set, or sample individual artists if you like on Rhapsody.

CD1
Fjellmanngjenta  Knut Hamre & Steve Tibbetts
Bob the Bob (Home)  Lounge Lizards
A Solas  Butch Thompson
The Garden  Palm Fabric Orchestra
Hymn forJaco  Palm Fabric Orchestra
Santimamineko Fandangoa & Ioaeoe  Kepa Junkera
Pharmacies of Tamaulipas  Gilham Park Orchtet
Waltz of the Titans  Duke Levine
New Orleans Farewell  Guy Van Duser/Billy Novick
Silent Hills  Lanterna
Gierran/Enchantment  Wimme Saari
The Week Before Easter  Martin Simpson
Six White Horses  Michael Masley
Klezmer Nuthouse  Tom McDermott
Prelude and Yodel  Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Bubblehouse  Medeski Martin & Wood
CD 2
In The Deep Shade  The Frames
Porcelain  Moby
Eternal Future  Caleb Sampson
The Dicty Glide  Don Byron
The Toy Trumpet  Raymond Scott Quintette
Aqui Como Alla  Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos
Autumn's Vicar  Lambchop
All I Have To Do Is Dream  David Schnaufer
Gaucho  Gustavo Santaolalla
Cold, Cold Heart  Bill Frisell
Wildwood Flower 11  David Grisman & Tony Rice
The Littlest Birds  The Be Good Tanyas
Falling Pianos  Tuatara
Six Pack  Tortoise
Wildside  Rob Wasserman
Fox Musette  Les Primitifs Du Futur
CD 3
Redencion  Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez
Summer Sun  Koop
Big Eater  The Bad Plus
Long Way To Go  Dirty Three
Train Leaves at Eight  The Walkabouts
Bolero Sonambulo  Ry Cooder and Manuel Galban
Later for the Gator  Willis Jackson
O Amor Em Paz  Morelenbaum2/Sakamoto
Leila au Pays du Carrousel  Anouar Brahem
Three Hungarian Folk Songs  Daniel Barski
A La Reunion  Rene Lacaille & Bob Brozman Debussy
When I was Drinking  Hem
Sometimes  Daniel Lanois
Untitled 4  Sigur Ros
CD 4
Utrus Horas  Orchestra Baobab (8:39)
All That Innocence  Patty Larkin (3:08)
Delicate  Damien Rice (5:10)
1939  Pinataland (3:52)
Breathe  Easy Star All Stars (3:02)
Now It's On  Grandaddy (4:06)
Put It in Your Heart  Bruce Cockburn (4:00)
Stormy Weather  Itzhak Perlman/Oscar Peterson (4:54)
The Mountain  Abdullah Ibrahim (2:18)
Avalon  Pearl Django (3:48)
Kind of Light   The 88 (3:59)
Section I (Have a Day/Celebratory)   The Polyphonic Spree (4:37)
Melted Matter   Tord Gustavsen Trio (5:24)
Cancao de embalar: Jose embala o menino  Montserrat Figueras (5:42)

EIGHT HOURS A DAY

FIVE DAYS A WEEK

This is what I do, darling.

This is what I do.

And Don't Even Get Me Started on Vampires!

    The Twilight Saga: New Moon 11/20/09        Van Helsing   5/7/04
     Blade II   3/22/02     Cirque du Freak:  10/23/09        
     Blade: Trinity   12/8/04       30 Days of Night     10/19/07
     Underworld    9/19/03   Underworld: Rise of  Lycans  1/23/09      
     Dracula 2000  12/22/00       Queen of the Damned     2/22/02
     Underworld: Evolution     1/20/06  Daybreakers  1/8/10  

WHY SO ZOMBIE?

 

I just don't get it.   With movies like Zombieland, 28 Days Later, and Shaun of the Dead being eaten up by the public, what's the fascination here?  Once you've seen a zombie chow down, how much pleasure can you get from seeing it again?  If we really had something to fear, it probably would have happened when New Orleans got flooded by Katrina.  If the Zombies were going to come after us, that would have been the perfect time with all those shallow graves below sea level.  

This is awesome photography...a revolutionary technique:

Stuck In Customs Portfolio on Fotopedia

RETRO SCENTS

I got these as a Christmas gift from my sister in law JoDene.   A whiff of scent can take you back in time.   This is where I have been...revisiting.

Ici, Vanilla Fields and Sand & Sable

PHOTO HANGING PROJECT FINISHED!

ROCKING THE WALL!
(Click on picture to make it bigger)

Got the album frames at Urban Outfitters.com on sale $10 each, had a tough time figuring out which albums to frame....Chuck has a whole bunch (including  "hurricane albums" that took a beating during Celia in 1970).    Decided each album had to have special memories for me...also each cover needed to be graphic, easily recognizeable.  Wanted to put up Days of Future Passed but the cover is so junky looking.  What's great is you can change 'em out and put up new ones whenever you want!

RANDOM BITS AND PIECES FROM MY OLD MYSPACE BLOG  BECAUSE I AM TOO LAZY TO WRITE ANYTHING FRESH AND ORIGINAL  -Don't Ask Me When, Where, or Why

If I am always supposed to Be Here Now, when am I supposed to fill in my Outlook Calendar?
Current mood:empty sella

Time for another change to your address books:  My new name is now Hulga Bandy.  Chuck is changing his name to Checkbook.  And Tasha shall hereafter be known as Blueberry.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

THE WORLD'S TINIEST TURD!!!!

Current mood:  sore

Category: Life

Well, no one in my family wants to hear about it, so I will tell my blog. I made the world's tiniest turd the other day. It was so little I could hardly see it, less than an eighth of an inch long.  It hardly seemed worth the effort. I may have set a world's record.

Thank you for listening.

 

I have been sick, and now chuck has it. And jeremy is here and he had it too. But i have to figure out a way to make a money tree for a baby shower, so dont bother me i am busy!  oh, okay bother me a little if you want. 

I CANNOT BELIEVE I DID THIS!
Current mood:incredulous
Category: Food and Restaurants

I made leg of lamb mediterranean for supper, with couscous and pita bread and middle east tabouli salad. I do not know what got into me. I guess it was my jihad for the day.

 

.

Go live in your world
Current mood:  bouncy
Category: Life

"Well forgive me for saying, but I don't see that there is much reason to live in a world without animated cursors."  ~ Mimi

 

Like I always say:
Category: Religion and Philosophy

"Is it still Saturday?"

Another famous quote from Mimi.

 

BACK FROM VACATION. NOW I CAN REST.
Current mood:resting
Category: Travel and Places

We're Back! 

Had great time at the river but am somewhat bunged up. A lot of river rash, a few sore muscles, and my butt was so tight in my kayak that whenever I wiped out, the kayak stayed on me the whole time. 

 

I LOVE HIM, I LOVE HIM, I LOVE HIM AND WHERE HE GOES APOLLO, APOLLO, APOLLO!
Current mood:  envious
Category: Romance and Relationships 

 

good times.
Current mood:  chipper
Category: Friends

So we went to the Barton's yesterday for Mother's day and Jo and I were standing in the front yard talking to the neighbors (Becky and Mark) and she asked them if they liked the way she trimmed her bush. And there was a beat, and I reminded Jo..."you have two bushes, remember?"  And she said seriously "Yes, one in the front and one in the back." and by this time I noticed Mark had actually turned away from us, I don't know if he was laughing or turning red or what. It was very funny because Becky was laughing, we were all laughing. We had a good time. Also when we were in the kitchen, Jo said "Ew I have something running down the back of my leg." and I said "Oh, you get that too?"  and we all started laughing, Chuck too.   It will be a hoot being back in Portland.

I CAN'T STOP PLAYING SOLITAIRE!!!!
Current mood:obssessive/compulsive
Category: Games

THIS IS NOT A CRY FOR HELP!

LOVE, SCREAMING MIMI

 

RE: Name changes
Current mood:  working
Category: News and Politics

Alright most of you already know my new myspace moniker is Mrs. Thavongsack.  Chuck is changing his name to Chalk.  And Tasha shall hereafter be known as Gutterball.  Please make the appropriate changes to your address books. Thank you.

Love, Debbie/Mom/Meems/Mimi/Deborah/Aunt Debbie/Lunette/Diva and soon presenting the NEW AND IMPROVED deb.5!