>  my children...and who, by the way, was in AA for many years. He ran
 > into
 >  a "registered nurse" who "knew about addictions" and convinced him that
 > he
 >  should throw away his medicine and start vitamin suppliments...he went
 > into
 >  convulsions as a result and had to be rushed to the hospital...so I
 > tend
 >  to be a bit suspicious about "wisdom" from other than a medical doctor.
 MK> Was her name Jane....:)
 :) No, not in this case.
 
 MK> If this nurse was a properly educated nurse and knew about drug
 MK> addictions, and alcoholism, she would have known you can't do that. 
 MK> This is very elementary information when studying nursing.  I am
 MK> appalled at the amount of nurses who don't know anything about
 MK> discontinuing certain drugs abrutly. 
 
 As a matter of fact, she was in the AA program herself and *hated* to
 use medicine, even asprin. And she told others it was not good for them.
 True, my husband was on Valium at the time, but he was following the 
 doctors directions and not abusing them...but to her that was wrong and 
 he was weak...I had explained to him that he *must* taper off, but she
 was AA and understood more than I did...and it almost cost him his life.
 He listened to her without my realizing it. I thought he understood what 
 I had told him.
 
 MK> I worked in a nursing home for a while.  A patient there was on
 MK> Klonopin for epilepsy.  Well seems as though she didn't have a siezure
 MK> for a long time and the doctor took her off the Klonopin cold turkey. 
 MK> Well the nurse who took the order did not question it.  Needless to
 MK> say, the patient went into status epilepticus and ended up dying.
 So many medicines must be tapered off. Any one just stopping like that,
 or anyone allowing someone else to stop like that, is wrong, doctor or
 not. Of course, if it is cold medicine or something like that, there is
 no problem stopping it. I know that nurses are not supposed to question
 the doctors orders but doctors are human just like anyone else and make
 mistakes. Sometimes they have to be reminded about an individual patient
 because they see so many. 
 
 MK> Some people are under the perception that nurses don't do anything all
 MK> day long.  Do you know how many times I had to question a doctor about
 MK> his order, in order to save a patient's life.  I have only 6 years
 MK> education, a doctor has a lot more.  And if something happens to a
 MK> patient, even though I am just a lowely nurse just following a doctor's
 MK> order, guess who gets the wrap? 
 
 I know. So many things should be changed.
 
 MK> The situation above was not me.  I was working at the time in a
 MK> quality assurance capacity.  By the time, this incident came to my
 MK> attention it was already too late.  Doctors are not GOD!
 MK> If a nurse gives you advice, and I know she is not God like doctors
 MK> are, MOST--not all of the time you should take her word for it and
 MK> question the doctor, if he doesn't agree get a second opinion from
 MK> another doc. 
 People will ask a second opinion about pending surgery, why not ask 
 about medicine. It can be just as dangerous to some people. As you say,
 most nurses will give good advice but it never hurts to question things.
 Marie
... Higher education isn't proof against greater stupidities.
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