[tri-med] Re: Hearing Loss

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Katie Cragg"
>>we try to find other ways to get things done.
> He'll say...you know Katie we could just do this under light sedation-then
> we don't have to mess with an IV. (Mitchell is a horrible IV starter)...I
> always say, That's fine but you can't use chloral, so if you find 
> something
> else let me know and I'll think about it. :)

Midazolam - Versed in the US. Midaz has replaced chloral hydrate here in 
hospitals for the most part and is now standard treatment for seizures 
instead of rectal valium - personally I think its great. Its part of the 
valium type family but has very little effect on breathing, blood pressure 
etc. Plus it makes the person forget what has happened to them, great for 
nasty procedures. Its very quick to take effect - about 5 minutes or less if 
given absorbed via membranes, but is short acting - about 30 minutes and its 
worn off, and it can be reversed if need be.

I know some have had bad experiences but I think some of those may be 
because people think that they have to have enough to "knock them out" - 
Midazolam doesn't necessarily make the person go to sleep, it just sedates 
them to a co-operative state. (hence the term walking sedation) Some will go 
to sleep, Alex generally doesn't unless he was tired to begin with he just 
stops fighting us and lets us do what we need to.

Alex has it bucally, meaning we just place the med (1ml which is 5mg) 
between his teeth and gums for 1 minute. No swallowing meds, no needles - it 
just absorbs through the membrane. Some prefer to give it as drops in the 
nose with the same effect.

We were never sure how Alex would react - so the very first time Alex had it 
he was hooked up to all his monitors to see what effect it had. Nothing - no 
drop in O2, heart rate, blood pressure, nothing. I still monitor him if he 
does have it but in 5 years its never caused a blip in his vitals - the 
opposite it stabilises them for us. (we give it to buy time with a Shapiro's 
crisis)

> Anyway, hospitals love to use it in the US. Kids are suppose to wake up
> quickly from it but Mitchell never did...

I don't know anyone who has ever woken up from it "quickly" - and those that 
can tell you about it tell you it leaves you feeling "hung over".

Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well.
                                            -- Josh Billings

Keep Looking For Rainbows!!
   _--_|\
 /Karen \
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          v Karen, Mum to Alex (12 years, T-18 Mosaic)
http://members.optushome.com.au/karens

                  Building ___ooOOoo__ Rainbows
                       www.trisomyonline.org
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