I read MKane's thread titled "Am I Addicted?", was reminded of a couple of E/R horror stories, and thought I'd share one of my own as a reminder that we PWP's have to be our own advocates for health care.

While vacationing in September, I had to go to the E/R in a small town hospital in Delaware. The reason for my visit doesn't matter, but the fact that I have PD does. I told the E/R staff that I had PD, told them the entire list of drugs I take, told them what drugs I had taken that morning. Despite knowing all this, I was given the anti-nausea drug "Compazine" via an IV which, per my regular neuro, should never be givn to a PD patient as it works by blocking dopamine production.

I don't know what all the Compazine did to me, but I do know that whatever they put into the IV stopped my breathing! I squeaked out the word "help" when I felt my lungs fall flat and couldn't take another breath and then I don't remember anything else. My girlfriends who had taken me to the E/R, thought the "help" was because of the pain I was in. When I later told them I couldn't breathe, they said "Oh, that's why they slapped an oxygen mask on you so fast!"

I didn't question what they were putting in my IV and why. I don't know if my friends asked what I was being given. Even if they had, my friends wouldn't have known that because of my PD, only certain anti-nausea medicines are okay for me to have. We all would have expected the hospital's pharmacy - if not the E/R doctor - to have caught the drug interaction with my PD meds and my condition.

So useful thoughts to pass on. 1. Know what you're being given and question it's safety with your condition and current medications.

2. The anti-nausea medicine that I was told by my neuro is safe for PD patients is called Zofran (aka Ondansetron).

3. Be your own advocate even with educated medical professionals. I recently had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands and I told the anesthesiologist that I was only supposed to have the anti-nausea drug Zofran - that if an anti-nausea medicine was needed, please use that. He was arrogant about it, but regardless of his attitude, I felt better knowing that I wouldn't have to worry that I'd be given the wrong drug again.