General Medical issues thread

[RooFlyer]

Trivia (but not trivial): panadeine is not available anymore

I thought you could still get codeine stuff on prescription?

 

[Quickstatus]

I thought you could still get codeine stuff on prescription

Correct.
Panadeine used to be available over the counter. Only the "forte" version which had double (edit 4 times) the codeine of panadeine was script only. When the Govt made all codeine script only, there was no reason for the drugs manufacturers to make panadeine avail in AU

 

[blackcat20]

I've had a few surgeries over the last few years and they always send me home with endone which I don't touch. Yet when I had my wisdom teeth out they sent me home with nothing but ibuprofen and the pain was excruciating. My gp offered morphine but I settled for panadeine forte.

 

[Quickstatus]

The repatriation

Now this was interesting

The japanese being japanese:

As soon as they saw Mrs QS hobble with crutches to the bullet train station, a Shinkansen employee rushed out with a wheelchair (smartly dressed with their policeman hat and white gloves.
He checked the ticket and wheeled her to the exact platform and the exact spot where her seat on the carriage was closest.
When the train arrived another employee got her into her seat. The 2 employees then repeatedly bowed as the departed backwards.
At the other end, another employee was waiting for her with another wheelchair.
The above scenario repeated itself with 3 train stops all the way the HND

HND staff then took over. Checkin, immigration, lounge, then gate, then J on the 747
The Saké in the lounge was beneficial

In flight QF no problems

At SYD no problems until the wheelchair got to the external sliding glass doors of the SYD T1. They said they are not allowed to go any further.
The wheelchair is not allowed to go further than the external doors.

So we decided to get Mrs QS picked up from the departures upstairs. The departure levels traffic bouncers were not happy.....

 

[Duffa]

Correct.
Panadeine used to be available over the counter. Only the "forte" version which had double the codeine of panadeine was script only. When the Govt made all codeine script only, there was no reason for the drugs manufacturers to make panadeine avail in AU

Panadeine 8mg. Forte 30mg
Almost quadruple.
The drug abusers were poisoning themselves with the Panadol component.

 

[MARTINE]

Now this was interesting

The japanese being japanese:

As soon as they saw Mrs QS hobble with crutches to the bullet train station, a Shinkansen employee rushed out with a wheelchair (smartly dressed with their policeman hat and white gloves.
He checked the ticket and wheeled her to the exact platform and the exact spot where her seat on the carriage was closest.
When the train arrived another employee got her into her seat. The 2 employees then repeatedly bowed as the departed backwards.
At the other end, another employee was waiting for her with another wheelchair.
The above scenario repeated itself with 3 train stops all the way the HND

HND staff then took over. Checkin, immigration, lounge, then gate, then J on the 747
The Saké in the lounge was beneficial

In flight QF no problems

At SYD no problems until the wheelchair got to the external sliding glass doors of the SYD T1. They said they are not allowed to go any further.
The wheelchair is not allowed to go further than the external doors.

So we decided to get Mrs QS picked up from the departures upstairs. The departure levels traffic bouncers were not happy.....

Interesting you mention this. Friend was involved in repatriating son from severe ski injury in Austria preCovid. Multiple lower and upper limb fractures.
Ditto - QF wheelchairs not allowed in luggage hall. They made use of a baggage trolley to help him but the staff were adamant he couldnot be transported to their car

 

[Quickstatus]

Panadeine 8mg. Forte 30mg

Correct!
....
And also...

 

[love_the_life]

Interesting to read the comments on Endone. I have never had it but daughter has had it prescribed for pain following hip surgery - she had vowed never to touch it again after she was extremely nauseous and totally zonked. And it didn't help the pain.

 

[Quickstatus]

QF wheelchairs not allowed in luggage hall

We must have got the premium service then to make it as far as the external sliding doors
.....

extremely nauseous and totally zonked. And it didn't help the pain

Number 1 and 2 side effects.
Unfortunately the girls tend to get the side effects more
The boys not so much, but sometimes they can't pee, which means.....

Didn't help the pain because she likely needed more, but in the presence of #1 and #2 side effects, most people will put up with the pain.

 

[Quickstatus]

extremely nauseous and totally zonked. And it didn't help the pain

Number 1 and 2 side effects.
Unfortunately the girls tend to get the side effects more
The boys not so much, but sometimes they can't pee, which means.....

Didn't help the pain because she likely needed more, but in the presence of #1 and #2 side effects, most people will put up with the pain.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

she was extremely nauseous and totally zonked.

That was my experience on it too. Although, I was on high doses of prednisone at the same time, so i alternated between being zonked and buzzing. Not fun.

 

[Quickstatus]

Just remember, whatever the Drs give you , it can make you worse.....

 

[OZDUCK]

I have mentioned previously that I didn't like Ketamine. During my last major Kidney Stone adventure I had a couple of Morphine shots but after some hours the stone was still refusing to pass and they were reluctant to give more morphine so they gave me a dose of Ketamine. It did its job by basically knocking me senseless until the stone passed. But I was definitely away with the fairies and remember talking gibberish to my wife. What I really hated was that as it was wearing off I felt hugely depressed. There was no physical pain left but instead an absolute awful feeling of almost despair. Fortunately all this disappeared very quickly but compared to the peaceful feeling the morphine gave it was real shock. What I find strange is that there are plenty of references that Ketamine may be useful as an antidepressant but my experience was the exact opposite.

 

[Quickstatus]

Ketamine may be useful as an antidepressant

"Special K" on the streets

Yes because it makes the brain more active - hence the fairies.
And when it is stopped it goes the other way

 

[Quickstatus]

fairies

Visual hallucinations are common side effects.

Typical ones:
Spiders
Ants
Imaginary people present in room
Things coming out of walls
Vivid colours

 

[OZDUCK]

Visual hallucinations are common side effects.

Typical ones:
Spiders
Ants
Imaginary people present in room
Things coming out of walls
Vivid colours

No visual effects for me - I wasn't wearing my glasses anyway I knew that I was babbling but couldn't stop.

 

[prozac]

Did our Sunday walk around the neighbourhood today. There is one particularly steep hill. Last time I walked up it my Fitbit indicated 103bpm, it did the same again today. This left me tapping the watch and wondering why it should read low. Later on it hit me, I was in heart block courtesy of the pacemaker. I have a unique upper setting of 159pbm which is high for any pm setting. When you reach this level the pacemaker drops one beat in every 3. One third of 159bpm = 53bpm. Take one from the other and you have 106bpm which is approx what the Fitbit was reading. No wonder my legs felt like concrete blocks.

 

[JohnK]

Trivia (but not trivial): panadeine is not available anymore
The human body is a drug manufacturing lab. The reason codeine is problematic is because the liver converts it to morphine.
But the issue of codeine only via prescription is a vexed one.

You mean Panadeine over the counter?

The Panadeine over the counter was only 15mg codeine. I used to like Mersyndol and from memory that was 9.75mg codeine? Nurofen Plus was 12.8mg codeine.

I used to love all of the above. Take them only when necessary but now taken away because they were used freely by who wanted a kick not for pain.

 

[Quickstatus]

have a unique upper setting of 159pbm

Wow thats a high setting.
I haven't seen that limit, but Im not a pacemaker programmer.

One of the ways to define an upper limit on the pacemaker is the highest pacing rate at the time of maximum oxygen consumption or at the anaerobic threshold (which is the same)

Any more is just pushing the body into conditions where it is unable to use oxygen to burn fuel.
....

Panadeine over the counter was only 15mg codeine

8 but normally people take 2 so its 16mg total
Correct for the other 2

 

[prozac]

Wow thats a high setting.
I haven't seen that limit, but Im not a pacemaker programmer.

One of the ways to define an upper limit on the pacemaker is the highest pacing rate at the time of maximum oxygen consumption or at the anaerobic threshold (which is the same)

Any more is just pushing the body into conditions where it is unable to use oxygen to burn fuel.
....

It took weekly hospital visits over 3 months to iron out various problems (substrate to re-entry, retrograde conductivity and an inordinately prolonged sinus node delay) that required a unique setting. The pacemaker was trying to kill me every day. Techs always comment on the setting and the notes attached that say never adjust.