Any R.N.'s out there?

[Jfpinell]

There's something I've been curious about for years. Did they used to give Dilantin or phenobarbital by shot instead of orally after a seizure years ago? I remember a seizure I had where, after waking up in the E.R., was given 3 shots about 10 or 15 mins. apart. -This is when I was about 7 or 8 years old....about 30 years ago. The only thing I can logically think is it was the stuff I was on at the time to "load my level up". I was awake and oriented by the time I arrived with my parents, so I'm guessing it wouldn't have been valium or something along that line. But if I was THAT alert by then, wouldn't they have just given it orally instead of scaring the heck out of me rolling me over and poking me over and over at that age? I've had a handful of seizures winding up in the E.R. since then and every time otherwise, they'd either give me an I.V. push (I think it's called) or pills to take. Was it a whole lot different 30+ years ago?

 

[Nakamova]

An injection would work faster and be more potent -- right in the bloodstream, instead of having to be digested and processed.

 

[Jfpinell]

But they could do that IV route too

 

[epileric]

The way I understand it is that an IV drip is to maintain drug levels or introduce drugs to the body slowly whereas a shot will introduce higher amounts needed immediately.

 

[gigi]

That might depend on how you arrived and what kind of shape you were in.
Most of my trips have been a walk in after a seizure, after getting blood work back, they would load me up orally with Dilantin capsules. I have also had a drip with sodium and potassium automatically. My first seizure was in 1969, so I am thinking I had phenobarb. introduced to me in a drip, then pills.

 

[Jfpinell]

I'm thinking it may have been partly due to the way things were handled 30 or 40 or 50 years ago, as opposed to now. If anyone a generation older (I'm from '60's through '80's ...39 currently) knows, correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't everything back then basically "just stay back now and let the Dr.'s do their job" way of thinking? I (somehow 30 years later still recall 2 nurses coming in, not saying a word to me about what they were going to do, and all I heard was "roll him over". After the 2nd shot 1 of them just said "no just keep him on his tummy". (They probably figured I'd get resistant otherwise when they came in a 3rd time.) Uhhh like HELLO! I'm right here -fully awake and alert! Someoine fill me in, huh? -Not to mention they made my parents stay in the waiting room while they ushered me in. That sure didn't help ease my anxiety any! I mean, was this standard procedure then? I was fully into it when I first was carried in (which is why I don't know why they did everything they did), but it didn't seem to matter to them.