Freakishly Scary But Turned out Okay

[Jennifer and Jack]

What a freakishly crazy thing..... I for the first time ever just started wearing a pain patch.. a low dose one.. in fact it is a pediatric dose because I am a light weight when it come to medications.

I have been going back and fourth with wearing it because I just don't want to be on "pain medication" even the mild dose.. I pulled the patch off this morning but when my nurse came today she convinced me to put it back on..... so I did....

I just put Jack's bowl of food down for dinner......Jack eats his food so fast now it is gone before I can blink... as I put it down.. I caught a glimpse of something shiny and I though I didn't break up the food enough and that it was possible ice crystals but just was going to let him eat because he seemed hungry.... then I remembered reading somewhere that you don't want the dog to eat it if the food is still a little frozen.. ( I forget why and where I read it so I picked it up) As I was mashing it up with my fork I noticed it was a clear plastic strip....

Turns out my patch which is completely clear must have fallen off my arm.. ( because as I now know once you peel it off, it loses it's ability to stick) and fell right in his food.

Though it was a pediatric size dose.. it is meant to be given over 72 hours.... this no doubt according the my pharmacist, the vet and the ER vet all of who I called to check to see would have killed him and we wouldn't have even known what happen....

Thank God I read some stupid thing about not letting them eat it with ice on it.. even though I don't know if it is true or not... the patch is so small just smaller then the top section of my thumb and Jack could have swallowed it whole...

my new patch is not only on my arm, it is taped on and an ace bandage over it..... I would have lost my mind forever...

Now I am paranoid because even if one falls off, he steps on it or it gets on him in anyway it will make him sick...   The only reason I didn't get rid of all the medicine is because they said it only fell off because I took it off and once off you can not reapply.. they said to flush down the toilet when I am done using because it is not safe to throw in garbage cans..

Really, really, really grateful I saw that in his bowl.. I threw all his food out and put new food down in a new bowl.. but OMD.

[Jennifer and Jack]

I have no idea I have such an adversion to controlled substances of any kind.. I am so opposed to them for me.... I dont 'think it is good for any RN to take pain medication on a regular basis.... and I am not ever going to give up the dream of going back to work... even in the situation I am in now.....

I have seen way to many nurses get into trouble with narcotics, innocently taking them as prescribed for some type of pain and then not being able to break the habit,and winding up stealing drugs.. When I was a new nurse I watched an RN that I highly respected up until that point reach in the omnicell and take a handful of morphine vials out and put them in her pocket.. She lost her job and most likely her ability to ever work with controlled substances again.. since then I have always refused to even take any type of pain medication besides advil...

Not that the above story has anything to do with anything at all that was in my original post.. hey but its' a story.

[Bonnie and Kona]

My husband is an environmental engineer and the damage medications flushed down the toilet is doing to fish and the entire Eco-system is alarming. I'm sad you were given that instruction.

[Doris]

In my city we have been told NOT to flush extra, unused meds.  They have collection days where we drive through a parking lot and hand it over.  they say the meds will get into the water system. 

 

I'm so glad that Jack is ok!!

[Jennifer and Jack]

Only in SC ... I dont' know what to do with this stuff, I don't want it in my house and I am now not going to flush it in the toilet.... I think I will just put it in the sharps box and be done with it and if I get fussed at, I get fussed at.

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

OMD thank goodness you saw something!  Glad Jack is ok and you can relax now!

[Jennifer and Jack]

He was totally fine always.. he didn't even get a bite of the food... He was like "WTD give that back" ......

[Bonnie and Kona]

I can just imagine the look he gave you! We've seen the videos, Jack Daniels, and you've got the WTD look going!

[Jennifer and Jack]

Jack is such a character ...I wish I could capture more of him...this little man tells me exactly what he wants with head nods...I say, "Jack show mommy" and he head nods the way he wants me to go...I swear I am going to capture it....he for sure knows how to tell me what he wants....I adore it...except when he wants a 3 am treat.

[Pat and Traveler]

Scary, Jennifer!  So glad you spotted the problem in time.  Now, you're doing everything right and Jack is fine, bless his fuzzy little heart...:) 

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

So scary! I'm sure happy you spotted it. But again, I have no doubts about you. You are a helicopter doodle mom, like most of us here, LOL. I'm sure if you keep the patch on the first time around, it will stay.

[Jennifer and Jack]

That's. what they said,..I am not sure why the nurse today told me to put it back on instead of putting a new one on...Jarka I am such a helicopter mom....partly because I am bored an partly because I am insanely protective of him...I usually stay with him while he eats...since being on raw he woods it down so fast...it takes a minute to eat...

I didn't have my glasses on and I am slightly groggy from the medicine....I need to get all my medications under better control....I have them,everywhere ...good wake up call and grateful that I got a wake up call instead of a tragedy.

[Camilla and Darwin]

How terrifying, glad you caught it!