We were dispatched to a possible diabetic problem. On the way across town dispatch advises us the patient has been feeling dizzy for the past few days. We arrive to find an adult daughter at the door who directed us to her mother who was on the couch. The patient was alert with normal breathing. As we continued to asses the patient we found her blood glucose level was slightly high but not concerning, she had some slurred speech and she had a decreased reaction time. Her vital sighs were in normal range and her heart rhythm was regular and normal, she was assessed for a possible stroke with no apparent indicators. The patient stated she was only on one medication for her heart. As I interviewed the daughter I began looking around my immediate area and found a prescription medication bottle that was for a popular sleeping pill, prescribed and filled only 18 days ago with 30 pills and was now empty. The patent was questioned about the bottle and she said she was addicted to them before so she doesn't take them now and only flushes them down the toilet. OK. She was walked down the stairs like a drunk woman and packaged on the cot for transport to the hospital. An IV was established on the way to the hospital and the patient was delivered to the emergency room without any complications.
It's a sad commentary for a woman with an addiction to prescription drugs, we will probably transport her again.
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1 comments:
Isn't that sad? I met a lot of people like that when i worked at the women's shelter. we had to watch for that, and we had to watch for them trying to sell their meds to others who had an addiction.
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