Back when I was a baby nurse, giving Narcan used to be fun. Kind of fun to watch the come to Jesus moment and the buzzkill. Anymore it sucks, it just means I've got to put up with their shit afterwards.

The way they look at it you mugged them and took their high.

Have an IRS agent audit them after they wake up.

I can imagine. I’d hate to deal with their nonsense afterwards.

Silicone spray comes with a little spray nozzle taped to the side.
Maybe Narcan can tape nightsticks for you...

We used to give it in 0.2mg increments, just to get them breathing. Was very frowned upon to actually wake them up.

Now slamming 2 to 4 milligrams is all the rage, and bringing them immediately back to the world.

I remember an old-head medic telling me once, "They are not suffering from a narcan deficiency. They are suffering from an oxygen deficiency. So give them just enough narcan to fix the oxygen problem".

Personally not a fan of the "narcan them until they are fighting" philosophy.

Is there no way to administer it via enema?

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
Is there no way to administer it via enema?

Would you really want to do that?

Ask them to sign a Consent To Treatment form before you administer. Problem solved.

Mom was a nurse's aid in a Vet's hospital for a long long time.

it wasn't uncommon for her to help resuscitate a half a dozen men per month ( this was in the 60's-70's )

6 times a year , well after the procedure, a patient would ask her or her co-workers would ask her why?
why did you bring me back?

more than a half dozen patient's told her that they watched them working, but they were not in pain anymore

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
We used to give it in 0.2mg increments, just to get them breathing. Was very frowned upon to actually wake them up.

Now slamming 2 to 4 milligrams is all the rage, and bringing them immediately back to the world.

I remember an old-head medic telling me once, "They are not suffering from a narcan deficiency. They are suffering from an oxygen deficiency. So give them just enough narcan to fix the oxygen problem".

Personally not a fan of the "narcan them until they are fighting" philosophy.

Much Wisdom in those words.

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:
Ask them to sign a Consent To Treatment form before you administer. Problem solved.

I like that.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
We used to give it in 0.2mg increments, just to get them breathing. Was very frowned upon to actually wake them up.

Now slamming 2 to 4 milligrams is all the rage, and bringing them immediately back to the world.

I remember an old-head medic telling me once, "They are not suffering from a narcan deficiency. They are suffering from an oxygen deficiency. So give them just enough narcan to fix the oxygen problem".

Personally not a fan of the "narcan them until they are fighting" philosophy.

I agree with you, but around here 2-4mg doesn't work anymore. We have ones that are needing 10-14mg to wake up or start breathing again.

Administer it to their shirt on accident? Oops.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
Personally not a fan of the "narcan them until they are fighting" philosophy.

Agree totally. On known drug overdoses we typically start at .2 and increase by .2 accordingly, enough to keep them breathing. Sometimes the .2 is enough to break them out and turn them into an instant flaming asshole. There are instances where we have, "Slammed" given a non-responsive patient with unknown circumstances. Then there's also the times that EMS decides to leave us a present as they slam it coming in through the door...

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
We used to give it in 0.2mg increments, just to get them breathing. Was very frowned upon to actually wake them up.

Now slamming 2 to 4 milligrams is all the rage, and bringing them immediately back to the world.

I remember an old-head medic telling me once, "They are not suffering from a narcan deficiency. They are suffering from an oxygen deficiency. So give them just enough narcan to fix the oxygen problem".

Personally not a fan of the "narcan them until they are fighting" philosophy.

Yes indeed! And take the time to start and IV rather than this intranasal BS. That way the dose can be controlled enough to restore adequate breathing and nothing more. Instant asshole - just add Narcan

The other nonsense I'm seeing these days is slamming them with 4, 8 & 12 or more intranasal by first responders within 5 minutes. By the time I (the paramedic) get there I have to deal with a puke machine. I've also seen 1 case of vomit aspiration that I had to manage because of the puking from the overzealous Narcan administration and I've had to deal with two cases where the patient was having withdrawal because of the amount of Narac that was given.

But hey, "we're saving lives."

When you awaken an opiod overdose and they become an asshole tell them to STFU or you'll give them an injection that lasts a week.

I hate it too, morally against it, but work forced it on us. I generally put them in a recoveryish position and cuff them behind their backfirst. If rescue hasn’t made it on scene then I’ll administer.

It doesn’t work well if you put it in their ear... ;-0

I know nothing about medical stuff.

But it's sad that NARCAN has become a household word that even I am aware of.

How did this happen?