Further news re anaesthetic drops to take home after injection.

[fed13]

Recently I had a review of my wet AMD and asked my very kind consultant (head man) if it was OK to take home that tiny vial of anaesthetic drops as these were absolutely perfect in managing my often very sever post injection pain. (It was the team themselves that gave me them in the first place). He seemed mildly surprised, and said yes of course it was fine.

At my next injection done by his colleague, whom I politely asked for the drops, was perfectly happy. No problem: I find these drops are the difference between night and day compared with the soothing drops also given out . These soothing drops, (Systane), just don't work for me!

I had a further injection 4 weeks later. It was the same colleague, and just as a reminder I asked her please could I have the little vial to take home. She remembered me and said Yes! But after my injection that went very well there was an Mexican stand off in the operating theatre. No vial of anaesthetic drops. The "hospital was not allowed to give them out". But but but..... I turned to the lovely lady who'd agreed to the drops, who now looked stony faced.....I said but you agreed....you gave me them last time...your boss agreed it in clinic!!

Of course yes it was the Jobsworths nurses putting their little oars in!!! I refused to leave the operating theatre without the vial and STOOD MY GROUND! I had to endure t a wall of blue scrubs (nurses a third of my age) in my face lecturing me about how I had to only use the drops today and throw the vial way afterwards!! Honestly I know this. How I hate bullying jobsworths that nay say what the consultant and his colleagues agree as to my treatment regime.

My apolgies for this long moany post: I know I've posted about this before, and had lots of support and advice. At my follow up review appointment I shall have to ask the consultant again re these drops. It seems the left hand doesn't know what the right hand does: the nurses and consultants are not singing from the same song sheet. I am going to have a word to PALS re this; and see if I should write a letter of complaint at these interfering nurses. Please dear fellow postersI'd lve to hear your thoughts and advice. I go to Macc general hospital, Cheshire.

[Hidden]

I support your view fed13. If a person has the mental capacity, physical dexterity, and sheer common sense to manage not damaging their already traumatised eye while it's further anaesthetized then they should be allowed to medicate their own pain. Only WE know what it feels like after all and pain/ misery thresholds are individual.

I don't think it should be routinely given out but where the consultant has agreed that should be upheld.

Communication between Depts is bad in my hospital too, I'm about to do a PALS letter myself.

Good luck.

[ironbrain]

As I understand it, there's a slight danger of damage to the cornea with the anaesthetic, particularly with tetracaine. If the injection goes really well, there's not really any need for painkillers, let alone anaesthetic. I wonder, except perhaps in the worst cases, whether Targinact might not be the safer option. I gather it's not supposed to be used for post-operative pain, but maybe a tiny injection doesn't count as post-operative.

I've got my appointment at MREH the day after tomorrow. Hoping it's stopped leaking again, of course, but no chance of anaesthetic drops or Targinact for me – I'll have been told before!

[Hidden]

Ah there is a legal problem here.

Any medications that you leave the hospital with have to be prescribed. Giving you 'a tiny vial of anaesthetic drops' to take home is illegal, so the "Of course yes it was the Jobsworths nurses putting their little oars in!!!" Are quite correct.

Even the soothing drops have to be prescribed and be labled with your details, and not given out by consultants/drs, a practice which has been challenged and upheld within our dept.

They could prescribe a vial for you..

[Ayralin in reply to Hidden]

Agree with this. I am a nurse, in the USA. The doctors are NEVER aware of the many ramifications of things they promise patients - be it meds, ways of doing something.....it is always the nurses who are held accountable. Especially handing out a medication that normally requires a prescription. A patient may be very capable of using these anaesthetic eye drops properly - but at least here in the USA, any problem or injury and they would turn right around and file legal charges, and also sue for great damages! And given the situation - they would win. And here, the nurse would lose her nursing license - for a long time, if not forever. Sorry, it is not worth the risk, and I have to support those nurses who refused to provide the drops. IF your eye doctor approves of you having them, he should write the script. So get a prescription and then you would avoid all the conflicts with other staff. {OK, will someone in the UK explain what is "Jobsworths" and also "PALS" ?? }

Linda

[ironbrain in reply to Ayralin]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jobsw...

nhs.uk/common-health-questi...

[Ayralin in reply to ironbrain]

That made me laugh!! the "jobsworth" wiki ....and I saw the Beatles movie "Help!" in a theater. And it does work: Because giving in to the request to provide the drops, here in the US, one could lose their job - even though it seems like a trivial situation! Thanks also for the PALS link - seems like a great patient resource. I hope you can get that script and put an end to all the bother, more importantly handle the pain you experience.

[fed13]

Thanks to you all especially eyesright and wheezyl. You'd think the consultants would know the procedure better than the nurses. I still think the nurses are jobsworths and should respect the consultants and the patients. These nurses seem more interested in the law than the poor patients' suffering!!

However it is OBVIUOS to me now from your vv helpful posts that the business of having a vial to take home needs to be sorted.

Last time I had a vvvvhelpful post, and I'm sorry I can't remember your name, from someone who got these vials prescribed from her/his GP. This may well be the way to go. I shall let you all know what transpires. Next stop PALS. I shall seek their advice and explain all and see what is the best thing to do.

Are we getting like America? I feel the nurses must fear litigation if they let me loose on these drops!!! xx to you all.

[Patjo]

Bully for you. You havemore nerve than I do.

[ironbrain]

In the UK, I would guess that anaesthetic drops will be classified drugs (CDs) – illegal to sell or supply or possess without holding a prescription. I suspect Targinact is a CD too. I've got some Neurontin (gabapentin) – not a CD, as far as I know – left over from an unsuccessful attempt to treat my RLS. It is prescribed for post-operative pain. So as long as I don't do more damage to myself walking into door jambs and missing the mug with boiling water (it has spatial judgment problems as a side effect) nor become unconscious during a syncope, maybe it's worth a try.

[orangesky]

Hello from Canada

The pain I feel from eyelea injection is horrible,I have complained many times ended up in emergency here the last time I have asked for iodine to be removed we will see what this time brings.

You can buy freezing lidocaine at Amazon and that is next on my list

[rosyG in reply to orangesky]

ask them to wash the eye with saline- it gets rid of the iodine- which you do need for safety for the actual injection

[fed12]

It was the iodine causing the pain. In the end even the aesthetic drops didn't help, and even caused pain themselves. Oh! The irony!. We solved the problem by using diluted iodine....result no pain! Many thanks to all concerned.