HIV Medication Interactions and Anesthesia

[Guest guest]

Just a heads up folks. I have been scheduled twice now for a colonoscopy.

Twice I have had to cancel because * I *, not any doctor or nurse checked the

interactions with my meds against the anesthesia that is typically used for this

procedure.

I get my care at BU Medical in Boston MA, but I doubt people are more vigilant

anywhere else. so as long as you still have your faculties, I think that it's on

you to try to keep track of this stuff until they eventually kill you by

mistake.

I still have this ( seeminly odd to doctors and nurses ) notion that I am the

consumer, and that since I am paying for this treatment, I expect them to do

their jobs. The automated interactions checker takes just seconds to run.

When I got ticked off with my doctor about this potentially pretty harmful

negligence, he seemed flustered and said that he doubted that the interaction

would even show up on the hospital's interaction checker software. Of course,

it does show up. No one ever bothered to check.

I take Norvir, Reyataz and Epzicom. There are 2 drugs typically used to sedate

a patient during a colonoscopy. They are, Fentanyl ( sp ? ) and Versed.

Reyataz interacts with Versed. I also take an MAO inhibitor which interacts

with both of them. None of this was ever checked ; no apology or explanation

ever given.

When it comes to stuff, I have concluded that BU Medical is probably no worse

than anywhere else when it comes to interaction checking. We are on our own

until we become too sick or senile to stay on top of it. At which point, some

hospital employee will harm or kill you by mistake. /

Try to stay on top of your interactions as long as you are able to. When they

eventually figure out what to sedate me with so that I can have this procedure,

I will be writing my interactions on my back in magic marker and photographing

it.

good luck and godspeed.

Phil