I just want to say thanks to everyone for the ventilator conversation in the last thread. It is really depressing but I was somewhat, uh relieved for lack of a better term, to see that you all were discussing this bc at that very moment I was having the same conversation with my family. I’m afraid one of them who is undergoing chemo MAY have been exposed during a hospital treatment recently so they are now in isolation, etc. Anyway too much to talk about atm and highly personal and distressing but thanks everyone for being here.
ETA:
@mickey2942 we also had the same discussion you referred to. We decided this member can’t just stay at home and die, even though that’s what they want, bc it’s too much for the other relatives in the house to watch them gasp for air, etc., cross exposure, etc. Nutshell. So anyway the decision was made to seek hospitalization and die there and say bye via Facebook or whatever if it happens. This member also said there’s no reason for family to fly from out of state bc that is risky and also there’s no point because you can’t go in to see them anyway. So we will plan to have a ceremony, etc after it happens IF it happens. We are accepting that chances are slim this family member will survive due to their age and serious health conditions with cancer and chemo, if they do contract the virus.
I wanted to add this info to the ventilation conversation.
There is a SHORTAGE in our country of the drugs/medications people need to be on a ventilator. Hopefully, every hospital has received these much needed drugs by now.
Nobody can tolerate being ventilated without sedation. Covid-19 patients are put into a medically induced coma before being placed on a ventilator, so they do not suffer.
"Hospitals are in dire need of injectable fentanyl, used to safely place patients on ventilators and keep patients sedated so their lungs can heal. The demand for fentanyl, hydromorphone and morphine spiked 67% in March compared to January, according to Vizient, Inc, which helps healthcare providers manage their supply chains. At the same time, the fill rate for Vizient members had dropped to 73% by March 25."
The DEA placed restrictions on the production of injectables, as well as oral prescription opioids. There was a shortage well before the Coronavirus pandemic.
The groups, including the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and Association for Clinical Oncology had to ask the DEA to up the manufacturing of the drugs that patients need while on a ventilator.
A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE
Dr. Michael Ganio, director of pharmacy practice and quality at ASHP, said doctors will be forced to use different and less common combinations of sedatives if shortages continue to mount. That increases the risk of medical errors, he said.
The DEA last week agreed to relax inventory controls for manufacturers, allowing them to produce and store more than 65% of their annual quota throughout the duration of the emergency.
"This exception does not authorize any manufacturer to exceed his previously established annual manufacturing quota," the DEA wrote.
Patients may receive paralyzing drugs, in addition to sedatives, to increase the ventilator’s effectiveness. If the sedatives are not effective, a patient could potentially gain consciousness but be unable to alert medical staff.
https://www.thedoctorpatientforum.com/images/Downloads/GRD-DEA-Letter-CII_1.pdf
Exclusive: Opioid supply crunch for U.S. coronavirus patients prompts appeal to relax limits
Health groups urge feds to relax opioid production limits amid coronavirus
ASHP STATEMENT ON THE PREVENTING DRUG SHORTAGES ACT-ASHP
IMO
Inserting the tube without sedating patients. Keeping patients comatose. I hope this did NOT happened to anyone, that they had the drugs needed
It is upsetting, everything that led to a drug shortage. Why it happened to begin with, to the point the DEA placed quotas on manufacturing opioids. Many people can't get their pain medications filled at pharmacies. It is getting more difficult, they are just not in stock anymore. I have been following this for three years. It is a whole other subject
Then there is the misinterpreted 2016 CDC Opioid Prescribing guidelines...
Prayers
@beatrixpotter and
@margarita25 for your family members.
Send it to him in your mind. 
