The mice ate my meds!

I did have all my narcotics stolen from a checked bag. To open that suitcase & find them all gone was a complete panic. I immediately called the airlines - no resolution because all bags are now checked by TSA - a completely diffrent company. Had to go cold turkey untill I could get refills.

Cary

Frances,
If I'm reading right you just lost one day's worth of the meds, right? I'm also trying to remember - you just had these prescribed, so you've not had them that long, right? (this is all more for my memory than you!) Because if you can tough it through a day, or maybe just take one (I don't know about the withdrawal issues from these - maybe call your pharmacist?) maybe you'll be ok. At least the whole batch isn't gone. Can they be kept in the refrigerator? That may be the safest place.

I live in the country and since I no longer have a cat you bet I occasionally get mice. Won't go into any details about what I do but it's not very Buddhist. But if it's only a day, try to take some breaths and relax a bit. The fact the mice died....well, they are very tiny compared to the size of our bodies so they probably overdosed quite quicklly!. They could also have had something stuck in their throat (i'm assuming mice have a throat....oh, I don't want to even go there). That doens't mean you are going to die. That just evidence of why we need to stay within prescribed doses. There are reasons! But you aren't going to die from them or your doc would never have prescribed them.

I have to say I am biting my tongue a bit. I'm not sure I'd call my doc to tell him/her this story. Maybe later, in person, when I wasn't requesting additional meds, I might mention what happened so he/she could warn others to keep them secured.

PaLady

You can always take your PM the dead mice; although I'm sure his malpractice insurer will have to find a new way to document such a thing.

I am agreeing on the overdose bit - they probably went into respiratory arrest and did not suffer kidney / liver damage. Most opioids do not damage those organs; when death occurs it is usually because it stops our mechanism that tells us to breath. I think cardiac issues come into play too but am not sure if the depressed breathing causes the hearth irregularities or vice versa. Because the liver and kidney are not damaged by opioids like they are with other non-narcotic pain killers (like NSAIDs and tylenol) they are considered safer for long term use (medically that is, not based on the social definition of "safe") and theoretically can be given at very high doses; the only limitation is the point of causing respiratory insufficiency is what I read. And for many people who need high doses of narcotic this can be overcome by careful dose escalation - which is why it is very important to follow the dosing recommended for you only and not to use anyone else's dose as a means to determine your own: what may be perfectly safe for you may end up causing me to go into respiratory arrest.

If your prescriber has warned you about kidney and liver damage from your pain pills it probably means that your pills have tylenol or aspirin (or other NSAID) compounded with the narcotic. It is those elements that affect our abdominal organs and there are daily caps to what we can take (for example 4 gms of tylenol a day for short term use; 2 gms of tylenol a day for long term use). Many GI docs recommend that chronic pain med users only use the "pure" forms of the narcotic and avoid the combination - but that is a disagreement between specialties (some docs believe that combination pain killers enhance the effect of pain relief).

I found out the hard way that mice have an enormous sweet tooth - they once got into a christmas stocking full of chocolate lollipops and boxed truffles and ate every last speck of chocolate. I could hear them rustling in the night but couldn't figure out what was going on. And this is in a house full of cats!! (three that lived inside that we adopted; three that lived outside that adopted us). From my experience, your story does not sound suspicious at all; it is very plausible and if you need to explain to your PM doc at some point I don't think you should be doubted. You may generate a chuckle - a new version of the "my dog ate it" story!

Hope it works out for you.

Thanks for all the support & advice.

Patti,
I went to my PM's office last night. He agreed that the mice died because they couldn't breathe. He thought it was the funniest story he'd ever heard. He said he & his nurses had been having a rough day & that story made it better. He teased that that would be a fun experiment to try just to watch the mice die a "nice, happy death". He thought it seemed the most humane way to get rid of them (crazy anesthesiologists thinking that unconsciousness is bliss. I don't think I'll ever understand them ;)

My PM switched me to Fentora to avoid issues with the evil insurance people, so everything was taken care of. I've still decided that I want to cut down on my pain meds & my doc is supporting me on this, but he told me not to worry.

Thanks again to everyone who responded to my post. I was really stressed out & wasn't even going to talk to my doc about what happened, but I'm glad I was talked into it. Things are much better now -- got something for the withdrawal plus some more pain meds. Oh happy day!

frances

Hey I've dropped a few on the floor, but luckily I have been able to grab them before Remi was able to eat it. I am glad your doctor found it a funny story and that everything went well with the doctor.

My husband had a bottle of darvocet once for a neck injury. It was on the dining room table, closed, with the child proof lid. We can only guess that the cat knocked the bottle on the floor and the dog took it to her bed and got the cover off. Luckily she only licked the coating off the pills and didn't swallow any!! And even more lucky, my husband really didn't need the pain meds any more at that point.

This is off topic of pain meds but I had a dog that died a yr ago because she loved to get on my counters and eat anything she could get her paws on so I always made sure I never left any food out. 

Well one day I had a headache and took some advil gel caps for it put the lid on and put it on the counter and left for work didnt even think anything about it.  Came home later that night and Cassie has chewed through the bottle and had ate the whole bottle of ADVIL  and it was full.

Took her to emer. vet and there was nothing they could do it had already started to shut down her kidneys. Had to have her put down.  Really sad my younger son still thinks it was my fault and that I killed the dog. 

With animals you just never know they do the oddest things and will eat anything sometimes who would have thought a dog would eat Advil.

Still miss her alot and fell responsible even though I had no idea alwful thing to live with just a heads up!

awwwww that is so sad ladyred! Yes our four-legged friends are at a huge risk by us taking medications. We have no problem getting Remington to take his asprin or medication and I am so afraid that one day he will get a hold of one of my pain meds and that is why I try hard to keep them away from him. Its sad to think that something we need for our pain would be so harmful to our dogs and cats and that they would not have too much problems getting to them.

Which is where my safe comes into play! Since they are locked up in there I have had no worries about Remi getting to them and am much more careful with making sure that none fall on the floor. It only takes one to kill our animals.

hugssss red I am saddened that you lost your dog.


Scarred

Lara,
I'll add my sympathies about the loss of your dog. It wasn't your fault, but I can understand how painful that must have been for you! Sometimes things just happen to us and to our pets.

PaLady

Lara,
The great thing about this forum is that it usually works both ways. We give support and we receive it. And you've already given some of us a lift with your doctor story!

PaLady

I too am sorry about what happened to the end of your monthly supply.
I treat my pain meds like I do my diamonds. I do not leave them out for anything or anyone to steal/eat.
I hope you do not have to go through withdrawal. If you do I would consider going to the ER.
My treating doctor now told me that even his best of friends that he grew up with hit him up for pain meds. Out of respect to your prescribing doctor I would not request an early refill. I think that they have a lot of heat on them. From what my doctor told me, he said he just cant ever ever ever refill me early. As when they do that they have to explain it to their partner's. My doctor told me he had one patient who said the dog eat them, and he didn't refill. One thing I have learned is we can't die from chronic pain, loose our minds yes but not die.
Again sorry about this stresser.
Cloe