Sunday, August 28, 2011

Benadryl and Cogentin Seekers?

What the hell. I'm just very curious to see if this happens anywhere else. For the last couple of months, we have had several people- one of them more than once- check in for dystonic reactions. Except, not real dystonic reactions, but really poorly faked dystonic reactions.
I've gathered that IV Benadryl delivers the same "rush" as you might get with narcotics, but other than this, I'm trying to figure out why so many people are doing this now.
Has anyone else ever seen this? Am I crazy for trying to figure out the rationale?

26 comments:

  1. As a patient required to take 50mg IM benadryl TID, I can attest to the fact that the side effects are far from pleasant and don't mimic the feel of opioid narcotics (which I also take).

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  2. Weird, huh ?~! Who knows what goes in the minds of the populace around “getting high”; the rules of that game change sometime son an hourly basis. Hope you are able to figure it out and help these poor goons.

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  3. Maybe they are just trying to use up the supply and cause a shortage. I bet they work for a black-market drug company who price gorges when there is a shortage!

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  4. I once had a patient (on inpatient psych unit, she had both mental illness and substance abuse issues)who tried to fake EPS by shoving a hairbrush in her mouth the coming to ask for IM Benadryl for her swollen , drooling mouth. I guess for some people any alteration in mental status is seen as a good thing.

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  6. Maybe since Benadryl isn't a narc, they think that they'll be more likely to get it?

    We'd have a few phenergan + benadryl seekers (mostly people faking cyclical vomiting) that would come in. Had a triage nurse who'd been an ER nurse for 50+ years say that, in her experience, IV benadryl is one of the most abused drugs by medical personnel. So who knows?

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  7. I had a benadryl seeker more than 20 years ago who would fake his EPS and get bystanders to call an ambulance. The treatment was to step on his foot and get him to turn his head the other way.

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  8. Yeah, we've seen the Benadryl and Phenergan seekers. Do 'em a favor and throw in a couple of mg's of Haldol and you'll have yourself a mighty happy pt.

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  9. I don't know. I had a reaction to anesthesia and couldn't stop itching last year so the nurse offered me benadryl. I said 'sure' since I was familiar with the OTC tablets and the only side effect I had ever had was a little drowsiness.

    All I can say is Whoa. I will have to be in bad shape before I ever ask for IV benadryl again. My husband and friend thought it was hilarious as I tried to talk and kept slurring and falling asleep and waking up and falling asleep in the middle of a conversation I was apparently having with myself. Not fun IMO, but considering what some people take recreationally I suppose it would be as good or better than huffing paint.

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  10. Ditto on the Benadryl and Phenergan seekers. Now that Zofran is in wide use and there's that black box warning, I think there aren't as many Phenergan peeps, but it was really pervasive when I first started in ER. There are a couple frequent flyers who actually had to go to drug rehab for Benadryl abuse.

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  11. i see no point to wanting the hospital strength benedryl. some people may like it but i would much rather be awake and aware of wtf i'm saying and not stumbling around like i'm drunk. i wish people wouldn't abuse or assault you. i never wish to have to take iv benedryl again. however i am glad it works when needed since it's not fun when you find an allergy to yet another antibiotic.

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  12. We see tons of Benadryl seekers. They want it with their Dilaudid as a chaser. The ony thing I can figure is that it potentiates the narcs. I usually hear, oh that Dilaudid made me itch, I usually get Benadryl with it. My favorite response is, "well if the Dilaudid makes you itch then I'm not comfortable giving it to you, too close to an allergic reaction".

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    1. oh my, thats horrible. :O ...just give them the dilaudud/benadryl, whats it to you?

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  13. so people have severe itching problems and the iv benedryl helps

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  14. Any anti-histamine potentiates the effect of opiates/opioids.

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  15. Benadryl mocks Cogentin

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  16. Wow....people actually need Dilaudid and it does make you itch and nausea and need benadryl and phenergan with it...So, it's nice to know how nurses think of the patients who need that medicine. And, you wonder why those patients are rude and hostile towards you nurse. Smh!!! I'm offended!!!

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    1. Wowzer, since you're so intent on commenting on this nearly two year old post, sure. Yup, I'm a nurse, and thus am aware that opiates make you itch. This post is about an entirely different topic, which is people who have "dystonic reactions" that spontaneously resolve when the nurse walks out of the room and the patients thinks the nurse can't hear them talking on their cellphone. If you're going to get butthurt, at least make sure you're butthurt about the right subject. I have no doubt you probably need your benadryl with your dilaudid, but maybe you should cut back or at least stay off the internet until you're no longer under the influence of either.
      Oh, and people do fake all kinds of conditions for drugs. Most people aren't faking, but if you don't believe it happens, I invite you to volunteer at any ER anywhere for a day at anytime. Thanks.

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  17. As a nurse I have seen other nurses take it and abuse it because it is not a "counted" drug. They were caught later, much later but they experienced highs. Very sad.

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  18. March 25, 2013
    Many more patients than you would believe love IV benadryl because of the 'rush' and because it potentiates the opioid affect.
    Here's a phrase rightout of the physician/pharmacist book:
    "Some antihistamines such as diphenhydramine can "increase" the rush..."
    And for the audience:
    Unless you are a nurse or medical personel, you have no idea of the excuses, reasons, etc people use just to get a 'high' nor of the abuse that these patients put us through.
    Sharen

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  19. I truly hope that you get the meds you need not want. I'm not a drug abuser but sometimes I wonder where people get the idea that it's okay to suffer because benidryl has made its way to be a bad drug. Come on people who really need benidryl because of their conditions of having the drug are miss treated because if your going to judge a person you should judge the person who invented Benadryl!!! I think about how sick patients suffer from abusing benidryl why make it in the first. Its bs that nurses and doctors judge their patient all the time. If you see someone differently why be a health hero! F@@@@ don't be a doctor if your going to judge me. Why do you care be a lawyer or judge if you think a sick patient is suffering because you think he's abusing Benadryl!!!

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    1. Yeah. I hope you get the meds you need too, because it appears you've been off them for some time now.

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    2. I work in Miami and have had a few pts get scripts for 2mg Dilaudid Q3. They demand and get "new nurses" if we don't call and talk physician into writing for the Dilaudid to be timed with the Benedryl IV.

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  20. As someone that has been chronically ill for the last 23years with multiple diagnosis some of witch include, cancer,a brain tumor, chronic aspiration pneumonia, chronic lung dysfunction, acute kidney failure, septicemia, epilepsy, asthma, digestive track failure, Dysautonomia, severe Gastroparesis, neuropathy, Fibro, just to name a few,i have a g tube i vent my stomach with,aj tube for back up feeds,i have to keep some kind of central line, at the moment i have a double lumen tunnel Hickman, witch i use for TPN, blood work i get weekly, and IV medications i get on a daily bases along with IV fluids and anything else i may need,i have a permanent trach and stay on oxygen,i have to use my wheelchair whenever i leave the house, and thats just a small part of my medical history,i know as much as anyone else that these drugs are abused, However.....i highly believe that the medical community looks at everyone the same,o sense 10 of my patience today were drug seeking, the next person must be doing the same and it's extremely unfair to us patience that really do need these drugs to help with whatever flare up or crises they may be in, yes i do get IV dilaudid along with IV benadryl and IV Zofran, despite what others may think about me or what i choose to take to relieve the symptoms i am having at the time, those are the meds that work, and after being sick for over 20 years once you find a med or a condemnation of meds that work, that's what you take, it's very hurtful to be looked down on by nurses that think you're drug seeking, when infact those are the only meds that give you relief and 98% of the time, the nurses and doctors that are thinking this INFACT HAVE NEVER REALLY BEEN SICK,i have allergies to a couple different things and have to be pre_medicated with IV benadryl before the test, JUST BECAUSE THERE ARE ALOT OF DRUG SEEKERS OUT THERE DOESN'T MEAN WE ALL ARE, EACH PATIENT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT WITH A BLANK SLATE, BECAUSE EVERY BODY IS DIFFERENT AND IT'S NOT RIGHT TO GROUP US ALL TOGETHER, AND JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE GLANCED THROUGH A PATIENCE HISTORY DOESN'T MEAN THEY HAVE ANY RIGHT TO JUDGE THEM...... I JUST ASK THAT THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY REALLY LOOK AT EACH PATIENT WITH A BLANK SLATE!......(((Thank You)))

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    1. I totally 100% agree! I have been a chronic pain pt for 10 yrs due to a medical accident and I feel horrible and even cry sometimes when I feel judged by someone who I go to for help. I was only 19 when I got sick and it feels bad enough being sick, let alone have people look down on you for god forbid, needing a medicine or two. I know, some folks do abuse drugs, but not all. Us patients, are people too. The same way you hurt if you fall, or get a paper cut, we do too... But we are in worse situations than you. We try to deal, day by day, with pains and all. For all we been through already, the least we need is for our doctors and nurses to judge us and group us all the same. We are all individuals... We are people too. Please learn to respect us a little more. God bless all.

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  21. Not sure how a post about anti psychotics and anti histamines is still such a beacon for the people who NEED DILAUDID WHY ARE YOU JUDGING ME crowd, but holy shit y'all. Please re-read the post using your critical thinking skills and head on over to lol cats if you're this easily offended about a subject that has zero pertinence to your particular situation.

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