 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / February 2005Latest Vet Tech Journals
I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again I hate pharmacology............ I totally blew a quiz today in Clinical Procedures, cause I couldn't remember the all the properties of Benzodiazapines, Antocholinergics and Opioids; I put butorphanol down when I should have put buprenorphine and got my Thiazine derivatives all mixed up. AUGH!! Fortunately I wasn't the only one. And also my professor drops two quizzes. Gee, I think I'll be dropping this one. *sigh* Then today we started learning about barbiturates and cyclohexamines. Arooooooooo!!!!! And I have a lab report to write tonight about bandaging animals. hmph! But on the lighter side, I did manage to find a program kitty for our vet tech program. I saw her at the shelter yesterday and I just fell in love with her. Her name is Tinta, she's a 10 month old black DSH. She is SOOOOOO thin and sleek and she has a very long and thick tail. She has this cute crying like meow and she started headbutting me as soon as I opened the cage. I was sold. I adopted her today after she was spayed and brought her to school this afternoon. She was a little groggy since she had just been spayed that morning, but she seems to be getting along fine. She complained a little bit, but I bet that's because she was still sore from her surgery. Of course she needs to be dewormed with Panacur for the next three days so she may not like that. But I will be checking on her a lot, since I picked her out. So far so good. I hope everything works out with her. I'm also in charge of behavior enrichment for all the program animals. So I get to experiment and see what kind of toys she likes. I hope she likes catnip. Only time will tell at this point. We also have two dogs admitted into the program that are on loan from a student. So I get to play with them too. Okay, I should start my lab report on bandaging. I have to decipher my notes on bandaging paws, heads, ears and tails. Take care, Kristi > I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > and Opioids; I put butorphanol down when I should have put > buprenorphine and got my Thiazine derivatives all mixed up. AUGH!! I don't know if this will help as a study method, but consider thinking of drug classes in terms of the receptors they affect. Again, I don't know how deeply they go in VT school, as in the subreceptor types. Another way to think of benzodiazepines is as GABA-agonists. If you remember, from physiology, what GABA does, it can explain the class. In like manner, think of cholinergic receptors and what their effects are -- and what the effect is of blocking them with anticholinergics (or think acetylcholine receptor antagonists). Opioids are tricky, since you have agonists, agonist-antagonists, and antagonists, and at least three subreceptors. Still, it can be useful to draw a matrix of receptor versus molecular family. By family, remember that there are relatively few molecules that directly affect the receptor. Codeine, morphine and heroin, for example, all produce the same active metabolite. > Fortunately I wasn't the only one. And also my professor drops two > quizzes. Gee, I think I'll be dropping this one. *sigh* [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > Kristi Anticholinergics I know the premise behind them and how they block the parasympathetic nervous system. It's the little details about atropine; its pros and cons, when to use it, when not to use it, etc. GABA-agonists? Um, haven't heard that one. In my notes they are in the family of "Minor tranquilizers" and it include valium. Again it comes down to the details of when to use it, its side effects and stuff. Opioids, yes they are funky. There were a few questions about those, and I got mixed up on which where agonists, antagonists, etc. I also need to know which drugs can be reversed and with what. I need to know the adverse effects and what kind of effects to expect to occur. Time to break out the flash cards.... Thanks for the input. Kristi > Anticholinergics I know the premise behind them and how they block the > parasympathetic nervous system. It's the little details about > atropine; its pros and cons, when to use it, when not to use it, etc. A good way to remember drug interactions is to know what drugs have the opposite effect -- for example, cholinesterase inhibitors are mutually antagonistic with atropine. > GABA-agonists? Um, haven't heard that one. In my notes they are in > the family of "Minor tranquilizers" and it include valium. Very broadly speaking, the "minor tranquilizers" work on GABA and the "major tranquilizers" work on dopamine. >Again it > comes down to the details of when to use it, its side effects and > stuff. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an unusual neurotransmitter, as its effect tends to be emotionally calming, anticonvulsant and muscle relaxing (not paralyzing). Benzodiazepines increase the secretion of GABA. The major differences among benzodiazepines involve half-life. Chlordiazepoxide (Librium), which I think was the first to market, has a good deal of anticholinergic activity. Think in terms of the use of not atropine, but other anticholinergics for stomach irritability, and you'll see why Librium tends to be preferred, in people, for stress-related GI symptoms. There is a specific antidote for benzodiazepines, the monoclonal antibody flumazenil. There are specific indications for certain benzodiazepines in human medicine that you probably don't need to worry about, such as panic disorder. Some of the benzodiazepines are very useful as anticonvulsants -- lorazepam (Ativan) is probably the preferred IV drug for status epilepticus. Clonazepam (Klonepin) is a valuable oral anticonvulsant. Of course, suddenly withdrawing a benzodiazepine after long therapy can lead to convulsions, or at least increased risk. > Opioids, yes they are funky. There were a few questions about those, > and I got mixed up on which where agonists, antagonists, etc. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Kristi I'd imagine that you've figured out that I like pharmacology... yeah I kinda noticed..... :0) My mom was also a pharmacist for many years. The only Anticholinergics I need to know about are atropine and glycopyrrate. and some of the key points about benzodiazapines I need to know that they are good for antianxiety but provide no analgesic effect; it's a good anticonvulsant; and it also can be used as an appetite stimulant for cats. :) Since this is veternary medicine the applicaiton is a little different. But thanks for the input. Kristi [[Her name is Tinta, she's a 10 month old black DSH. She is SOOOOOO thin and sleek and she has a very long and thick tail. She has this cute crying like meow and she started headbutting me as soon as I opened the cage. I was sold.]] Awww! :o) Captain and Stanley are 10 months old. They say that April of 2004 was a great month to be born. ;o) As far as toys she might like: two out of two cats in this household like fishing-pole toys and fur-covered mousies. Other popular things include gallon-milk-bottle cap rings, empty toilet paper rolls, hollow plastic Easter eggs (the kind made of halves that separate so you can put candy inside), and a plastic spoon that I have no idea where it came from. It must have been beamed down from the Mothership, since neither DH nor I gave it to them. Stanley also likes to pounce on DH's and my feet, but I'm afraid there's no way to get Tinta to play with those. ;o) Fortunately, you'll probably be able to find some other feet a lot closer to home that Tinta can pounce on, if she likes. Spoil her a bit extra for me. :o) Donna, Captain, and Stanley I came in this morning and Tinta was VERY interested in the attention. She didn't like it when my classmate gave her the panacur, but she then started purring up a storm. After class, I spent some time bonding with her. She then tried to climb me like a tree and got me on my face. *sigh* This time it's below the other eye, but it's not as deep and fortunately not as noticable. But she was totally purring and even flopping on her back trying to get me to rub her tummy. AWWWWWWW!!!!! I think she's going to be just perfect. Today at work, Jen, my supervisor, took me into the breakroom to talk to me about some things. She informed me on my progress and made suggestions on how I can improve. And I got to give her feedback on how I felt looked over in my inexperience, and got to voice my feelings about two members of the staff that I don't always get along with. But in the middle of it, we suddenly both wrinkled our noses and then looked over to the corner. Pete the hospital cat was making a huge, smelly deposit. Yuck!! So we had to pause our conversation for a bit. But it was good for me that I got a chance to voice my opinions. Sometimes you're not sure what you can really say to the supervisor, especially if you don't want to shoot yourself in the foot. Then I gave a bath to Hope, Dr. S's bassett hound. She's old, deaf, but very sweet. I noticed that she had some skin flakes while I was bathing her, and when I was all done with her, walked her into treatment. Dr. S, said she looked good, and this is how the conversation went. "Dr. S, does Hope have a skin condition?" "Why, does she have one now?" (gulp) "Uh, well, I don't know, I just happened to noticed some, uh flakes. And I think its from her skin" "Really? Well I certainly hope it is, since flakes don't come anywhere else from skin." (I feel my cheeks getting red) "Where did you find it? what did it look like?" "I found it on her upper back mostly." "What color? Brown? White? Dry? Greasy?" "Brown flakes and they're kinda greasy. I also noticed a slight odor when I was drying her. I almost want to say it smells like seborrhea, but I don't know. "Well, you're right, it IS seborrhea. And by the way, yes I knew about it." (He smiles and I see my coworkers snicker a little) Hmph....... I hate it when he does that. :) But Dr. S. is notorious for suddenly throwing a question at us employees that are also vet tech students. He likes to keep us on our toes, which is a good thing, but it's no fun to suddenly be put on the spot and asked to remember something that you learned like last year. Sheesh! And there's so much information to have to remember. There are times when I'm trying to remember something from last semester and I can't, and I think "how on earth did I get an A in that class?" *sigh* Well no more school until next Tuesday. Time to study some more. Kristi > I came in this morning and Tinta was VERY interested in the attention. > She didn't like it when my classmate gave her the panacur, but she then [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > *sigh* This time it's below the other eye, but it's not as deep and > fortunately not as noticable. Time for a nail trim! :) >But she was totally purring and even > flopping on her back trying to get me to rub her tummy. AWWWWWWW!!!!! > > I think she's going to be just perfect. She sounds darling! > Today at work, Jen, my supervisor, took me into the breakroom to talk > to me about some things. She informed me on my progress and made [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Sometimes you're not sure what you can really say to the >supervisor, > especially if you don't want to shoot yourself in the foot. Definitely. My advice - take it or leave it - always voice your concerns as constructive criticisms as to how the *team* can work together more effectively. It's a balance between giving good input and becoming a whiner. Nobody likes a whiner. ;) > Then I gave a bath to Hope, Dr. S's bassett hound. She's old, deaf, > but very sweet. I noticed that she had some skin flakes while I was [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > to suddenly be put on the spot and asked to remember something that you > learned like last year. Sheesh! Oh, he's just pulling your leg - and that means he likes you! Sounds like he'd be a fun guy to work for. > And there's so much information to have to remember. There are times > when I'm trying to remember something from last semester and I can't, > and I think "how on earth did I get an A in that class?" LOL...it just gets more fun with time! :D > *sigh* Well no more school until next Tuesday. Time to study some > more. > > Kristi Sounds like you are doing great! I really enjoy reading your "journals". :) -L. >> I came in this morning and Tinta was VERY interested in the >> attention. She didn't like it when my classmate gave her the [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > together more effectively. It's a balance between giving good input > and becoming a whiner. Nobody likes a whiner. ;) True. But some supervisors aren't very good supervisors, either. Typical example of my former supervisor would be her asking me, "Is something going on with K?" "I don't know." "She's been doing xxx poorly lately and I know she knows better." See, I can't figure out why she would discuss another colleague's performance (or lack thereof) with me. She needed to have the conversation with K, not with me. Even if I did know if something were "going on" with her, it was probably told to me in confidence. But it's not like I was best buds with anyone in the department. I just didn't understand this sort of thing. She did it a lot. Jill <snip> > True. But some supervisors aren't very good supervisors, either. Typical > example of my former supervisor would be her asking me, "Is something going [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Jill Ugh - yeah, I hated that too. But there are also those supervisors who will try to get you to dish dirt on someone only to turn it around and use it against you. So you really have to be politically correct. -L. > <snip> > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > will try to get you to dish dirt on someone only to turn it around and > use it against you. So you really have to be politically correct. And just to confuse things, I've known managers that asked this sort of thing out of concern, especially to a friend of the other co-worker. I've been asked "is there something -- I may not need to know what -- going on with X so I should give him some space?" > And just to confuse things, I've known managers that asked this sort of > thing out of concern, especially to a friend of the other co-worker. > I've been asked "is there something -- I may not need to know what -- > going on with X so I should give him some space?" To add another level of confusion, sometimes a co-worker is the one asking inappropriate questions to or about someone - either maliciously or out of genuine concern.  SignatureCheryl > > And just to confuse things, I've known managers that asked this sort of > > thing out of concern, especially to a friend of the other co-worker. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > of > genuine concern. There are so many permutations, with friends as well as co-workers (not that the two categories can't overlap). I wish more doctors would talk to their patients, and review some reasonably expected side effects -- or the patients would study them well enough. Several friends take the anticonvulsant valproate for one of its other usages: it's extremely effective in bipolar and some unipolar depressions. It also can be very effective in pain caused by nerve damage. One of the side effects is that it can cause hands to shake. I first noticed this in a friend, whom I saw staring, frightened, at his hands. He is in his late fifties, and I saw the fear in his eyes. Suddenly, I had an intuition. "Are you by any chance worried that you are getting Parkinson's Disease?" The Name That Could Not Be Said was out. He admitted that he was. Very luckily, he kept his prescriptions on the kitchen counter, and I knew he was taking valproate. I told him that before he assumed that, he needed to talk to his doctor about whether it was a drug side effect. Unless one is asthmatic, the tremor is usually very controllable with a low-dose of a beta blocker. The doctor never thought to ask if his hands were shaking, and he never mentioned it to the doctor. I've now seen this in four friends, and all but one asthmatic now have the tremor completely under control. There have been other things that I've spotted this way. Physician friends, better diagnosticians than I am, tell me they often have the expsrience of diagnosing a problem in a stranger with a single glance -- and being reasonably sure it's untreated. When does one say anything? Cheryl wrote: > To add another level of confusion, sometimes a co-worker is the one asking > inappropriate questions to or about someone - either maliciously or out of > genuine concern. I once worked with a woman whom I suspect had some major medical problem. She was bone-thin and had a wig on. She also seemed perpetually severely depressed and had a hard time coping with her job, couldn't take constructive criticism, etc. I was the supervisor of the "back end" of the animal hospital ("Team Leader") and this woman was supposed to come to me for direction, and I was supposed to supervise her work, although I had absolutely *no* authority over her - couldn't discipline, fire, etc. Any time I asked her to do something or guided her work in any way, she became extremely defensive and sullen - it was almost impossible to work with her. I often wanted to ask our boss what was up with her since she acted in such a strange manner, but I didn't want to ask inappropriate questions. In the end I tried to treat her with compassion because *somethintg* was obviously up, but it didn't seem to make any difference to her. She acted as if she hated the world. It was sad, really. -L. I came in this morning and Tinta was VERY interested in the attention. She didn't like it when my classmate gave her the panacur, but she then started purring up a storm. After class, I spent some time bonding with her. She then tried to climb me like a tree and got me on my face. *sigh* This time it's below the other eye, but it's not as deep and fortunately not as noticable. But she was totally purring and even flopping on her back trying to get me to rub her tummy. AWWWWWWW!!!!! I think she's going to be just perfect. Today at work, Jen, my supervisor, took me into the breakroom to talk to me about some things. She informed me on my progress and made suggestions on how I can improve. And I got to give her feedback on how I felt looked over in my inexperience, and got to voice my feelings about two members of the staff that I don't always get along with. But in the middle of it, we suddenly both wrinkled our noses and then looked over to the corner. Pete the hospital cat was making a huge, smelly deposit. Yuck!! So we had to pause our conversation for a bit. But it was good for me that I got a chance to voice my opinions. Sometimes you're not sure what you can really say to the supervisor, especially if you don't want to shoot yourself in the foot. Then I gave a bath to Hope, Dr. S's bassett hound. She's old, deaf, but very sweet. I noticed that she had some skin flakes while I was bathing her, and when I was all done with her, walked her into treatment. Dr. S, said she looked good, and this is how the conversation went. "Dr. S, does Hope have a skin condition?" "Why, does she have one now?" (gulp) "Uh, well, I don't know, I just happened to noticed some, uh flakes. And I think its from her skin" "Really? Well I certainly hope it is, since flakes don't come anywhere else from skin." (I feel my cheeks getting red) "Where did you find it? what did it look like?" "I found it on her upper back mostly." "What color? Brown? White? Dry? Greasy?" "Brown flakes and they're kinda greasy. I also noticed a slight odor when I was drying her. I almost want to say it smells like seborrhea, but I don't know. "Well, you're right, it IS seborrhea. And by the way, yes I knew about it." (He smiles and I see my coworkers snicker a little) Hmph....... I hate it when he does that. :) But Dr. S. is notorious for suddenly throwing a question at us employees that are also vet tech students. He likes to keep us on our toes, which is a good thing, but it's no fun to suddenly be put on the spot and asked to remember something that you learned like last year. Sheesh! And there's so much information to have to remember. There are times when I'm trying to remember something from last semester and I can't, and I think "how on earth did I get an A in that class?" *sigh* Well no more school until next Tuesday. Time to study some more. Kristi |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.