KatBurglar
Greenlighter
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2024
- Messages
- 1
I apologize of the long introduction but I believe it set a tone for what follows.
I have Katburglar under my care for something like 20 years. Released from the US Army under an honorable discharge due to stress fractures in both feet, left foot a bit worst than the right but both rated for 10% disability which under the "funny" math the VA does this equates to 20% total. It might look like a simple addition but it is not. My Kat is no dummy as he scored a 99% on the ASVAB and earned a BS in Electricral an computer engineering, doing well enough to get advanced rank to E-4. I was proud of my Kat. Having scored high enough on the foreign language aptitude batterie to have his pick at language offered at the school if his injury had not interrupted. Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. Generally good candidated for OCS or VWOFT if there were openings at the time. Anything holding my kat back was a mild case of flat feet, a bit of upper arm weakness (someghing a few more pull ups would likelly rectify), a bit of clustrofobia, a and wee bit of fear of heights, bothlikley can be beaten out of him. Let's roll back in time a bit.
During his time in basic training my Kat developed stress fractures in both feet. Mildly pianful at first, treated with Motrin (as I recall) which didn't do bunch but upset the stomach. Time passed, Kat missed too much training to graduate with the rest of the class and was shifted off to another company. At this point came a combination of an upper respiratory infection and a muscle spasm. The URI was just being in a group of unfamiliar people. The mucsle spasm was having to perform order of arms in a manner not made for someone as tall as my Kat. My Kat has his first introduction to cold medicine with codeine and some sort of muscle relaxant.
If I'm found by some nurse, drill sergreant, or other power that be it was assumed my Kat was out because of codeine, not the muscle relaxer. My Kat complained about the muscle relaxer leaving him droswy in the day and was told my Kat didn't have to take it. My Kat kept using the codeine cold medicine as long as the prescription lasted for some restful sleep. The codeine helped my Kat with the foot pain too but that was not why the codeine was prescribed.
After some time in restricted duty it became clear my Kay was not likely to recover his stress fractures soon enough to gratuate any time soon and the Kat was processed out. After a bit of down time in my brother's besement my Kat was processed into the local VA medical center. Treatment started with much the same as in basic training, enough Motrin to kill a horse. I was convinced then to try giving my cat something else, something that won't eat up his stomach. The Kat was offered Tramadol. What is Tramadol? Apparently just like codeine but better. But it is not better. It has a bad habit of keeping kats awake all night. This was at first thought to to be a mild side effect so by gving more to my the more alert he was. The "nice" part of this was Kat was as calm and pain free as cold be. Once the effect wore off Kat was in no condition to go to work.
So came GABApentin to replace this nonsense. That lead the Kat to slowly experience some pain relief but also a slowly fading from any attachment to work, friends, family, hobbies, and just life in general. Kat did thinks we felt necessary to life but not much more. If given a task then it might be completed. All the while the sideffect of GAPApenticn would creep in as a rough voice. At first Kat's voice could be dismissed as a dry throat. As time went on it became worse and those around him were confused that Kat had caught Laryngitis. Kat say a physician about the Laryngitis and flat outplainly stated the drugs weren't the case but seemed quite disinterested in finding any other case. Since the GABApentine did little to ressolve the pain and recreating a vary visible side effect that was impacting his work that KAT stopped taking the drug, in spite of the advice of the prescriber.
Next in line was amitriptyline. That did nothing for my Kat. With that dispensed wih quikcly can nortriptyline. the same bullshiitt by a differnent name. If these people weren't at least going to treat my Kat's pain then at least they could treat his sleep. They were to offer a small dose of oxycodone and hydroxyzine o my Kat. This was after an explicitic request for bnenedryl. I had my suspecicions with hydroyzine has some SSRIs in them, as did oxocodone which is why Ididn't want my Kat eposed to booth that thr same time.
Then things get wore. The want my Kat out of the hospital but be for tthey do that they start a new drug on my Kat. It's called suboxone. It is supposes to make people feel better. Kay take this a the hospital for several day as they process him out. Hs personal effects are accounted for, as ar his new medications. Absent among the items givnen to Kay was the sheet sheet decrbribing hoe to best administer this drug.
So, at home I an to watch Kay take these drugs with no real guidance on what they do or what to expect. One thing I recall was to not brush teath immediately after use of the drugs. Okay, seems simple enough. A short time after this I notice a tooth filling had come loose. Well, onese is happenstance and so I pretty much ignored it. Another filling can lose and now it is a pattern. Something is happening. The third time a front tooth broke over. That is a pattern.
I Called someone with the VA about my Kat loosing teeth, and that I suspect this was the subsuxone causing it. The response was that such decay takes months. I reply with that ti show on the FDA wesite that ti takes days to happen. There reposnse is that I was told ahead of time. When did that happen? Is my signature on it? Did the prescribing physician sign off on it? Now my Cat KAy has lost 1/4 of his teeth. That is going to impact his a biliy to eat for the rest of his life.
Above all, nothin has been done in the treatment of Kay's pain. Kay barely has a life because of his lack of ability to sleep, walk, explore, or interact. What he needs are effective and safe medications supplied reliably.
I have Katburglar under my care for something like 20 years. Released from the US Army under an honorable discharge due to stress fractures in both feet, left foot a bit worst than the right but both rated for 10% disability which under the "funny" math the VA does this equates to 20% total. It might look like a simple addition but it is not. My Kat is no dummy as he scored a 99% on the ASVAB and earned a BS in Electricral an computer engineering, doing well enough to get advanced rank to E-4. I was proud of my Kat. Having scored high enough on the foreign language aptitude batterie to have his pick at language offered at the school if his injury had not interrupted. Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. Generally good candidated for OCS or VWOFT if there were openings at the time. Anything holding my kat back was a mild case of flat feet, a bit of upper arm weakness (someghing a few more pull ups would likelly rectify), a bit of clustrofobia, a and wee bit of fear of heights, bothlikley can be beaten out of him. Let's roll back in time a bit.
During his time in basic training my Kat developed stress fractures in both feet. Mildly pianful at first, treated with Motrin (as I recall) which didn't do bunch but upset the stomach. Time passed, Kat missed too much training to graduate with the rest of the class and was shifted off to another company. At this point came a combination of an upper respiratory infection and a muscle spasm. The URI was just being in a group of unfamiliar people. The mucsle spasm was having to perform order of arms in a manner not made for someone as tall as my Kat. My Kat has his first introduction to cold medicine with codeine and some sort of muscle relaxant.
If I'm found by some nurse, drill sergreant, or other power that be it was assumed my Kat was out because of codeine, not the muscle relaxer. My Kat complained about the muscle relaxer leaving him droswy in the day and was told my Kat didn't have to take it. My Kat kept using the codeine cold medicine as long as the prescription lasted for some restful sleep. The codeine helped my Kat with the foot pain too but that was not why the codeine was prescribed.
After some time in restricted duty it became clear my Kay was not likely to recover his stress fractures soon enough to gratuate any time soon and the Kat was processed out. After a bit of down time in my brother's besement my Kat was processed into the local VA medical center. Treatment started with much the same as in basic training, enough Motrin to kill a horse. I was convinced then to try giving my cat something else, something that won't eat up his stomach. The Kat was offered Tramadol. What is Tramadol? Apparently just like codeine but better. But it is not better. It has a bad habit of keeping kats awake all night. This was at first thought to to be a mild side effect so by gving more to my the more alert he was. The "nice" part of this was Kat was as calm and pain free as cold be. Once the effect wore off Kat was in no condition to go to work.
So came GABApentin to replace this nonsense. That lead the Kat to slowly experience some pain relief but also a slowly fading from any attachment to work, friends, family, hobbies, and just life in general. Kat did thinks we felt necessary to life but not much more. If given a task then it might be completed. All the while the sideffect of GAPApenticn would creep in as a rough voice. At first Kat's voice could be dismissed as a dry throat. As time went on it became worse and those around him were confused that Kat had caught Laryngitis. Kat say a physician about the Laryngitis and flat outplainly stated the drugs weren't the case but seemed quite disinterested in finding any other case. Since the GABApentine did little to ressolve the pain and recreating a vary visible side effect that was impacting his work that KAT stopped taking the drug, in spite of the advice of the prescriber.
Next in line was amitriptyline. That did nothing for my Kat. With that dispensed wih quikcly can nortriptyline. the same bullshiitt by a differnent name. If these people weren't at least going to treat my Kat's pain then at least they could treat his sleep. They were to offer a small dose of oxycodone and hydroxyzine o my Kat. This was after an explicitic request for bnenedryl. I had my suspecicions with hydroyzine has some SSRIs in them, as did oxocodone which is why Ididn't want my Kat eposed to booth that thr same time.
Then things get wore. The want my Kat out of the hospital but be for tthey do that they start a new drug on my Kat. It's called suboxone. It is supposes to make people feel better. Kay take this a the hospital for several day as they process him out. Hs personal effects are accounted for, as ar his new medications. Absent among the items givnen to Kay was the sheet sheet decrbribing hoe to best administer this drug.
So, at home I an to watch Kay take these drugs with no real guidance on what they do or what to expect. One thing I recall was to not brush teath immediately after use of the drugs. Okay, seems simple enough. A short time after this I notice a tooth filling had come loose. Well, onese is happenstance and so I pretty much ignored it. Another filling can lose and now it is a pattern. Something is happening. The third time a front tooth broke over. That is a pattern.
I Called someone with the VA about my Kat loosing teeth, and that I suspect this was the subsuxone causing it. The response was that such decay takes months. I reply with that ti show on the FDA wesite that ti takes days to happen. There reposnse is that I was told ahead of time. When did that happen? Is my signature on it? Did the prescribing physician sign off on it? Now my Cat KAy has lost 1/4 of his teeth. That is going to impact his a biliy to eat for the rest of his life.
Above all, nothin has been done in the treatment of Kay's pain. Kay barely has a life because of his lack of ability to sleep, walk, explore, or interact. What he needs are effective and safe medications supplied reliably.