Overdose Question?

Question

My roomate has taken 20 1mg ativans.
The paramedics refused to take her and we are worried sick.
Could this kill he or just make her sleep for a looong time?
Any advice is appreciated

I am doing 30 minute room chacks to make sure she's still breathing

The paramedics refused to take her because she told them what they wanted to hear (shes a nurse) told them she was just trying to sleep, they believed her

Im not making this up, its real and their advice was to just monitor her and notify them again if she becomes unresponsive. Im a nurse to so know what to look for but i cannot imagine 20mg of ativan wont kill you or at least do major damage to your kidneys

Answer 1

The paramedics refuse to take her?

Treatment: In the case of an oral overdose, if vomiting has not occurred spontaneously and the patient is fully awake, emesis may be induced with 20 to 30 mL of ipecac syrup USP.

If she is not responsive you need to make the call yourself and take her to the ER right away. Not knowing her weight and response to the drug is a hard call to make here on line.

It is a fact, however, that it only takes 20 minutes to blow out your renal system. Better safe than sorry and on machines the rest of your life.

Answer 2

Legally, a paramedic cannot force a person to go to the hospital if she is oriented to person, place, time, and event, and doesn't want to go. Some states can force a person to go if it is a suicide attempt, but you would need to get the police involved. As a nurse, I'm sure you understand this. I've had to allow people to refuse transport, when I KNOW medically they need to be seen, but if they are oriented and don't want to go, there is nothing I can do (except try my hardest to make them understand the consequences of refusal - usually, death).

Ativan (also known as lorazepam): From what I read, the usual dose is 2-6 mg, divided into daily smaller doses. The dosage range is 1-10 mg daily. 20 mg sounds like one heck of a lot! Symptoms of a lorazepam overdose include sleepiness, dizziness, confusion, a slow heart beat, difficulty breathing, difficulty walking and talking, an appearance of being drunk, and unconsciousness.

You really need to worry about respiratory depression. If she stops breathing, or if her respirations slow to less than 10-12 a minute, you need to call the paramedics again. If she stops breathing, you will need to begin rescue breathing for her until they arrive.

If she is unconscious and can't be awakened with painful stimulus (such as a sternal rub) then you need to call the paramedics again. If she's not responsive, she can be treated and taken to the hospital under the context of implied consent.

If you think it was a suicide attempt, you need to get the police involved. They might be able to force her to go to the hospital. Otherwise, if she is oriented and doesn't want to go, then there is nothing you can do, unfortunately. It's her choice to be an idiot and take too much of her Ativan.

I don't know if that amount of Ativan will be enough to kill her or damage her organs, or if it will just put her to sleep for a while. It depends on her individual tolerance to the drug, her size, etc.

It might not be a bad idea to contact your local ER for advice. They may be able to talk to her and convince her to go get checked out.

Hope everything works out...

Answer 3

Y did the paramedics refuse to take her ? I know for a fact that one 1-mg Ativan will knock you down... y not take her to the emergency ???

Answer 4

Ah however, if Madeleine received maintain of the bottle herself and took all of the contents??? That might kill her might it now not? Depending at the contents within the bottle. And how do you provide an explanation for the sedative within the frame fluid/hair? *edit* They might have included it up, in a panic, in worry of it popping out that they sedated all their youngsters to lead them to sleep, as all of the 3 youngsters might had been proven they usually might had been struck off, and the twins eliminated. I recognise the hair might turn out sedatives got at a few factor best, however with no clinical list of a few such prescription, again at residence in HER GPs documents, it might turn out the McCanns took it upon themselves to come to a decision to sedate the the little one. And even Dr mother and father arnt allowed to do this. She might want a prognosis of anything like ADD for her GP to precribe a sedative. Sometimes they'll for a protracted travel, however I think so much GPs might say dont sedate your little one for a airplane travel, its amusing they usually must enjoy the thrill of a airplane journey.

Answer 5

I would call an emergency room and speak to a doctor about it or call poison control and see what they suggest. 20 pills of any kind sounds dangerous to me. You would forever blame yourself if she does not wake up. She has a problem or she wouldn't have taken that many.

Answer 6

if it were my friend i would take her to emergency care rightaway. sure you are watching her but if something happens to her you cannot handle you will kick yourself for not doing it. i really hope she will be fine. and the way it sounds she didn't take the pills to sleep .more less forever sleep if that's the cause she better get some syck help.

Answer 7

if the paramedics refuse to take her, what were their advise that you should do...?

Is this question real or you are making this up?

Answer 8

she will just sleep for a while.give her black coffee and keep her awake

Answer 9

This should just make her very mellow.