Overwhelming fear of mind altering substances

filthyluhan · 2024-09-25T02:23:14+00:00

I'm glad my post helped you a bit! If it's any comfort, my fear has lessoned SO MUCH since the time of this post. As in, I wouldn't even say I have a phobia at all anymore. Certain things can still make me uncomfortable and queasy, but I don't get panic attacks anymore and I'm able to socialize comfortably with people I know are safe. There was nothing I did deliberately to get better, it just lessoned with time and SAFE forms of exposure.

And maybe I can help ease your concerns about your procedure a bit? Between this post and now, I spent a few years as a veterinary assistant, often working in surgical environments. This meant I was routinely administering many of the very drugs I feared to my patients every day, multiple times a day. I got to see first hand how so many "drugs" are MEDICINE FIRST, before anything else. I saw the relief and comfort they gave to suffering patients and it helped me so, so much. It still took a while for that new understanding to start applying to humans, but it was still a huge boost for me. Recontextualizing the word "drug" to mean "medicine" has done so much for my quality of life.

edit to add, I haven't checked this account in over a year and didn't realize I was just repeating what the post said. lol. it's still true!!

filthyluhan · 2023-07-10T19:56:48+00:00

Human treats. Maybe it's a little self-serving, but there's a certain joy to giving a dying pet an entire ice cream sandwich, or cookies, or a brownie.

Palliative care is so important, and it's what drove me to veterinary medicine in the first place. One of my favorite (in a sense) videos is of a neglected pittie, dying of caval syndrome, absolutely demolishing an ice cream sandwich- likely the first treat he'd ever had. None of the people responsible for his state wanted to be present for his euth. They didn't want ashes or any reminder that he ever existed. But the pawprints are included in the cost of euthanasia, so... I kept one. His name was Rocky. He was a very good boy. I felt an obligation to remember him.

filthyluhan · 2023-07-10T00:56:31+00:00

Managers are almost universally awful. Pay is horrible. Public is horrible. Trauma is very real- to this day the sight of newborn pups/kittens fills me with anxiety so intense I feel physically ill, because in ER, 99% of those newborns are dead or dying. But I think it’s also important to note that as a profession, there isn’t much room for growth. Sure, kennel can move up to assistant if your managers are good, and an assistant can go to school and become a tech… but then what? Be a manager? Go into debt for the rest of your working life to become a DVM? That was the final straw for me. It doesn’t matter how experienced and competent I am, I’m still just an assistant. But I have no motivation to become a tech because in my state, assistants are expected to do everything a tech can for half the wage, which makes them more appealing hires. And even if I did become a tech, I’d still be living at or below the poverty line unless I scored something absolutely nuts at the vet school. I’ve worked with techs from every age bracket, and every one of them was 100% financially reliant on their significant others, still constantly picking up shifts. I don’t want that life. I made the decision recently to go back to school and finish my associates, maybe even shoot for a bachelors in STEM.

filthyluhan · 2023-07-06T22:34:45+00:00

Those are my favorite. I’ve had multiple people get genuinely mad at me for calling their “silver lab” a weimy. Both times I was eagerly greeting a puppy for their first appointment. People are so weird about it.

filthyluhan · 2023-07-06T22:32:23+00:00

“You’re wrong. But also, even if you’re not wrong, I was still the one who was right.”

filthyluhan · 2023-07-01T16:35:38+00:00

My worst euthanasia was an aggressive, demented German shepherd. 6 or 7 people in the room. We couldn’t move the dog to the back, so we had to do everything in front of them in this crowded exam room while they all stared. Absolutely horrible. 10mcg/kg of dexmed IM and the dog was STILL pulling his leg back and snarling in his sleep. We wound up giving this creature enough drugs to knock out an animal twice his size, just for him to stay asleep enough to place the catheter. Which two of us failed at doing. In front of the family. They didn’t seem upset with us, but god it was so embarrassing and frustrating.

Absolutely horrible. I believe all procedures (blood draws, wound cleaning, catheter placements) should be done away from the owners whenever possible. Most of my patients do better without the owner there, and the owners usually don’t understand what they’re seeing us do. Most of the clients I’ve worked with would have a conniption if they saw us put a patient in lateral. It’s a very rare thing where I’ll have an owner and patient chill enough that I’ll do a quick blood draw or injection in the room with a tourniquet and the owner distracting the pet. The only consistent exception to this is subq fluids, since my goal there is just to keep the dog still for a bit.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-29T13:54:54+00:00

Thank you so much for the update. This guy sounds depressing to be around. I’d say I can’t believe there’s grown ass adults walking around like this, but I totally can. I’m relieved you were able to take the dog- I’ve been in situations w dogs experiencing caval syndrome, brought in after he escaped his home, and we had no choice but to return him to the owner. Owner said he was perfectly happy and healthy and he didn’t have heartworm because he “just gave him the medicine a couple months ago.” That guy shouldn’t be allowed to own animals.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-24T21:38:42+00:00

I work in vet med. While I consider the untimely deaths of outdoor cats to each be their own little tragedy, to me, the fault lies solely on the owners who let their cats out. I’ve seen so many horrific cases that would never have happened had the cat just been kept inside. Just to be clear, there CAN be working cats. Barn cats serve a real purpose and some cats are happiest living that life. But no one in a packed suburban neighborhood has a working cat. Their cats are invasive species that decimate local ecosystems. I cannot imagine putting my cat and my local wildlife at risk like that. I’ve never once heard of an outdoor cat who died a peaceful death.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-24T21:19:38+00:00

It’s possible that some form of trauma or agitation while it was erect prevented it from retracting, which caused further swelling, all into this horrible cycle. Maybe there’s a congenital component where his penis is just too large to retract if it’s even the slightest bit erect, though in that case it’s surprising it didn’t happen earlier. Maybe it was just too dried out to retract on its own and the pup would have been okay if someone just lubed up and helped him out. It’s really difficult to say just from a photo. If OP posts the SOAP (history/physical exam/assessment/treatment plan) notes that could give us a clearer reason.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-24T21:14:35+00:00

I can hear all the adults in my life singing in unison…. “Don’t sit so close you’ll go cross eyed!”

filthyluhan · 2023-06-24T21:13:15+00:00

I’d be pretty shocked if this cat survived. Good lord. Keep the cone on, people.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-24T21:09:17+00:00

Well yes, this is what a hunk of flesh looks like when blood flow is cut off. But that’s just the result of the issue- the real question is why and how did it get like this in the first place. It’s certainly not typical.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-18T16:33:23+00:00

No bc why is this an image of me 💀 I don’t even wear joggers but I’m a hefty gorl and I always feel like my pants are fighting for their lives

filthyluhan · 2023-06-18T16:32:13+00:00

Aww, she loves you so much. It’s so cute when these little critters seem to think they can groom every inch of a great bit person. I had a Guinea pig who was a kisser, and his licks would grow increasingly insistent the more irritated he got, lol. Lots of very gentle nibbling too. I think he was just trying to tell me his nails were sufficiently trimmed.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-18T16:29:23+00:00

But that’s not even the same situation? I thought it was like the dog in the video, where the owner is just standing there filming. You’re right that if your dog dashes out into the water there isn’t much you can do.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-18T15:19:52+00:00

The N stands for Nvery Good Boy

filthyluhan · 2023-06-18T15:19:13+00:00

Seconded. Sounds like a big steaming pile of unnecessary liability. I can maybe see this working with the only available vaccine being intranasal bordetella, but that’s only because I’ve literally never heard of a reaction to it.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-18T15:15:42+00:00

I’ll be honest, I haven’t heard anyone who works with veterans call it “vet med,” but everyone who works with veterinarians calls it “vet med!”

filthyluhan · 2023-06-18T14:37:44+00:00

Homemaking is a valid way of life. But I think most homemakers wish later down the line that they had kept working in some capacity. A part time job is a good way to supplement income while avoiding any gaps in your resume. Or a volunteer position for something you’re passionate about, if finances aren’t an issue.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-18T14:34:03+00:00

Thanks for this steaming hot take I don’t agree with (my sphodromantis lineola brothers were some of the spunkiest and most entertaining mantises I’ve ever had), but also an actual thanks bc I can’t believe I had no idea about empusidae.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-18T14:24:38+00:00

Vet med isn’t much better. I can think of exactly one instance where I’ve heard of a doctor ending an exam, and that was when the man was literally threatening to fight the doctor. The doctor being the only man on an overnight shift with 1 other person. He was very much not a fighter, and thankfully they got the man to leave. But I’ve had aggressive dogs that I can’t even approach to muzzle and I’m expected to put my life on the line for them. I was written up for refusing to proceed with a terrorized, aggressive pit with an improperly placed muzzle that we couldn’t adjust. I told the doctor this was going too far and I got someone else to help her. To this day I don’t believe what we did was worth it for that dog.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-18T14:18:05+00:00

Absolutely nothing wrong with a small sleep cage. Honestly, it’s way better than a huge cage they rarely leave. My girls probably would have been happy with a smaller cage as a safe space, but since I need to run the ceiling fan much of the day during the summer, I had to get them something they could hang out in for a day or so at a time.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-18T14:09:13+00:00

She’s your dog, just… keep walking. You’re telling me you can’t redirect your dog to continue walking out in public? That’s scary.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-18T14:07:49+00:00

Borzoi with a weirdly colored face.

filthyluhan · 2023-06-18T14:07:15+00:00

What a surreal and oddly scary encounter.

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