For future reference Gail, speak with your vet about the very feelings you are expressing here about precious Zoey....there ARE IV catheters that can be left in place, in your pet, and your vet can give you pain meds that YOU can give IV, and then increase the dosage when you think the end of life cycle is upon you and your pup. My vet would do this for me in a heartbeat, if I asked for it...but there are so many different laws, rules, and regulations, different countries, different health systems, total trust between vet and owner, .....I am certain there is a huge fear among vets, in relationship to protecting their DVM licensure, about allowing the owner to do this.
I remember years ago, we had a horse that severly injured a hind leg, jumping through a fence....that vet handed me a 100cc bottle of Demerol, to administer around the clock as needed for pain, to this poor horse.....I slept in that stall for over a week with that horse, giving the med as ordered.....when I needed more, I went to the pharmacy at the hospital where I worked, to see if I could get the same thing through the pharmacy, maybe a little cheaper.....OMG!!!!! That pharmacist took the bottle from me so he could see what it was I had, and when he realized what he was holding, he ACTUALLY dropped that bottle like it was on fire!! He had never even seen a 100cc bottle of Demerol, and he almost died that I had one in my possession!!! He essentially told me he did not see anything, did not hear anything, take whatever bottle I had and LEAVE from there IMMEDIATELY!!!!
So, I figure there is some kind of law about "regular people" walking around with a 100cc bottle of Demerol. But my vet trusted me and knew that med was going to my horse and not the neighborhood! He probably wouldnt have appreciated me announcing to the world, that I had that in my possession.....said all that to say, if your vet trusts you with IV pain med, and will set you up with an IV so you could give the pain med /sedation as needed, at appropriate time, dont tell anyone! |