The fun of working downtown...

[Saydrah]

The "another theory" part smacks of conspiracy to me. "There were drug dealers! And they were making METH! And they tried to smuggle it out, but they lost an IV bag of drugs, and then someone else picked it up by accident! And then when it was used, it downed an entire ER!

There was a thorough autopsy conducted on her body, by people wearing hazmat suits. You'd think they'd have noticed the super-high dose of meth in her blood that would have come in through the IV before she died, but I've never seen any mention of it.

I think it's more plausible than that some process unknown to science converted her blood to DMSO 4.

Of course, there could be a third theory out there that's plausible-- or somehow she could have had meth in her blood before entering the hospital, too, and lived long enough to get through the doors.

[Broomjockey]

meth in her blood before entering the hospital, too,

But to the best of my knowledge, they didn't find any drugs in her system that shouldn't be there. Cause of death was listed as kidney failure, not drug overdose.

ETA: Also, it's not an unknown process, it's a process that they aren't sure which happened. The prevaling one is that she had DSMO 2 in her blood, and when it was drawn, the temp drop allowed it to convert to DSMO 4

[Mr Yuck]

The IV meth in the ER sounds waaaaaaaaay too far fetched. Biggest problem with a claim that the ER hung a bag of meth is that all, and I mean all IV bags are sealed. You have to rip open the protective wrapper they come in to be able to hang the bag. Most large volume IV bags have an access port where medications or illegal substances could be injected, but once again, you can only access this bag once it's taken out of it's protective wrapper. There would also be some discoloration, or particulate matter in the bag. The chances of this being missed by an entire group of Dr's, nurses, paramedics, etc.... would be very slim. In my years in the ER I have been in on more code blues then I could ever count. They are rarely the chaotic mess you see on TV.
Also.....meth does show up in the blood. If they were able to infuse ANY of a tainted meth IV. It would have shown on autopsy.

[friendofjimmyk]

But to the best of my knowledge, they didn't find any drugs in her system that shouldn't be there. Cause of death was listed as kidney failure, not drug overdose.

I know recovering meth addicts that have suffered kidney failure as a result of their meth use.

Okay, I read the article and I just don't agree with the "theory" that "meth chemicals" were smuggled out of the hospital in IV bags.

My reasoning...

because nearly all "meth chemicals" are agricultural in nature. Or they are battery acid, pesticides, freon, or acetone. The only thing remotely close to being a "meth chemical" in a hospital would be iodine or pseudoephedrine (sudafed). Iodine or pseudoephedrine alone would not be enough to cause what had happened in this lady. IF she did die from "meth chemicals" its possible she lived in a meth producing lab or near one (like right above) AND/OR she was a chronic meth user. I have heard stories of women who gave birth to children they had while abusing meth and when the child was born, you could smell the meth on the baby. (so fucking sad!!)

Meth is fucking bad! I know!!!

It's true that if you are living in a house that used to be a meth lab...you will get sick. The ONLY way to guarantee that you won't is if the floors, walls - EVERYTHING - had been COMPLETELY torn out and replaced and EVEN THEN there is no guarantee.

When I was 18 months clean, I went back to school to start on my chemical dependency degree. My first class I took was Human Growth and Development and I had to write a paper on something that affects human growth and development. I did it on meth addiction. I can't believe what goes into meth and even more - I can't believe that I put that shit in my body without a second thought.

It takes 3 - 5 years for a meth user to have their functioning return to a somewhat normal state. (neurotransmitter firing, brain waves, etc). (I've been clean for 3 years 9 months)

If you compare brain patterns of a person with schizophrenia to a person with meth induced psychosis...there is no difference.

*sigh* Please don't use meth. And if you are, please stop. You can recover from meth addiction.

[Saydrah]

ETA: Also, it's not an unknown process, it's a process that they aren't sure which happened. The prevaling one is that she had DSMO 2 in her blood, and when it was drawn, the temp drop allowed it to convert to DSMO 4

The article says the temperature drop would have caused crystals to form, and then some "unknown process" (step 4 in the theory) turned the DMSO 2 crystals to DMSO 4.

[NateTheChops]

I really hope OP gets herself checked out soon. Please don't have a "wait and see moment" like Jim Henson.

[MystyGlyttyr]

I am alive and relatively well, actually. The headache lingered for the rest of the day and is still there when I move my head too fast, but the nausea and chronic rageful bloodlust cleared out after a long nap at home. I warned my family to keep an eye out and I'm being wary of any kind of lingering effects, but things seem cool for now.

I just wish one of us had thought to call the police while that woman was staggering around in here, though. Next time...