Talk:Amobarbital

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[edit] Regarding Patient J.V.

It was used at Camarillo State Hospital in Camarillo, California for agitation. A resident there, J.V perhaps died from Sodium Amytal.

From reading the actual article you linked to, I learned that he was also taking chlorpromazine, benztropine, lithium, and several tranquilizers—that day, it was diazepam—in addition to amobarbital. I also learned that he had choked on his own vomit, that benzotropine is known to cause vomiting, and that chlorpromazine suppresses the cough reflex. And then there's this:

While the medical records did not document distinct side effects or drug toxicity in the two to three days before J.V. died, results of post-mortem toxicology tests on his blood samples revealed a potential for toxic to lethal side effects from Diazepam and amobarbital. J.V.'s lithium levels were not reported. According to PAI's expert, even when the levels of drugs are not particularly high, "the interaction of several central nervous system depressant drugs can intensify the potential toxic effects." The presence of lithium, according to the expert, will add a further element for producing toxic effects with all the other psychotropic drugs. The expert concluded that there was a "distinct possibility that [J.V.] succumbed to drug toxicity."

Lastly, the people who gave him these things left him in his room unsupervised for hours and didn't think to check on him until one of the other patients mentioned that J.V. hadn't shown up for dinner.

Out of all these things, you, User:207.144.223.59, had singled out amobarbital. Why? Rmky87 19:24, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] To caffinate or not to caffinate

Caffeine is listed as both a contraindication and an indication for somnolence. While this is certainly possible, it is counterintuitive and so I marked both with citation needed.

The "contraindicated" info came from MedlinePlus, which assumes that one is taking it to go to sleep. The catatonic people were not using for that purpose.--Rmky87 05:15, 10 November 2006 (UTC)