Quick movie question for the Doctors

[craigster59]

It's your typical doomsday flick, gamma rays knocked out all electrical components, panic and ransacking take place and eventually everybody dies except for a guy and his dog. He's also dying of cancer but very slowly.

The director wants him to be using morphine but he's a top A list well respected actor and we don't want it to appear that he's an "addict" shooting up with tourniquet on his arm. In the Army we had the auto injectors where you injected yourself in the thigh or buttocks.I suggested this but then I was thinking about the Naxalone nasal injectors for overdoses. Could you do morphine up the nose and have it have the same effect on pain as an intra muscular injection? I just wanted to see if it was feasible before I opened my big mouth. TIA!

[Laneco]

I'm not a doctor (obviously - LOL!) but does this help? Particularly given that your scenario is at least slightly into the future... These studies are a couple of years apart with the more recent one about 10 years ago. So plausible in my humble-did-not-sleep-in-a-motel6 last night opinion.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11907197

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18254761

angela

[john70t]

Do the thigh injector. IMO. Real needles are for junkies.
Have a close-up of the "US Army morphine" on the red-plus box label before he opens it.

The public won't understand anything else.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by john70t

Do the thigh injector. IMO. Real needles are for junkies.
Have a close-up of the "US Army morphine (non-addictive)"on the red-plus box label before he opens it.

The public won't understand anything else.

FIFY

[LEAKYSEALS951]

The main character has been miscast. Fire him.

No zombies.

And don't kill off the dog to make an emotional point.



Here's what you do.

Replace the main character with a comedian. Any comedian. Bill Murray. Jim Carrey. Steve Carrell. Will Ferrell. Aziz Anzari.... anyone.....

Let them shoot the heroin straight up.

And don't kill off the dog.

This will be a much better movie. I will take 3% of royalties for my creative genuis.

[Zeke]

Taking pills would be just as effective and send the message. Don't know about the A Lister. Either he's an actor or he's not.

[Noah930]

There is an oral morphine solution, Roxanol.

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by Laneco

I'm not a doctor (obviously - LOL!) but does this help? Particularly given that your scenario is at least slightly into the future... These studies are a couple of years apart with the more recent one about 10 years ago. So plausible in my humble-did-not-sleep-in-a-motel6 last night opinion.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11907197

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18254761

angela

Thanks Angela! I've forwarded it to the director.

[gchappel]

There are opioid like drugs that can be aerosolized. Fentanyl is one example. Fentanyl can also be used as a skin patch- transdermal. I am sure there are others. So, yes it can be done- and is presently in use.
Gary

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by Noah930

There is an oral morphine solution, Roxanol.

That's was what I suggested also, maybe sub lingual?

[craigster59]

I think they may take some artistic license If need be. All good suggestions. T hanks

[Noah930]

Intranasal Delivery of Morphine | Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

Morphine administered nasally to humans as a simple solution is only absorbed to a limited degree, with a bioavailability of the order of 10% compared with intravenous administration.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by craigster59

That's was what I suggested also, maybe sub lingual?

Sublingual could work. It's a mucous membrane. Heck, have the guy do suppositories!

But in general, the more direct the route to the circulatory system, the faster the effect of medications (though maybe shorter lived the effects), and the lower dose you need to give (though that's probably not an important fact in a Hollywood flick). So IV (intravenous/parenteral) is better than IM (intra-muscular, like shoving the needle into your thigh) is better than GI is better than sublingual is better than nasal. Rectal suppository is somewhere around the sublingual range of effectiveness, I think. At least for Morphine.

Or heck, make him a pill-popper. Make that part of his flawed but realistically-gritty character. Kinda like House MD.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Or heck, make him a pill-popper. Make that part of his flawed but realistically-gritty character. Kinda like House MD.

Just watched https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Knick with Clive Owen about early docs and medicine.

Lots of good true stuff hidden in there.
Highly recommended.

[scottmandue]

Is the movie set in the future? If so he could have an electronic device implanted in his brain and he pushes a button to relieve that pain, device could be dangerous to use to add to the plot.

[URY914]

Sounds like a knock off of Omega Man.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Heck, have the guy do suppositories!

Now that would be a unique take on the leading man. Not only is he the last man on earth, but he only survives by sticking things in his butt. This could really set the movie apart from all the others of the genre. Probably bring in a whole new demographic of viewers too.
I'm not real clear on where the dog fits in though.

[Noah930]

Mrs Noah says she has administered sublingual Morphine before. It's a concentrated liquid in drop form. She hasn't ever given the intra nasal spray; apparently it's very expensive and so rarely used it's hard to find. But it exists, so your hero could theoretically use it.

[cstreit]

Why not do that thing where they take the pill - and then bite it and shudder a little...

[Tobra]

I believe it is an electromagnetic pulse that takes out your tech gear.


Gamma rays are what Doc Bruce Banner got belted with to turn him into the Hulk.


That aside

They smoke opium, how does your A-list guy feel about looking like a crack head? Seemed to work for Chris Rock, but he has that bug eyed thing going on already

Maybe they could give him a port-a-cath, make him a cancer survivor who was under treatment when the lights went out, or in some sort of drug trial when things went sideways. Would be easy for the special effects guy to fake too.

Ha, missed that the character already had cancer. Did the apocalypse thing precipitate the cancer?

WTF is all this about killing the dog? Kill the junkie first, but then you have a Boy and His Dog, with no Don Johnson.