Morphine and hospice

Common Questions and Answers about Morphine and hospice


but if he quit drinking and is not intravenous provided with saline then he will be gone in a day or two u can ask the dr to give more morphine and they probably will and this will speed and alleviate the dying process is somewhat hard for most in today's society because people don't die at home, dad is not in pain and if he does not recognize u and respond etc, then he will be gone soon. . .
You would have to be giving a whole bottle of morphine or a whole bottle of lorazepam all at once to do harm. Hospice starts at a very low dose and then gradually may increase over time as the patient can become used to the dose and need a stronger one. This is all very normal-to titrate as neeeded to meet patient comfort. Please request a meeting with the hospice staff and you and your family so that you all can be on the same page. Def research dehydration and end of life.
When the fistual appeared 3 weeks ago her oncologist advised us to call Hospice. We did, they came, and an RN immediately said she was going to die of septicemia. We were preparing for her death. 8 days later, due to lack of experience and professionalism, a different Hospice organization came in and immediately diagnosed the "hole in her stomach"as a fistula and that her death was not as imminent as we were told by the previous Hospice.
In the last stages of my daughters illness she had hospice in KC Mo the first bunch started when she was in hosp, and they called me, and i heard one of them yell at her and say tell your mother that you only have six weeks to live they did not know i was on the phone yet as i lived in ok my daughter beleived in God and was a woderfull person, ans she said maybe i will get better dont you beleive in miricles, and the one said this is ewality tell you mom what i said when one got on the phone i t
my father was in hospice and yes his health was failing and he was dying on his nursing home bed but my questiion is , it is strange that right when the hospice nurse came to give my dad his morphine shot about two minutes later he died, now you ask, did i want to see him continue to die,?
I have used Hospice care for both my mom and dad. Both times, it was a wonderful experience. I have never heard of people in hospice care being starved. Both my parents died with dignity and peacefully at home. The hospice care workers were very loving to both my parents and the rest of our family. My mom was on hospice care a total of 3 times. So, I guess you can say she "graduated" off hospice twice. When it is my time to leave this world, I would like to have hospice care.
I got her admitted to hospice home care in September, but she continued to decline and needed 24 hour care, and I couldn't provide it. She is now admitted to a hospice inpatient facility, but the guilt is still there and I hate that I can't shake the feeling I should have done more sooner, in spite of her protests.Please know you aren't alone...and that there's no script to follow when you have to take care of your ailing parents. You need to do the best you can with what you have.
Also, now she has severe upper back pain which is being diagnosed as arthritis and just givin more Morphine for it. They wouldn't do a pet scan when she was in the hosp to see if it had spread in the last 4 months. She is not doing chemo or radiation as she has already had that 11 years ago and "they" said she can't have anymore.
I recently went through this very issue while my father was in my home, dying and on Hospice. Evidence over the past 20 years has repeatedly shown that, used correctly, morphine is well tolerated and does not shorten life or hasten death. Its sedative effects wear off quickly (making it useless if you want to stay unconscious), toxic doses can cause distressing agitation (which is why such doses are never used in palliative care), and it has a wide therapeutic range (making death unlikely).
The patients ARE close to death when a doctor orders Hospice and Hospice is there to help the patient and to also give support to the patients loved ones. They are a wonderful Organization and I thank God for them. They are like ministering Angels as far as I am concerned.
Hi, I have read some info about Fentanyl Patches and need an opinion about my husband being on them. He is 83 and was on hospice using liquid morphine for about 8 months (he has heart and lung issues). He stabilized so he was taken off hospice but he was still on the liquid morphine. A few weeks ago he fell and ended up in ICU with neck pain and an increased heart rate that resulted in a minor heart attack. He is now in Rehab and they have him on a fentanyl patch (I don't know the dosage).
My father has been on hospice since August 2011. His knees are contracted and very painful when he's moved. Otherwise, he doesn't seem to have any pain. Mornings at the nursing home are brutal for him -- it's when the aids wash and tend to him. His official hospice diagnosis was "failure to thrive" although he had what appeared to be a major stroke back in August. In order to diagnose that stroke, they would've had to have transported him to a hospital for scans.
At the end of his life my husband was on morphine patches, and liquid morphine. He was irrational, seeing and hearing things, talking in telling me not to ride my bike to town..#1 I don't have a bike, #2 we lived 18 miles from town. He also got very agitated, and paranoid. Morphine can also make a person violent. Your relative should go back to normal once she is off of the morphine and it clears her system. Good luck, and just agree with her, whatever nonsense she is spouting.
She has been in hospital for last 7 weeks and now has been moved to a Hospice for further care. Whilst in hospital she was treated for her ilness & anxiety with morpine. Initially orally and then via pump and this drug they called cyclo-morphine simultaneously. Since leaving hospital and moving to care home, she still continues to be treated with morphine i.e. orally amounsgt other things.
My husband started showing distress and pain yesterday evening, and we added liquid morphine to lorazepam every 4 hours. Shortly after 5am this morning he started thrashing and groaning in terrible discomfort, gasping for breath, struggling as if fighting an unseen enemy. Hospice nurses recommended we double his pain and anxiety medication... ten minutes later, holding his hand, I looked into my husband's eyes and heard him take his last two breaths just before 6am today.
Chronic and severe pain, who have not adequately responded to other treatment modalities. Some of the examples are failed back syndrome, cancer pain, RSD. These patients receive infusion of painkillers such as Morphine or Dilaudid. Spastic disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis, Spinal Cord Injury - associated with muscle spasms. These patients receive infusion of an antispasmodic medication called Baclofen. What is the purpose of it?
i have being off morphine 8 days today,i went cold turkey,i gave it to jesus,and prayed real hard. i was put on morphine by hospice 3 years ago. i was taking 120 mgs. twice daily. then i dropped it my self to one 60 mgs.a day. now 8 days ago,i went off all morphine,i don;t feel as bad as i did, but i have a ringing in my ears,or a bussing sound. my question is how long will this app. how long do u feel this will last? i am miserable with this. should i tell my doctor about this?
She does have our help because she is un steady and weak. Hospice has placed her on morphine at a low dose. She was in pain with hydrocodine.. Her belly is about 2-3 times in size. She still is eating & drinking even though it is very little. Sometimes she does go the bathroom & other times she doesn't when she insists on going the bathroom. Any other signs for me too look for? Her breaths are about 1 to my 3. She is not in a coma at this time. How much longer do I have?
Doctors turned her over to Hospice and they are very nice. SHe had complained about severe pain, and now she is getting 5mg of morphine every four hours. I want to know how much damage it will do and if it will cause her do die more quickly. We have asked the nurses if she should take it, they say to make sure she isn't in pain. I don't know what's best for her?
How did you know it was time for hospice? And, if someone has used hospice for someone with liver failure, how did they help? I have a great family and my husband is greatly loved and cared for. We pray he gets better, but I am not seeing it. How do I know what is best for him? Or is keeping him here with family the best I can do to support him?
Now, she has been taken to hospice care where they have stopped all medication she was taking and now they are talking about reducing her nutrition via feeding tube. I have a feeling that hospice is ending her life with Ativan and Morphine to relive her of pain and suffering. I don't know if her prognosis was terminal in the first place. If it wasn't terminal in the first place, day to day it seems to be terminal after starting the hospice care. What can I do to clear all these doubts?
My grandfather is in a really great hospice and near death. He broke his leg, lost all of his weight (he has no muscle - just bones)he is a silent aspirator with a feeding tube and has had pneumonia four times since April of this year. He is 93 year old. They can't feed him through the feeding tube anymore because he gets sick and aspirates the vomit. How long can someone with all of these problems and not an ounce of fat live with no food. The only thing that they can give him is water.
He's taking morphine, I know the worst is yet to come. I need a support group, and anyone that prays to pray. His name is John. I need to know what to expect. The doctor told us he will need hospice eventually. I don't want anything "sugar coated". I just want honest answers. I love him, but the morphine makes him irritable and I know he's worried about me and the kids, etc. So, anyone that can just be honest with me, please do so. The only hope is a miracle.
He sleeps constantly, has very little appetite (if any at all), and is in constant pain. Recently the hospice staff put him on morphine. His appetite has picked up just a bit. When I asked about it the nurse said morphine is known to increase a person's appetite. Is this true???
as a Hospice nurse I have always talked my patients and their familys through the stages of death and dying. Denial Anger Bargaining Depression Acceptance I realized this past weekend as I helped my 7 year old with the worst flu I have ever seen a child suffer from. That my own pain and discomfort was nothing to keep me from caring for her. I realized I was suffering but i didn't care.
Maybe take the vicodin and leave out the morphine. You won't nod off on the vicodin. And don't mix that with benzos. Speak with the hospice folks. You do not need to suffer like this...there's a better way to handle the meds. For the RLS : drink orange juice for the potassium and try warm baths. Very soothing. Also,a heating pad set on "low" applied to your legs.
two problems 1 I work and cant be home with him all the time and 2 he is an alcholic and will get booze from someone I am afraid can u give me some solutions to these problems
My Dad is presently under hospice care for kidney failure and has numerous other health problems. He was told a month ago of his condition and dialysis was not an option. We have been given two meds to administer, ABR cream and ativan. The visiting RN advised us to give it to him as needed. Dad has a persistent cough that sometimes scares him because he can't catch his breath.
I have taken care of him (Primary) as well as my husband and now my son for the last 3 years and Hospice a year and a half. He has no use of his legs or hands since the first 6months. He was in a Nursing home but we brought him home In the last few months I have watched his urine change color to amber then bloody looking to normal yellow. He coughs at times. We have suction Machine but nothing else other than oxygen to help him for He has a DNR order ( do not resuscitate.