More pain meds
My husband didn't get the typical pain relief after radiation this time. Instead the pain increased. There were a few times where he was reaching for something, and cried out in pain. It was so horrible to hear. After the first time, I went into the basement and just cried.
So we were in to the palliative care doctor earlier than expected to get the pain meds increased. He's now on 60mg of the extended release morphine 3x a day, and using the immediate release morphine for breakthrough pain. Today's the first day, and I'm hoping his body will adjust, as he's very sleepy and nauseous today. The doctor mentioned hospice, that my husband's not ready yet for them to be involved, but maybe by the next appointment or two. He's been seeing the doctor about every month. And my husband, with his sense of humor, made comments about being able to use his boat again next summer.
I am so thankful that he's keeping a sense of humor, a good attitude and all the rest (the majority of the time). I am blessed.
And I am blessed with so many wonderful DS friends!
Karen
So we were in to the palliative care doctor earlier than expected to get the pain meds increased. He's now on 60mg of the extended release morphine 3x a day, and using the immediate release morphine for breakthrough pain. Today's the first day, and I'm hoping his body will adjust, as he's very sleepy and nauseous today. The doctor mentioned hospice, that my husband's not ready yet for them to be involved, but maybe by the next appointment or two. He's been seeing the doctor about every month. And my husband, with his sense of humor, made comments about being able to use his boat again next summer.
I am so thankful that he's keeping a sense of humor, a good attitude and all the rest (the majority of the time). I am blessed.
And I am blessed with so many wonderful DS friends!
Karen
Replies
Hopefully things will get better and the radiation will help his pain.
We are praying for you!
Julie
Dearest Karen,
It sounds like y\'all are going through some very tough times. It\'s okay to cry. I will be praying that the change in dosage will take away all the pain. You are a trooper, and such a precious, loving wife and caretaker. Don\'t forget to take care of YOU!
My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Much Love,
Ingrid
Dear Karen, I am so sorry that your husband\'s pain wasn\'t improved. I know how hard it is to watch a loved one suffer. I will pray for both of you...that his pain will ease and that you will have the strength that you will need to help him. Love, Linda
Dear Karen - painful as all this is for you - it\'s just horrible, tears from our loved ones - please don\'t think that this means end days. I know everyone\'s disease progression is different, but D is on 160mg of morphine in the morning, and 220mg in the evening, plus pregabalin, diclofenac, tramadol, paracetomol...the list goes on. And he\'s not planning to go anywhere anytime soon. Our Macmillan nurse has a patient who\'s been on 1000mg x2 for 3 years or so, and still drives, and lives a decent life.
D finds the liquid morphine for breakthrough pain makes him very sleepy, so he\'s more-or-less phased that one out, but he\'s very accustomed to the slow release kind now. There\'s a new thing (here) that you can take for movement pain - it\'s brand name is Abstral - you take it under the tongue10 mins before you plan to do s\'th. It\'s been useful.
Sorry Karen - I\'ve not meant to give you all this detail, but just I do feel for you so much. The pain is one of the worst things, and I\'m sending you much love and prayers
Meriel
Dear Karen, I am so sorry that he is in so much pain. The morphine is probably what is making him sick to his stomach. Lord I will pray that it gets better. Watching someone suffer is a horrible thing to see. I will pray that the morphine helps and I will pray that God will give you strength to cope with the day to day of this terrible disease. Hugs, Wanda
Karen...I read your journal and it brought back memories for me from last year at this very time. My husband passed away on Nov. 2 of liver cancer. And he was the one that wanted to bring in Hospice not me and I think why some people don\'t want to bring them in is because they show you how to die and make you understand what is happening..I wasn\'t ready to accept that fact he was leaving me...He was on liquid morphine and Halodol the last few days...some people have hospice come in months before and they do help you so much...I can only hope and pray that his treatments help him...a sense of humor is such a good thing..hugs Ellen
Thanks, dear friends for all your comments! They encourage me and they are wise. Each day is a gift, and I\'m thankful for each one. Meriel I appreciate the detail, it\'s helpful for me to put things in perspective. I wondered if the dosage he was on is a lot, and wondered about the switch from vicodin to the instant release morphine. I think it will just take his body awhile to adjust to the new level of pain meds...