Morphine

I think you probably know the answer, deep down.

Morphine is given to ease breathing in end of life care.

I'm sorry about your relative.

And I don't mean that cryptically, by the way.

It may be that the absence of pain is due to the morphine. It also helps to reduce any distress.

How sad for you GagaJo and your family. ?

I second everything which has been said. Been there a few times.

NOK need to speak to whoever is in charge of your relative's care.

Kali2

I think you probably know the answer, deep down.

No, I don't.

Today was the first dose. There has been no pain and no pain drugs until now, because no pain.

I spoke to the hospital today and they said death wasn't imminent.

I’m sorry your relative is so ill.

This may not help but I do want to say that being given morphine was a very pleasant sensation for me. Not just the pain relief but the overwhelming feeling of well-being and peace. I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful it was.

I hope that might put your mind at rest a little.

Is your relative compos mentis? Do you know what conversations s/he has had with staff about what they wish, if s/he has advanced directives?

As Riverwalk has said

''For hospice patients who have trouble breathing, small amounts of well-controlled and regularly titrated morphine can help ease respiratory distress by decreasing fluid in the lungs (and altering how the brain responds to pain.)''

It could be the breathing and well-being feeling. They did say it could help with mood (which I thought was a very strange reason - my only experience of it is for pain relief).

Thanks ladies. Very helpful.

Had several very different experiences with morphine:
1) After hysterectomy had a morphine pump to press for pain relief in hospital and morphine suppositories at bedtime. I was out like a light within 5 seconds every time!
2) Dad was on a syringe driver for the last two weeks of his life at home and slipped away very peacefully
3) A delivery man from the pharmacy turned up at our house with morphine addressed to DH. - which had never been prescribed. We were appalled, especially as every time we had to get supplies for Dad we had to go to the pharmacy and sign for it. We called the surgery, who were totally unconcerned.

Hope your relative will not suffer and will be able to slip away peacefully, if there is no hope of recovery. x

My own experience of morphine are these. I had it after my hysterectomy on a drip which I could press a button to get a dose but only every hour. It was bliss. This was 25 years ago I was 38.

My late husband was on morphine when his cancer was terminal. It took the edge off his pain but did not kill the pain. As our McMillan nurse explained the only dose that would stop the pain would kill him. His last day he was put on a syringe driver as he was unconscious. My darling man was fighting for breath on full oxygen. In the end I said stop fighting we will be alright . He died minutes later. What I am going to say next might be horrific to some but others will under if you have watched the live of your life in agony for months and then die in agony . If I could have pushed a larger dose of morphine into him I would have done . And ended his suffering. Next week it will be 18 years since he died aged 47. In those days we had enough morphine in the house to kill several herds of elephants.

My other experience of morphine was looking after my mom with breast cancer and dementia. The day she started to die. We where given morphine and other end of life drugs. One of the drugs was to ease her breathing. She was given this and a dose of morphine and it made her breathing easier and she slept . The drugs where given at 5.30pm she died 12.15 am. This was 2017.

Morphine is give to help patients and isn't given lightly. It is given to make the end easier for the patient.

I don't understand your objection to a terminal patient being given it.

I nursed both my husband and mom in our home where both died. If you are with someone with terminal cancer 24/7 you welcome anything to ease their suffering.

Gaga can no doubt answer for herself Whiff but I don't see her objecting just querying the use of the morphine, which is reasonable if you have no experience of end of life care, and not know that it's given for reasons other than pain.

Thanks Riverwalk. I don't object. Just didn't understand.

The patient didn't understand either and questioned the nurse (we were in the middle of a phone call).