Shelagh, I am so sorry that your sister is not improving, It must be so difficult for you. I will be praying for both of you.
Mark D.

Shelagh,

I agree don't ever give up. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Cherish everyday for what it is...another day together.

Tim

Dear Shelagh, The 2 things that come to my mind are #1. Make every day with your sister special and #2. Don't let her deal with pain she can't tolerate. I'm wishing much strength in getting through this. Amy

Having a bit of a problem with medication at the moment. My sister had to phone the emergency out-of-hours medical team the other week-end as she was in a lot of pain. Doctor came and told her she could crush up all her tablets and take them that way, as she was having difficulty swallowing them all - especially the slow-release, twice-a-day painkillers. She should not have been told this as, of course, she ended up taking a twelve-hour dose all in a oner. One ambulance ride to Accident & Emergency later ..... But fortunately she survived and is back home again. She's now been prescribed painkillers on a patch which she has to change every three days. She still had a lot of pain today, so they're obviously not working as well as they should. Back to the palliative care doc on Thursday, so hopefully he'll up the dosage or try something else. We are going to ask if it is possible to have the medicines in liquid form which can then be taken in via her peg. It would certainly make life a lot easier.
Les celebrated her 58th birthday on Sunday - yet another milestone she thought she would never reach. We take each day as it comes - some good, some bad.

I had the pain patch (fetynol) and I had liquid morphine sulfate for break through pain. I needed both. I als had liquid vicodin if I needed it. Good luck with the Dr and I hope for more good days than bad.

I had the pain patch (fetynol) and I had liquid morphine sulfate for break through pain. I needed both. I als had liquid vicodin if I needed it. Good luck with the Dr and I hope for more good days than bad.

Shelagh;
When my Oncologist suggested/prescribed the Fentanyl patch it was a night and day difference for me compared to anything else I had been prescribed except for morphine. As the pain increased they increased the dose, but it gave more consistent relief. Don't know when your sister started using the patch but I was told it would take a little time to deliver consistently. If it isn't working speak to them about raising the dosage.

Praying that the good days outweigh the bad.
Stay strong....

Steve

My heart goes out to you all who need pain medication and can't swallow it. I had difficulty swallowing anything after my surgery, and we crushed all of my meds. I finally figured out that some of them were irritating my mouth, since they are not intended to be dissolved in the mouth. If you are extra irritated, consider that this might be a contributing cause. The fentanyl patch might be just the ticket for this problem. It is expensive (!!) and it does come in a generic form, which is just as effective as the brand-named one ("Duragesic.")

Dear Shelagh, there is nothing worse than watching someone you love suffer with unmanaged pain. As a caregiver, I take a different approach from the posts above.#1. It sounds like Les's pain management[ at home] has not been good so far.
#2. It sounds like she either got some bad advice about crushing those pills or she did not understand the instructions.
In either event, it sounds to me like she should be admitted to a hospital for a few days to get the pain under control and then get to go home with the medications that work and a clear understanding about how and when to administer them. Does she have someone to help? Once you are on strong drugs, you need help in keeping up with your doses.
I am not an advocate of the Fentanyl patch because my husband had a horrible reaction to it and scared us all.[ But he does not do well with drugs]. At any rate, I think Les needs to be under serious medical supervision while someone finds the relief that will work for her. You may have to fight for this, but she should get pain relief that does not further jeprodize her at this point. Amy

Dear Amy and all,
I saw Lesley again today and she is in a lot of pain. The Fentanyl patch is obviously not working and on Thursday, her hospice doc (out-patients) prescribed a higher-dose patch - 75 instead of 50. For some reason or another, the prescription wasn't available to be picked up from the local chemist today (Saturday)- so we are hoping that it will be available on Monday. There seems to be an intolerable delay in the doctor prescribing a new/stronger drug and the moment she can actually start taking it. I am going to look into it next week and try to find out where the hold-up is. So Les is popping Oxynorm like sweeties but they don't seem to be doing much good. I, too, think she should go into the hospice for a few days to get her medication sorted out, but she doesn't want to do this - despite the fact that she's been in for a few short-term stays already and knows what it's like. I don't have the right to make her do anything that she doesn't want to do - but I so hate watching her in such pain. Wish she wasn't so stubborn - but that's probably a good thing when you're up against cancer. She still feels she's in charge and capable of making her own decisions - so until such time that she isn't, I have to respect her decisions. I just wish she could have the odd 'good' day - it would make such a difference to her spirit. Hopefully though, the stronger patch will help, once she eventually gets it.
Shelagh