We're in a difficult area of pain management beyond most of our experiences. We can't advise anything about medications, especially the very strong stuff. We can only pass on our experiences with what we had.

There is a fundamental principle in pain management about "keeping the bath hot". If you're sitting in a bath and trickling in hot water regularly it stays hot. If you let it go cold you need to put a heap of hot water in and its very uncomfortable while the temperature stabilises. Thats how pain management was described to me. You have to keep on top of the pain by having the right dose taken at the right time (eg 4hrly) and not wait for the pain to take hold.

He should not be trying to be a hero, be worried about addiction, or any of that crap. That is a problem, if it becomes a problem at all, for another day.

Pain is worsened by distress. So as well as the pain itself, you have the fear and worry about the pain. Do your best to remain calm and positive around him. Make sure he feels heard by the doctors, but don't fall into arguments with them, its extremely distressing when you lose faith in your medical team.

Lastly make sure he is eating, drinking and toileting properly. Pain and the meds play havoc with all three, at a time when you need all three to be working properly.