Morphine patches

[blackcushion]

The last 3 days my mum is smiling and laughing alot it's a lovely change the last week she hasn't been shouting and crying with pain through the night, we've put her to sleep on her back instead of her on her side and has morphine patch which district nurses change every 72hours , it's just lovely to see her smile wish she could talk but that's never going to be . X

[SharonAB]

Dear Blackcushion,

Great step forward. Lovely to hear your Mum is sharing her life with you and not in pain.

Regards, Alana - Western Australia

[blackcushion in reply to SharonAB]

I spoke too soon this afternoon nightmare hope mum settles at bedtime x

[SharonAB in reply to blackcushion]

Guess its all a juggling act to where there is no real answer? Remember to look after your own health (VERY easy to say - harder to do!) X

[goldcap in reply to blackcushion]

I think this is the most disconcerting aspect of this disease. The only constant is change. I am so sorry for you and I hope she settles in and you are able to get some sleep. With Parkinsons patients I believe they call it,"sundowning", as the patient becomes more agitated and distressed as the sun goes down. Something to do with the medication wearing off but I have seen this occur in other illnesses. Don't know why this is. Strelly?

[JanetCurry in reply to goldcap]

It seems that it's always harder to be sick at night and more lonely as well. My friend and I used to curl up together, which helped him a lot....but nights were restless and he'd fall sound asleep in the morning! Needless to say, I became so exhausted with our "routine" I got someone to cover for me three shifts a week so I could just sleep for 8 un-interrupted hours at a time!

[jillannf6 in reply to SharonAB]

alana u r grea on the forum

lol Jill

[PAT0]

My late husband was given patches (I think a morphine based) he never appeared to be in pain even when he was extremely ill

He used to attend one day a week at the local hospice who understood PSP and they recommended the patches when my husband was suffering with neck pain

[Croz2307]

Good to hear mum is finding the morphine helpful and no longer in pain. I know just how you feel about her talking but I'm sure her smile says a lot. Best wishes

[goldcap]

Janet, I know! He has been sleeping fairly well at night but I stay up to all hours because I get extra time to get things done, catch up, or just have some quality alone time reading, writing etc. It is taking a heavy toll on me lately. I am exhausted and short tempered-NOT me at all. He sleeps in the afternoon after morning therapies. I am going to have to either nap them or take advantage of this time. Reminds me of when my son was a baby! I used to fantasize then (like now just staying in bed for a couple of days and have someone take care of everything for me.I just keep telling myself there will be a day when I won't be sleep deprived but I will be alone and I buck up and stop feeling sorry for myself.

[JudyJ]

So glad to hear this. Living, or trying to, with chronic pain is often a no-win battle. If the morphine patch improves the quality of her life, it's a success story! Quality of life is what it's about; just my opinion. My Doc started me on the Fentanyl patch over a year ago; very similar to morphine patch, with the same goal. Can't express how much my life has improved because of it. Been taking it long enough I no longer experience the side-affects. It allows me to MOVE and to SLEEP. As to pain being more severe later in the day or during sleep, he's always said it is worse because during the day, your nervous systems are distracted/interrupted...at rest, they aren't, and allow underlying pain to rise up and reak havoc. More than one doctor has explained this to me in fact. It is a real physical process/response.

Hoping for continued success/relief for her. How uplifting it must be to experience her perhaps more like she used to be in demeanor.

Best to you,

Judy

Minnesota, USA