Talk Cancer

Question:

My mom’s doctor put her on Marinol today. It really has helped her appetite. She has not been eating to well the past few weeks. Tried Zofran, Decadron you name it. She was so sweet today. It has been awhile since she has laughed and we did. It is pretty bad she has to get stoned to enjoy life from her bed. Hell I might try it. Only kidding. They had to increase MS Contin to 75mg bid. She won’t take the extra 15mg. She is so stubborn. She knows the colors of the pills so I can’t force her. She has not been able to walk since her fall. My hips are feeling it too. All the lifting.  Any one suffering from severe nausea or can not eat ask your doctor for it. When I find something to help I try to post it. Heating pad for legs when on Neupogen. Helps a lot. Debbie

Response:

Debbie..I’m so sorry… I’ve heard that Marinol works well..from some of the other moms..her daughter was having a horrible time with nausea from the chemo…I told her,..try pot! LOL…(teasing)..but then she said the docs used marinol, and it worked great.. that’s ok your mom is saying no to more meds right now..she needs to have some element of control still. I just don’t think she could be in better hands..I do hope that Debbie is finding some source of strength,help, relief, for Debbie. Sending love Robin…mom to hannah,aka "wild thing".1/17/98 – 9/1/00  wife to E….the other love of my life.

Response:

They just put my mom on Methadone. It’s kinda funny that that is what they give heroin addicts to help them kick the habit. The reason they are giving it to her is to ween her off the MS Contin, although I am not quite sure why. The MS Contin had been working okay, but on the two experimental releases from the hospital they decreased the dosage and she never made it more than a day before having to go back. What is your mother on for breakthrough, Debbie?  I think they have her on something called statex and it seems to me that she has to take a lot of them. Mom’s been doing better, and my parents are going to renew their wedding vows in a month Take Care, Kristin – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My mom’s doctor put her on Marinol today. It really has helped her appetite. She has not been eating to well the past few weeks. Tried Zofran, Decadron you name it. She was so sweet today. It has been awhile since she has laughed and we did. It is pretty bad she has to get stoned to enjoy life from her bed. Hell I might try it. Only kidding. They had to increase MS Contin to 75mg bid. She won’t take the extra 15mg. She is so stubborn. She knows the colors of the pills so I can’t force her. She has not been able to walk since her fall. My hips are feeling it too. All the lifting.  Any one suffering from severe nausea or can not eat ask your doctor for it. When I find something to help I try to post it. Heating pad for legs when on Neupogen. Helps a lot. Debbie

Response:

Kristen, You must be so excited about your parents renewal of their vows. That will be so special to see. My mom takes Lortab for break through pain. She isn’t doing to well. I want to call Hospice but my brother is giving me a hard time about it. I can’t do this all alone. She is completely bedridden. I have heard it called dead legs. That she has. She can’t use them any more. Her appetite is great now. What does Methodone do for your mom. My mom’s dr. usually goes with Dilaudid after a certain amount of MS Contin is given for breakthrough pain. She is taking to much Lortabs. 4 to 5 a day. She knows the colors of MS Contin and won’t take the increased dosage. Like Robin said she is taking control of something in her life. I wished it were something else and not the pain. It is weird all the drugs they use are from the 60’s when every one was getting high. LOL Now they are used for a good purpose. I am so happy for you and your family. Good Luck Debbie

Response:

Debbie..so sorry to hear about this..it’s hard to deal with conflicts of feelings in the family…I’m just going to put my 2 cents in here…I bet I’m gonna make some guys mad..:) You may want to call hospice anyway…I remember, the night before they put hannah’s morphine pump in..I was desperately trying to convince him that she needed to be knocked out at this point, due to her pain..and he was sitting there saying, well, if she’s better, I’m taking her for a walk tomorrow! He was clueless..and somehow I just saw it as being much harder for him, as a man, and her father, to accept what was happening. He even said that it wasn’t unitl that night, that he truly believed we were going to lose hannah…I just think it’s a man thing…it’s so hard sometimes for them to grapple with all the emotions, etc…(sorry guys…)…anyway, just wanted to encourage you..follow your intuition, and your need….I send you love. Robin…mom to hannah,aka "wild thing".1/17/98 – 9/1/00  wife to E….the other love of my life.

Response:

hi Debbie, I’m sorry to hear that your mom is not doing too well. Fortunately, my mom is still mobile, the only real problem is that she has two broken bones in her neck and has to wear a collar all the time.  They don’t know how weak the bones are, so she’ll always have to wear it. Why doesn’t your brother want you to call a hospice?  Mom was in the "hospital" for two weeks, and it was terrible.  There was one nurse for every ten patients, and a different one everyday.  At the hospice it is the same nurses all the time and by now they all know me by name.  And there is about 1 nurse for every 3 patients.  It has a dining room, family room, and no restrictions on visting hours.  They even allow pets, so I took my hamster, dorothy, to see her.  It’s so wonderful, especially after the hospital experience. Methadone is being used as a painkiller.  If they give her much more, then it will duplicate the effect of herion.  Sometimes I have heard that they do put cancer patients on herion to dull the pain. We had issues with the MS Contin too.  In the hospital, all Mom knew was that it was a purple pill and when she left it was orange.  We didn’t know that this meant they decreased the dosage.  Ultimately that’s why she ended up back in the hospital within a few days. Mom’s trying to take control of whatever she can, but has let go of trying to control her pain.  She’s really relying on religion a lot right now.  The Priest at her church gave her a really, really nice rosary and the grade five class at the private school where the Priest works said a hail Mary for her.  I wish I could turn to religion, but I don’t feel like I can…at least not yet. Perhaps is it the cost of the hospice that your brother is concerned about? I don’t know if I’ve read where you live, but I’m from Canada,. and so it isn’t costing us anything. Well, that’s enough of me rambling…just nice to talk to someone that is going through the same thing as me. Take Care. Kristin – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Robin said she is taking control of something in her life. I wished it were something else and not the pain. It is weird all the drugs they use are from the 60’s when every one was getting high. LOL Now they are used for a good purpose. I am so happy for you and your family. Good Luck Debbie

Response:

Kriston, That is a pretty name. At the hospital where I work I deal mostly with post- op and orthopedics. I have had 4 cancer patients. I didn’t know anything about this stuff till my mom. I am glad your mom is still able to get around. Here we don’t have Hospice centers. Well in this part of Tennessee anyway. They come to your home and are on call 24 and 7. I have chosen not to at this time. My mom and I talked and she just wants what is going to happen just happen. She don’t want a reminder all the time. So we agreed that a nurse’s assist. can come out 3 days a week so she can take her bath. Really that is all I need. I am going to talk to the nurse today and ask for this Hospice book they have about what happens before death. It explains a lot. You just keep talking because I need it too! I didn’t know about the heroin. That is interesting. Besides this is what I thought the group was about. I wrote a nasty post. I never do that. This guy really upset a person from the NG. I felt bad. Besides if he really is a doctor then I got to tell one off. That I never get to do. They tell nurses off when they are woke up at 3 in the morning. My mom can’t sleep tonite. I am staying up to make sure she gets something to drink and if she needs company. Well now I have rattled on. It is your turn or if anyone else wants to join in. Please we are not looking for miracle cures. LOL Debbie

Response:

My mom takes Lortab for break through pain. She isn’t doing to well. I want to call Hospice but my brother is giving me a hard time about it. I can’t do this all alone. She is completely bedridden. I have heard it called dead legs. That she has. She can’t use them any more. Her appetite is great now. What does Methodone do for your mom.

Methadone is a very effective pain killer. Given the correct dosage, it has the potential of handling the same pain that would often receive prescriptions for MS Contin or Oxycontin. Those two are extremely expensive medications – and they are long-acting (12 hours).  Methadone is normally prescribed to be taken every 4-8 hours.  The beauty of methadone is that it is inexpensive. Nearly everyone, even those on fixed income with no medical insurance can afford methadone.  A months dosage may cost $30 when Oxycontin would cost as much as $400 or more to cover the same pain level.  It’s unfortunate that our so-called war on drugs has created a situation where people tend to make incorrect assumptions about people taking methadone.  It seems that they are always accused of being drug addicts. I’ve seen a pharmacist do that even after filling a script which called for methadone (for pain).

Response: