Debbie53
Active member
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2008
- Messages
- 86
- Reason
- Lost a loved one
- Diagnosis
- 08/2008
- Country
- US
- State
- CO
- City
- Greeley
I wrote about this problem a couple of weeks ago, but it's gotten worse. We don't know if Dad's just reached a stage of dying where he's not all here, or if it's the meds, but he is a different person than he was three and a half weeks ago when he went into the nursing home. He's on morphine, xanax (changed from ativan) and lexapro, and today, FINALLY, I got the doctor to change the morphine to methadone. Who knows if that'll work, but my brother and sister-in-law are both on methadone for chronic pain and they swear it's a lifesaver for them and morphine makes them disoriented.
It drives me insane that all these workers at the nursing home just look at me like I'M crazy when I point out that what my dad is saying is VERY WEIRD. He talks about having more than one body, some like scooters, "but which is the regular one?" and how his room is always the same room, but there are layers behind everything and you never quite know which is right. I asked him how bad his pain was and he said, "I don't know what pain is," then said his pain patch was back and it was about a 7. (He doesn't have a patch.) He also told the woman who was feeding him, "God doesn't need to eat." Three weeks ago he was discussing politics with everyone and talking perfectly normally. Now he doesn't understand why there's a football game on tv ("is it here just for me?") He's very sleepy but also agitated and paranoid, something he's never been before. I am at my wits' end! And everyone seems to think, oh well, he's 87, he's dying anyway, what do you expect? We can handle that he's dying, but we thought Hospice would make sure he died peacefully and comfortably, not feeling like he's in jail (which he does). Any insights?
It drives me insane that all these workers at the nursing home just look at me like I'M crazy when I point out that what my dad is saying is VERY WEIRD. He talks about having more than one body, some like scooters, "but which is the regular one?" and how his room is always the same room, but there are layers behind everything and you never quite know which is right. I asked him how bad his pain was and he said, "I don't know what pain is," then said his pain patch was back and it was about a 7. (He doesn't have a patch.) He also told the woman who was feeding him, "God doesn't need to eat." Three weeks ago he was discussing politics with everyone and talking perfectly normally. Now he doesn't understand why there's a football game on tv ("is it here just for me?") He's very sleepy but also agitated and paranoid, something he's never been before. I am at my wits' end! And everyone seems to think, oh well, he's 87, he's dying anyway, what do you expect? We can handle that he's dying, but we thought Hospice would make sure he died peacefully and comfortably, not feeling like he's in jail (which he does). Any insights?