Advice please re: Morphine

Hi Alaskita sorry to hear you're in pain. Are you able to take ibuprofen? During treatment I found this to be the best form of pain relief. You just have to watch for constipation with it. This also applies to morphine. I was given a liquid morphine to take but didn't really need it as the ibuprofen were so good and didn't get on with it when I tried it. It made me itch and feel hyper. Bev x

Hi Alaskita,

I agree with Bev I’d give the ibuprofen a go alternating it with paracetamol 2 hourly. You do need to take these regularly though so that a level is built in your system & is kept constant. I’ve never been able to take ibuprofen, it gives me awful heartburn & nausea but my oncologist prescribed me lansoprazole to take each morning & I had no heartburn or nausea after that & could take the ibuprofen regularly. I went through treatment & recovery with paracetamol & ibuprofen as my main source of pain relief as any of the opioids caused me chronic constipation which wasn’t great! Don’t be afraid to try the medications prescribed by your oncologist, we’re all different & pain relief isn’t a one size fits all kind of thing just be aware of any side effects, such as constipation, so that you can be prepared with other meds to counteract these, stool softeners such as Movicol or Laxido are good to have on hand just in case. I hope find something that works for you very soon. 

Nicola 

Hi Alaskita, can I say unlike Bev and Nicola paracetamol and ibuprofen alone just did not kill the pain for me. I was given liquid morphine which they said to take 1.25ml every four hours. Which only equates to 7.5ml a day! This was on top of paracetamol and ibuprofen if needed. I too didn’t want to take morphine for the reason being I felt a failure having to need higher pain relief. My oncologist assured me that as it was relatively low and for a short period and I would not be at risk of addiction as it was for severe pain. I came off on my own accord as I was doing well but pretty quickly went back on when the pain returned. I think we are all different and can depend on the area where the pain is. I had surgery before the treatment and was still recovering from that when I was having radiotherapy. Don’t feel guilty taking morphine if it helps with the pain but ensure you drink plenty of fluids and take a stool softener. I did find taking the oral morphine made me pass urine frequently and if I didn’t take laxative I was constipated. Recovery can be harsh and not for ever and find whatever suits you to cope with it and not to feel bad and use your specialist team for advice if you are worried about addiction. When my pain was resolved I stopped the morphine with no after effects at all.

Thanks everyone, I can take ibuprofen so I’ve decided for the moment to try and alternate between a gram of paracetamol every 4 hours and 650g of ibuprofen in between. Just as a side note, what dosage was everyone on of the Capecitabine? Im on 1450gm twice a day,which is 5 tablets in the morning and same in the evening. I’ll be rattling as I walk at this rate! X

I was terrified of morphine - but was in the exact same position as you. Lying on the rads table was hell. It felt like hours when it was minutes. I took oramorph liquid and slow release zomorph morning and night - it was a god send. 

if you can avoid nurofen, do. I found it increased bleeding, and therefore made me more anaemic. 

I had no problems with morphine at all. It was codeine that was awful for me,  as it causes wicked constipation xx 

Hi Alaskita. I think the dose of the capecitabine depends on your size and body surface area (height/weight) , I took 6 tablets twice daily. 
Like others I didn’t want to take the oral morphine, but did use it for about a week when the pain post treatment was peaking and not controlled by the paracetamol, obviously it is very individual , but it certainly helped me. Also the antihistamine tablets to control some of the itching, when you feel like you just want to claw at the area with your nails . Good Luck. It does get better! 

Thanks for replying, sorry you felt the pain on the table too, it really is awful isn’t . I think tonight, I have my appointment at 22..40, I will have to try the morphine tablet under my tongue. It’s just reading all the blinking side effects that put me off,I know I’m not necessarily going to get them but still it scares the crap out of me! Thanks again for the reassurance.Xx

Don’t read into the side effects too much. They put the kitchen sink on there to cover themselves from a legal stand point. I was on 10ml every 4 hours at first,  and had zero side effects, other than a cracking nap every now and again, which was very welcome!! xx 

Pita, did you get on ok with the Capecitabine tablets? I think I’m ok with them, it’s early days yet I know but so far I’ve  felt a little nauseous and really really tired...keep popping off to bed for a little siesta, I am in Spain I suppose lol. Thanks so much for the advice and good wishes, I’m sure I’ll be back asking for more words of wisdom from you lovely people, so glad I found this forum . Xx

I like your style! Can’t beat a good nap lol, you’re right about the side effects, I need to man up and just take it! X