Codeine advice

Lewis44 2 days ago

7 replies
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My father in law has advanced bowel cancer (diagnosed in November 2024). He has deteriorated significantly since the diagnosis. A week ago he was told that it is aggressive. He spent 6 days in hospital over Christmas due to fluid build up in his tummy. He ended up having 9 litres drained. The consultant believes that this is because the cancer has spread to his stomach. The fluid has been building up again, but they don’t want to drain before they absolutely have to for various reasons. He had a scan on Wednesday, PICC line put in on Thursday, and line checked again yesterday. Today, he has deteriorated again, has diarrhoea and has started passing blood again. He is due to have his 1st round of chemo on Monday, but as things stand today, I don’t see how we are going to get him to his hospital appointment as he is so weak. He started on Codeine on Tuesday, which seems to have helped with his pain. He is also on steroid tablets. He is barely eating or drinking anything, as he feels so unwell, and eating is very scary for him. Have any of you had a deterioration in your condition due to taking codeine or steroid tablets? Previously he was on paracetamol but it didn’t touch the pain. We are worried that taking codeine on a very empty stomach may be contributing to his current deterioration. Thankyou in advance for your experiences in this matter

court 2 days ago

Hi Lewis44

You could give the helpline a call . 0808 808 0000 . The nurses might have some good insight .

But if you feel there is an urgent problem you could call the out of hours service .
Codeine can be really tricky . It exhausted my mum . But you might also find he is very dehydrated. That can happen quite easily. This used to happen to my mum and knocked her electrolytes off . She had a few emergency admissions for this alone . It can be really debilitating.

You might want to speak to the nhs anyway . He may need his bloods done to make sure it’s all in order .
I wish him well ,

Court

Helpline Number 0808 808 0000

Nicnak72 2 days ago

I would call 111 if I were you sweetie. I definitely think you need the advice of a professional. Xxx

Susan13 1 day ago

The codeine should also help with the diarrhea.

Not eating will send him downhill fast. He needs to try to get some fluids down and some calories, especially protein. As sick as he is, they may need to do at least IV fluids.

When i was getting chemo infusions, they always took bloods within 24 hours before the start. If bloods weren't good, my infusion would be delayed. When that happened, they gave me appropriate infusions to boost my system. I'm in the US so the process is different but I think he may need medical intervention.

Lewis44 1 day ago in reply to Susan13

Thanks very much for this. We ended up calling an ambulance, and it was touch and go for a while. He is more stable this evening

court 1 day ago in reply to Lewis44

Pleased to hear that . Glad he is getting the right attention and the right input . Send him our best . Is he getting fluids ?
Court

Helpline Number 0808 808 0000

Lewis44 1 day ago in reply to court

Yes, he had a drip, but I am sad to say that we are most likely looking at palliative care moving forwards. The speed with which this cruel has struck is unbelievable

Susan13 8 hours ago in reply to Lewis44

I'm sorry to hear that. Colon cancer is typically slow moving and you usually get more time. But not always. Mine was atypical and very fast growing. I was extremely lucky to get treatment in time. Not everyone is that lucky.

Even on palliative care, you may find that you get more time than expected. The doctors will know what is possible.

Sending you and your family virtual hugs.