Hi. I haven't posted on here for a while. I honestly haven't got the energy to recount all the contextual history for this post, but please look on my profile - it's all there. Sorry.
My dad is now receiving end of life care at home - he is now a 'care in bed' patient as he has lost pretty much all of his strength. He was on 240ml morphine, midazolam, hyoscine through syringe driver and 175 fentanyl through patches. However, he still has excruciating breakthrough pain spikes roughly once a day which are only eased with stat injections of 40ml morphine and further hyoscine (the morphine elixir does nothing) The palliative care urgent response have been amazing at getting to him quickly when this happens but it agonising to be with him when he goes through this. He has had staggering courage though out the last 2 1/2 years (he's had an unusual and gruelling journey) and has maintained an amazing philosophy on life and death which has never wavered until now. He has had enough and wants it to be over and this is so tough to hear. We all feel so impotent. It's cruel.
I've posted this in the hope that someone has any experience and advice with how to help control these pain spikes. The nurses and doctors refer to them as colicky pain. They admit he has extremely complex pain management needs. Yesterday they took him off the morphine in the driver and increased the fentanyl to 350ml. He still had a breakthrough today for which he was given the morphine stat dose.
Many thanks in anticipation.
Sal
