Pain management (non-opiate) for my mum who is on Naproxen

Hi

Ask Mum's cancer team to refer her to the hospital's Palliative Care team, who are the experts in pain relief and not just end of life care.

Hope she finds some relief soon.

Kegsy x

Thanks but I'm not in contact with her cancer team and I don't think she's telling them how uncomfortable she is. You see her partner takes her and I don't even think he knows 

Just curious, why won't your mum have opiate-based pain relief?? Is that a medical recommendation or a personal preference? 

She says it makes her trip and she's not in control of her body also it makes her constipated and she has enough of a problem with ibs as it is 

Aaah, right.  There's always a risk-benefit thing going on with meds.  Certainly if you take codeine-based pain meds you need to take laxatives at the same time.  Senokot is a gentle one.  I would probably feel reassured that if the downsides are looming greater in your Mum's judgment than the need for stronger pain relief that she's probably managing OK right now.  Lovely that you're researching her options for her. 

Hi Lullaby3fb87a,

I'm really sorry to hear about your mum needing further help with pain management.

Just to let know, for any questions relating to medical advice, you can always talk to our medically qualified Cancer Information Nurse Specialists. They also may be able to offer further guidance on who to contact regarding your mum's care if you are not in contact with the right people already.

You can get in touch either by phone on our Support Line, or by posting on our Ask a Nurse forum.

Our main Macmillan Support Line can be reached on freephone 0808 808 00 00. The Support Line is open from 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week. Just select the option to speak to one of our Cancer Information Nurse Specialists, and you will be connected as soon as the next one is available.

To ask your question on our Ask a Nurse forum group, simply head over to the forum and start a new discussion topic with a post containing your questions. The forum group is open from Monday to Friday. Once you have posted your question, a qualified Macmillan professional will respond within 1 to 3 working days (usually much sooner).

I hope you are able to get the advice you're looking for soon. Don't forget you can always rely on the Online Community for emotional support. I can see you've already joined the Family and friends forum, which is great. You may also find the Carers only forum helpful, if you provide any kind of care (formal or informal) for your mum.

Thanks I'm just worried about her pain and finding it difficult to get comfortable enough to sleep 

Lullaby3fb87a said:

Thanks I'm just worried about her pain and finding it difficult to get comfortable enough to sleep 

Completely understandable. See if you can talk it over with one of our nurses. They're really lovely and I can't recommend them highly enough.

Thank you so much  I just feel so helpless and don't know what to do. Once again thanks for your kind words 

Lullaby3fb87a said:

Thank you so much  I just feel so helpless and don't know what to do. Once again thanks for your kind words 

We're all here for you, Lullaby. I know it might feel totally overwhelming just now, so try to remember that you don't have to have all the answers immediately. And you don't have to do it alone, either. You'll get there, with support, one step at a time.