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Discussion

Pain medication case study

0I'm working through a case study and having a hard time about an 84 year old woman who fell down stairs and sustained multiple injuries and is very ready, whiny and clutching the nurse in pain. Dr ordered morphine 5 mg orally q 4hr prn and Ativan 1 mg IV 3 times daily prn. Which med would I give first?

if administered morphine and she continues to complain of pain 3 hours later and dr ups the dose, is she at risk of addiction? And what makes her a candidate for being under treated for pain?

thank you kindly in advance

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    Please look up the difference between addiction, tolerance, and habituation before you go one step further. Short answer: No, she is not "at risk for addiction" if her pain is inadequately treated and she gets more pain medication.

    As I recommended to another student, imagine that lady is your grandmother. Now what do you think she needs, and why?

    What else do you know? Tell us your thoughts on your homework questions before we do it for you. You can learn a lot about your questions in your med/surg book and your pharm book.

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    • Author

    I used the internet and Geri book to further my research, as I haven't yet reached pharmacology or med/surg in the program yet. I appreciate your feedback.

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    This should not be a case for you to study before med- surg or pharmacology has been learned.

    It's good you are trying to learn in advance.

    In this case, you would need to assess the patient's pain level and relative factors. If she is "clutching" at the nurse, the pain is intolerable and/ or the patient is anxious.

    Start by learning the onset of action with all medications. In this case, oral morphine would take a couple hours to become effective, the IV Ativan would immediately decrease the anxiety related to the pain.

    Best wishes with your studies.

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