niamh

Hi jemb & aimeee, thanks for taking the trouble to reply. I have discussed side effects with nurse & dr. Nurse comes every day to fill the s/driver. She said she had never come across side effects with buscopan, but it has many possible side effects, so I suspect she cannot distinguish between results of illness & side effects of drugs. Dr. has twice expressed concerns that Dad is overmedicated & has reduced drugs. He is not very experienced in palliative care. I think they started off the s/driver with too many drugs. When he was taking meds orally, he was on morphine & haloperidol only, but even these were started arbitrarily. e.g. they prescribed morphine even though he has never complained of pain. When they put him on the s/driver they added two more drugs. We cannot really risk reducing meds further if he is not able to say how he feels. Thanks again for your help.

I am hoping someone here might have some info on the following. My Dad has terminal pancreatic cancer - had Whipple, chemo not recommended. Since Sept 18 he gets drugs by syringe driver over 24 hrs. After some adjustment these are: morphine sulphate 25mg buscopan (=scopolamine) 40mg hypnovel (=midazolam) 15mg serenace (=haloperidol) 5mg He is very weak, knows what he wants to say but cannot speak clearly, can barely hold anything. In the last few days he is confused. If I understood him correctly, today he doesn't know where he is (has lived here 30 yrs). I think he is having hallucinations. He has previously been restless, which I understand can be the illness, but can also be a side effect. I have looked up the side-effects of the meds & they include difficulty speaking & swallowing, restlessness, confusion, hallucinations, drowsiness, etc. Is his confusion part of his illness or could it be over-medication? Why would he need hypnovel AND serenace? He is getting buscopan to prevent chest infection - is that usual? Is it worth it considering the possible side effects? Is there a more appropriate med? Where could I get info re over-medication & side effects? Thanks in advance for any info.