What do you think????

[KellieNurse06]

I have heard issues about patients becoming "addicted" to pain meds....my question specifically is regarding pain meds in a dying patient......I know some nurses/doctors get kind of leary of a patient getting addicted....my thoughts on this is....if the person is dying...who cares?????? They are dying!!! If they want pain meds let them have them....I mean come on!!! I have talked to a few nurses and some are on the same train of thought as I am..and then I have talked to some who seem a bit "overboard" on worrying about the patient getting addicted.......my point is...if they are dying does it really matter if they get addicted or not? I mean they can't came back after they die as an addict.......and isn't their comfort/pain relief the most important issue anyway??? I don't mean to medicate them into uncousciousness but medicated reasonably so they can be as comfortable as humanly possible so they're last days/hours or whatever are not spent in nothing but pain..............any thoughts on this????? Just always wondered how some nurses/doctors come to their idea on this......... Thi:idea: is nothing to do with any actual patient..just a hypothetical question in general.....

[PANurseRN1]

Addiction is not an issue in this case. Addiction is taking a substance for reasons other than therapeutic measures. Anyone who worries about terminally ill pts. becoming addicted to pain meds isn't competent to provide care for those pts.

[BabyRN2Be]

In the case of a terminal patient, addiction to pain medication should not be an issue. People are becoming more educated on this topic, and family does need some education as well.

I believe that it's very important that a patient's last days on Earth are as pain-free as possible, and that means the use of narcotics. Patients should not be afraid of pain meds and they should be kept as comfortable as possible as they get closer to passing away.

Hospice is a God-send. Hospice nurses are so awesome with everyone, the pt and the family. They can give this vital education so that people will not fear the meds, and see them as easing their passage iinto death.

I have found that the generation currently in their 70's and 80's are very conservative in their use of medications and want to "tough out" their pain. They should be encouraged that taken medications is OK, and that they won't become addicted, and it's for their comfort.

This has only become prevalent in the last several years and I'm glad this is happening. We watched my aunt die a painful death from breast cancer all because her husband didn't want her to become addicted to pain meds.

It was very sad and I'm glad that more education is available on palliative care than what has been in the past.

[rninme]

If a patient is dying....WHO cares if they MIGHT get addicted to pain meds??? This issue really lights me up...LOL!! The above poster is absolutely correct about Hospice....what a WONDERFUL organization for both the patients and their families!! And, as RNs, we are the advocate for the patient...and I, for one, am a PITBULL when it comes to pain control for my dying patients...as some less enlightened MD's have found out....much to their sorrow!

[Jo Dirt]

Oh man, if a patient is dying give them what they want! Of course, don't send them into a coma, but addiction in a dying person is the last thing to worry about.

If I ever know I am dying I pray I don't get a caregiver who with holds meds that would make me suffer less because they are worried about my being an addict.

[mandana]

This is one of my biggest peeves in nursing.

Medicate the patient.

I agree with your thoughts totally.

Amanda

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

I can't beleive people second guess this issue, esp docs.

[JohnBearPA]

one word,,,,, HOSPICE.

My Mom died a very painful death due to untreatable vulvar ca at the facility I worked at not too long after I graduated from nrsg school. If it wasn't for the pain meds making her comfortable, I would have missed out on a few great talks with her, because when the pain was unbearable, she couldn't even realize I was in the room, let alone talk. Did I have qualms about her meds? yes, at first, because as a new nurse, I was scared to death that she'd become addicted. Then it dawned on me that Mom was NOT going to make it thru this, and did I want to deny her the gift of passing away with dignity and screaming and crying and writhing and thrashing from the extreme pain? I chose to make her as comfortable as possible, and have NEVER regretted it. I totally agree that anyones last days or hours on this earth should be pain free and as comfortable as possible, and if that means alot of narcs, or high dosages, so be it! God bless the pt. that passes away with dignity intact.

[SophiaRN]

I also believe we need to examine our views and judgements toward people with chronic pain. Of course, we don't want to turn people into addicts and they must be monitored closely, but if someone has chronic pain and it can be made more bearable with the use of routine narcotics, who are we to constantly label them "drug seekers"?? I'm not saying everyone does, or there aren't people out there who are "drug seekers", I just believe that life is too short to go through it in constant pain when something can be done about it.