Pain is unbearable

[Guest migizicny]

Hi all. Dad is having a terrible go if it. Friday we found out the liver biopsy was positive. I only spoke to the Dr. briefly, as I was at work caring for other folks with cancer! Dad;s back and hip pain has been getting much worse. He is now on 90 mg morphine er q 6hrs. and 10-20 mg Vicodin q 4 hrs. for breakthrough pain. No relief, as he is only taking one vicodin every 4-6 hrs. for the breakthrough pain. We called the Dr. on call this a.m. for suggestions. He suggested my Dad go be admitted to the hospital to be placed on a PCA to gain control over the pain. Dad refused.

He is so grumpy (as I would be also) and getting so weak. He is not eating much and has had a 20# wt loss since this all began in mid-June. About the only nutrition he can take in is Boost. I am heading back to Illinois this coming Thursday to spend a week with him.

It is so hard to be so far away. It is also so frustrating that I have 4 sibs that live within miles of him and are doing nothing. No calls, no visits. Everyone too busy. Screwed up family dynamics!

Any suggestions out there regarding the pain?? He begins radiation next week. Hopefully he will get relief fairly quickly. If the cancer doesn't kill him, I am afraid the pain will. Also any suggestions on nutrition??

Thanks all. Peace.

[kamataca]

I am so sorry that you and your dad are going through all of this. Mom has been very lucky so far, making it without the pain. My cousin (who has pancreatic cancer) is realy struggling with terrible pain. I agree, it is so hard to watch someone you love go through this.

I don't have any answers, just wanted you to know that I will pray for you and your dad.

Kelly

[Maryanne]

I am so sorry for all the pain your dad is going through. No one should be in so much pain, he as to get this mangaged somehow.

There is a morphine patch he could wear called Fentynal. That way he can get continuous morphine. Ask his doctor about it. It has help many people on here. Pergosets or oxycotin is also used for pain. The Oxy is suppose to last longer than the Pergosets and Vicodin.

The thing that gets to me is your siblings??? How could so many of them too busy to help out their dad? They should be ashamed of themselves!! Something is not right there.

Please know that we are always here for you for any questions, support, or prayers.

I hope they find something that will work for him.

Also very important is he must gets liquids, as he could get dehydrated, then he will have to go to the hospital and put on IV's

Would he drink a milkshake, you can make that with boost. Smoothies are also good. Ice cream with fruit in it with some milk and you blend it. Anything he can get down would be a plus.

Keep us posted.

Maryanne

[tatlyn]

I'm so sorry for all that your Dad is going through. I can't comment on the medication because it does seem to be quite a high doseage and yet still no relief Prayers that the radiation will do the trick and quickly. My Dad had 5 treatments on two areas a while ago and the result was swift and dramatic. As to nutrition, is your Dad taking any type of appetite booster? My Dad has been on Megace for a few weeks and it has picked his appetite up really well. Carnation Breakfast drinks are also very good...300 calories per drink and packed with a big percentage of the recommended daily nutrient values. 2 of these drinks a day plus several small snacks; jello, puddings, ice cream, oatmeal, granola bars, scrambled eggs...can provide enough calories in a day to at least maintain current weight. All the best to you.

Lynda

[ma's kid]

Unless the doc says he cannot have something..just give him anything that sounds good to him. My mom also was on Megace to help with her appetite and we found that small frequent meals worked better than the basic three a day.

It also helped that the portions were small so as to not overwhelm her..she would be *kinda hungry* and then would say...*I can't possibly eat all you give me*

Puddings, applesauce, baked potato, avocado, pasta, ice cream (we made her milkshakes with boost, and added ice cream and fruit)

As you know, dehydration is a big concern so make sure he continues to drink plenty of liquids.

Hope your dad's pain gets under control and let know how he's doing.

Take care of YOU, too..

Libby

[jduenges]

I am sorry to hear about your Dad. It is so hard to watch this happen. I feel bad about your siblings...that stinks. I hope he can get his pain under control. There are shakes made by Nestle called Carnation VHC(very high calorie). They contain about 560 calories. We use to blend the shakes with Haagan Daas ice cream for my Dad.

Jackie

[hollyanne]

Everyone has already given you the advice I would....but I will stress tell the doctors that the pain is simply not acceptable. He is on low doses of pain relief in comparison to what my mom a 110lb woman was on. Maryanne is right, the Duragesic patches work wonders for some people...did for my mom. The number one goal has to be to control the pain. You could look into hospice, then he could have the morphine pump at home....

Thinking of you,

Holly

[Don M]

The radiation should bring about relief of pain quickly. I hope the mets can be killed and that your dad attains no evidence of disease after his treatment.

Don M

[prairiecrow]

When my brother-in-law was going through advanced lung cancer, he sometimes refused to take his breakthrough pain meds, to the point of ending up in quite a bit of trouble because of it. My husband, who was his primary caregiver, came to believe that the reason Bill did this was because toward the end, how he managed his pain was one of the few things he still had control over.

As mixed-up as that sounds, I can sort of understand it. And I came to wonder if for some other cancer patients, that might not be the case as well.

Here's hoping that your dad finds good pain relief, whether through oral drugs, intravenous, or the radiation...

Laurie