Violent behavior

Toncheli · Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 2:25 pm Post subject: Violent behavior

Hi...my father (80 yrs) was diagnosed in July with Small Cell Neuroendocrine cancer that had metastasized to his spine. He refused treatment and has faded rapidly. Currently he is unable to walk and his pain is being controlled with Methadone (50 ml 3x day). Hospice and the Board and Care where he resides, has been fantastic but yesterday he unscrewed the railing to his hospital bed and threw it across the room and then knocked over all the furniture within his reach. I also witnessed him try to bite his nurse when she was applying a bandage to a wound on his arm.

Has anyone experienced this? I know he wants to die and is frustrated with his situation, but this seems a bit extreme. I am worried because he is a very strong 6ft 4in man who worked on the docks and could hurt himself or someone else.

The doctors have considered changing him from Haldol to Thorazine...any comments?

Thank you!
Lila

Tracy Jayne · Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 12:58 pm Post subject: Re: Violent Outbursts

I have recently been through a similar experience with my 59 year-old, entirely non-violent Dad. It is very scary and frustrating to see such fundamental changes in one that you love. Check my posts for more info.

In my Dad's last days, he railed against his family, as in his mind, we were holding him back from a place he called "the dream"- he couldn't leave his broken body so long as he felt an obligation to be with us.

There were all sorts of biological reasons for this including the morphine withdrawl he experienced as a result of his refusal of further medication, the meatbolic shutting down of the body and a possible brain meatastases (which we left unexplored). He seemed to react reasonably weel to an anti-psychotic medication. In South Africa it is called (sp?) epimal.

I continued to tell him that I was doing the best that I could and while he continued with the conspiracy theories until his very last, his final words were words of love and acceptance.

My Dad also tried to attack the nurses in the hospital. Nurses are a tough breed. They held their own. I don't know if this is at all helpful to you.

My thoughts are with you.
T.

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