True pain relief kept out of reach!?!

Mickey · New User Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Posts: 3 Location: Australia

My mum has NSCLC and is in stage iv of this illness. The cancer has spread to her lymph nodes also. She has had some chemo and is about to begin 'Pemexetred' which I don't know a whole lot about. She is in a hell of a lot of pain about her body and I can't bear to see this.
I floated the idea the other day, with her and dad, about getting her some heroin which I would help her to administer, because we believe that this would really be the only effective method of pain relief...she has some morphine, orally taken...about 150 mg's per 24 hours...but this seems to do nothing for her.
I don't care about the legal implications in the slightest..I don't even care if I go to jail...I just cannot stand about and see a good woman like this suffer any longer simply because governments do not have the foresight or intelligence to legalize the most effective pain relief ever.
I would be interested to hear arguments on both sides of the coin in this issue.

brainman

Mickey, while very sorry about your mother's cancer and associated pain, I truly hope you are kidding about self-administered heroin. Forget the "legal implications." There is a reason that not even doctors administer heroin! If she is in pain, please tell her medical team. They have an obligation to her to reach a safe but effective solution for her pain. Heroin might be effective but it is far from safe!!!

I will keep you and your mother in my thoughts and my prayers.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

Mickey · New User Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Posts: 3 Location: Australia

Many thanks for your reply and kind words.
Is it not the reason though, for even doctors not administering heroin in cases like my mothers, the fact that it is illegal?

pbj11 · Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 982

Mickey,

Oxycontin is the synthetic equivalent of heroin. The doctor's can and do prescribe medicines that are equal in strength. Stick with the docs. Push them harder if you have to, but don't resort to something outside of the law that isn't going to do any better than what is already available.

I'm so very sorry she is in pain -- that shouldn't be happening. May God bless all of you as this journey continues.

PBJ

Mickey · New User Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Posts: 3 Location: Australia

Everyone is so very kind here.
Mum's doctor has never mentioned 'Oxycontin'....we will certainly look into the possibilities.
Stepping outside of the law is the last of my wishes...however someone who is so close to me, and her pain, is the foremost of my concerns and I will stop at nothing to see that her twilight moments are spent in comfort.

brainman

Mickey, my heart really does go out to you! It is not easy to watch someone you love in pain! On rare but sad occasions the medical teams really cannot find a solution for the patient's pain short of increasing the medication to a point that puts the patient into a coma.

Oxycontin (OC, OX, Oxy, Oxycotton, Hillbilly heroin, and kicker are some of its street names) is a brand name for the generic time released Oxycodone. It is a widely used pain medication here in the USA. I do not know how available it is in Australia, but I assume that it is. Ask your mother's medical team about it. There might be details of her condition that preclude it use but it is worth asking about anyhow.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

catherinejar

Hi Mickey,
I understand your desperation, and forgive me if my suggestion is too simplistic, but when my dad was being administered the morphine orally, it didn't do much at all. However, the last 2 days he was given the morphine through injection on demand, it made a huge difference. I saw him go from being in excruciating discomfort to relaxed in seconds. About every 2 hours it would wear off and then he would start to convulse again at which point we would run off and grab the nurse. So then we started to stay ahead of the pain and had it administered just before every 2nd hour. He passed peacefully instead of traumatically, which made a huge difference to us.

Also if you could get the heroin, you would need to know how much to give her and all that, you don't know how pure it is etc etc.. it would be pretty risky, aside from the legal aspect of it. This is from someone who knows quite a lot about heroin recovery.

Anyways, hang in there. I know how you feel.

Catherine

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