It may or may not be overmedication. The meds suggested are used to relieve pain and fear. If she's not in a lot of pain, I could see PRN. If she is in a lot of pain, though, using the Dilaudid could ease needless suffering.
When my father was with Hospice but still at home, he used morphine PRN. They told him he could have alcohol (which he had quit for health reasons) OR morphine, but not both, because they didn't want to kill him. He chose the latter. At the very end, when he was in the center, they continuously used morphine, which he was still alert enough to want. Yes, he slept often, but he was already 'actively dying' and in pain.
I'm not sure how much pain your mother has. I'm very sorry you have to go through this.
NOT all the time. Sometimes they get better. My Mom has been on Hospice 4 times and got better each time so they took her off. My Dad was in horrible pain and hospice helped relieved that pain and he passed quickly.
People often don't call for hospice until they can see that things are irreversible and the end is coming. Then the end comes quicker than they were expecting. Some people linger for weeks, some people go rapidly downhill at the end. It's not possible to know how quickly the person would have gone without hospice. Don't blame yourselves if you know that you tried to do what you thought was best. Just remember that the end was certainly coming, and timing isn't so important as comfort.
No.They treat for comfort. Occasionally THAT hastens death, as you are not pumping in artificial means of keeping the torture going for another day, another week, another month. When a patient can no longer eat they do not feed. When they can no longer drink they do not pump in fluids. When the body reacts to any discomfort they medicate that comfort. When there is shortness of breath they administer medications to help that. These actions "allow death to come" if you will.
Generally, I’d say not. We did have a situation with hospice in our family where we all believe our family member died more quickly, likely a few days sooner, due to a hospice nurse overmedicating him. No one was upset by it, to the contrary, it was seen as merciful due to the circumstance. Many have had positive hospice experiences, some have had negative. I’ve seen both
My mom who is in a nursing home went to the hospital for aspiration pnumonia on 7/8/19 and because she had numerous medical conditions and was not eating nor drinking, the doctors at the hospital highly recommend hospice on 7/19. I agreed to the fact that her medical conditions outweigh going to dialysis and it was a greater risk now than before But the Hospice RN want to schedule both Dilaudid and Antivan. I stated not to schedule but prn Dilaudid and to schedule Antivan since was on it before for anxiety. I feel they want to drug her up till she doesnt respond to anything. Right now she is alert but not responding unless you touch her. In my opinion I want to leave the rest in Gods hands and not overmedicate my mom. What do you think?
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When my father was with Hospice but still at home, he used morphine PRN. They told him he could have alcohol (which he had quit for health reasons) OR morphine, but not both, because they didn't want to kill him. He chose the latter. At the very end, when he was in the center, they continuously used morphine, which he was still alert enough to want. Yes, he slept often, but he was already 'actively dying' and in pain.
I'm not sure how much pain your mother has. I'm very sorry you have to go through this.
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