My husband told me last night the he believes his body has become dependent upon the morphine. Even though he is still in pain, he is taking reduced doses to eventually stop. However, he says his body is requiring more than the reduced amount.

Has anyone had prolems with someone becoming addicted to the morphine or any other pain medication?:confused:

My husband told me last night the he believes his body has become dependent upon the morphine. Even though he is still in pain, he is taking reduced doses to eventually stop. However, he says his body is requiring more than the reduced amount.

Has anyone had prolems with someone becoming addicted to the morphine or any other pain medication?:confused:

Hello feetoclay, my mom was on morphine when she had sclc 4, she was at the stage where I said at one of our Emergency visits if there isn't anything you can do, when does the part of keeping the patient comfortable kick in. That night we were sent home with 6 and a script to be filled and she was to take 1 or 2 for pain 4 times a day.

I don't know where your husband is at in his illness. if he is in a lot of pain there is no point in cutting back to prevent addiction because his body needs the relief.

With my mom there was nothing more medically they could do, in fact she was never able to have chemo, just radiation treatments to shrink the tumors in her brain and one treatment on her chest. Becoming dependant to morphine did not even enter into it. At that stage she needed it and eventually more until she was put on a morphine drip, . My mom was on morphine for pain, lorazepam for anxiety, steroids for her brain mets, Tylenol Codiene, anti-nausea medication, sleep medicine-you name it she was taking it.

Like I said I don't know where your husband is at with this awful disease, just telling you what I know about morphine and yes your body does become dependant and you will need more or maybe a stronger dose. My father also became dependant on it when he was terminal with eosophagus cancer it's not like he was going to become a drug addict at that stage.

I don't know if this helps.

Thank you for the reply it is very helpful. My husband says that if he does not take it his body aches. He believes that the morphine is causing the aches and of course after he takes it the pain is gone.


He is not due for another scan until next month. I am really confused at this point. Again thank you for your insight.:angel:

I would be in agreement with ebrena...
my husband did not like all the meds he was taking either and he was on morphine and did remark to the dr about being worried about becoming addicted....
but...b/c he was terminal...it really didnt matter... his doctor said...
"so what?" "what difference does it make?" sad but true....

I dont know his prognosis...but he shouldnt live in pain....
I would think if he gets to the point where he is healed or better from the cancer then if there are issues such as this...the Dr. can help him

I heard somewhere that if you are truly using it for pain you cant become addicted....(obviously meaning using it in the right amount)

they did try to give my husband methadone at one time but he had a bad reaction to it....this affects your pain receptors differently than morphine and it is used for drug addiction as well.... but just beware... I really dont know your husbands history and I am definitely not making judgements...just stating a fact... if there is any history of drug/alcohol abuse ...methadone is not the way to go....from what I was told...(sorry if I am wrong)
also...I was told by one person dont just switch from one to the other abruptly...

obviously..you need to talk to his dr. let the dr know what your concerns are and they can give you reccommendations....

that is probably all I should have said...but just thought I would share my experience with my husband..

good luck with everything

Hello,
I am sorry for just now jumping in but I had forgotten my password (you know how you write things down on itty-bitty pieces of paper and then lose them???? Well.....)

My hubby was stage 4 when they started upgrading his pain meds. There is no sense in people suffering. From now on, it is to keep him (your hubby) comfortable and calm. Be prepared for not just the Roxinol (liquid morphine) but also the Ativan. By the time they knew time was really running short, no pain meds really helped my Bud. He was just kept in somewhat of a drug-enduced no-man's land, but it helped. He was taking liquid morphine and liquid Ativan (he could no longer swallow) every 15-30 mins.

I am so sorry you are going through this. I cannot tell you how hard I am working on trying to fight cancer, but, I think, if I had 20 million dollars, it would still not be "enough".

Take care of yourself too and get some rest when you can.

Healing, prayers, hope, and love from Southern Indiana.

Jan

I suffer from 3 bulging discs, 3 levels of facet hypertrophy and 3 levels of spinal stenosis.

As a result of being in seere pain all of the time, I wear a 100 mcg fentanyl patch and take 120 mgs of oxycodone a day.

All chornic pain patients taking opiates will become dependent on the meds. All that means is that when the nmeds are abruptly stopped, we suffer withdrawal.

Withdrawal DOES NOT MEAN addiction.

Addiction is psychological. Addicts take the meds for a high, not for pain relief.

Addicts doctor shop and buy more meds from the street.

Addicts do not follow doc's directions.

If the meds improe the quality of your life, you are not an addict.
If the meds ruin the aquality of your life and you lose your job, spouse, house and money, then there is a problem.

If your husband is dependent on the morphine, that is NORMAL and does NOT mean he is an addict.

As for me, there is a feeling that due to the leel of pain I'm having, there could be other things at work here. I just went for bone scan yesterday. My left leg is extremely weak, I have severe back pan and I have no reflex in the left leg.

I have a question for everybody. My paternal uncle was recently diagnosed with lung cancer (this past late spring/early summer). From what I understand, he was recently receiving both chemo and radiation at the same time. Apparently, the radiation is burning his esophagus and he is unable to eat solid foods and his white blood cell count is low. He was recently admitted to the hospital this past weekend. The nursing staff is saying that they can give him morphine pills to assist with his overall pain and also assist with food consumption. I know that we are not the doctor, but does it sound like late stage issues. I guess the reason that I'm asking is because I am having difficulty dealing with this myself, as the two of us have a good relationship. Any assistance and feedback that you can provide would be greatly appreciated.