Morphiine and increased appetitie

We were told a month and a half ago that my father in law is terminal. He sleeps constantly, has very little appetite (if any at all), and is in constant pain. Recently the hospice staff put him on morphine. His appetite has picked up just a bit. When I asked about it the nurse said morphine is known to increase a person's appetite. Is this true???

[allmymarbles]

I never heard that, but I should think that you would take more of an interest in food if you weren't in pain.

[ladybugmom57]

That was my thought too...great name :-)

[Dr Sharma]

Hi there. Morphine usually causes dizziness, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, loss of appetite, changes in the ability to taste food, weakness etc.  it might be the pain relief and analgesia which could have caused feeling of well being and hence improved appetite in your father in law. You can consult his intensivist regarding this and dose needs to be monitored because of the risk of undue sedation and respiratory depression. Hope this helps. Take care.

[ladybugmom57]

Hello! I wanted to thank you for the information on Morphine. I neglected to mention that it was not the hospice nurse but the nurse from the nursing home. We will mention this. I know that they use a Fentanyl (hope I'm spelling it correctly) patch and morphine by mouth. They were giving him the patch with Vicodin but I guess because his pain was increasing they switched to Morphine. We are due to have a conference this week. Again, thank you!

[ladybugmom57]

I'd like to thank both of you for answering my question. My father in law passed way last Wednesday but I feel that I was more knowledgeable and prepared and a lot of  was due to your help...God bless!