Can cancer pain be real bad one day and gone the next?

[alanpvegas]

Ok here is a scooby doo mystery...

Mom is 6 months post-op and been in constant pain since.  Been taking dilaudid the entire time, needs it every 3 hours.  Anyways had a really bad experience at the hospital and had to fight to get her breakthrough pain medication (the nurses seem to think it's ok that my mom is in constant pain for an hour and it's ok for her to cry...).

Anyways for the past three days...her pain is gone.  I mean gone.  She's had it in one spot for 6 months but no longer...they were even late (yet again) in giving her medication for over an hour and no pain.  Typically she is in pain scale 10 pain 30min before her shot is due.

Anyone have any theories or ideas on this?  I'm praying this continues but have no clue why this happened so *suddenly*?

[alanpvegas]

Thanks!

Yeah if you go to websites like cancer-pain.org and such and even the ACS, NCI, etc. they all say that cancer patients are undermedicated because Dr's and Nurses don't understand how to treat it or don't think it's necessary.

She takes Dilaudid which is from morphine but more powerful.  In-fact all morphine does is make her dizzy and not feeling good.  

I just though it was wierd she had this severe pain for 6 months now and suddenly it goes away.  Maybe this new chemo she is on did something?  I hope so! :)

[Tybear]

I'm so sorry about your mothers pain - I'm happy it's gone though, whatever it was. I can't believe that they won't give your mom breakthrough meds - my doctor's, I find, over medicate me. When I found out I was going to have chemo again, they wrote me a prescription for 300 morphine tabs! I couldn't believe it ... they are lucky I'm not a prescription drug abuser or something. Can you not get the nurses to up her original dose? What about a 12hr patch? There are so many types of pain relief out there, it's a shame they would let anyone suffer for no reason.
Take care,
Becky

[freshair]

Sorry on your mother's pain. That must be so hard. I don't know but maybe also you could post a question to the doctor on this site.

I'm praying that she is getting better and losing that pain. Is she due for a cat scan soon?

Also it's a shame the nurses are so slow to treat pain.