Detoxing while dying of cancer

[tess991]

my brother is on his death bed dying from cancer and we are wondering if he can be detoxing from his dose of methadone after eight years of been off drugs , he is getting high doses of morphine now but still he is very aggiatate
and no one is telling us whats going on

[Mangee]

If the doctors don't know of his former addiction it is better you let them know and they will surely deal with it. In the meantime I am truly sorry to hear of his fight with cancer.

[Beenerkitty]

restlessness/agitation is all a normal part of the dying process. they reach in to the air, pick at their clothes and linen. sometimes it helps to add a benzo such as lorazepam along with the morphine to help calm them down. he could be experiencing withdrawals. is it poss to request the morphine be increased. with dying patients there is no ceiling on the limit of morphine one can have-however sometimes the MD doesnt agree. ask for a benzo( lorazepam , alprolazam). if agitation contines ask for haloperidol. hope this helps some

[nick30]

hi there, i too am very very sorry that your family is going through this. do you mean that your brother is off illegal drugs for 8 years and is on ongoing methadone replacement? if that is the case then yes, it is certainly possible that he could be having withdrawal symptoms from the methadone. one narcotic does not always remove withdrawals from another. hope this helps. please feel free to msg me if you need further help.

Nick.

[kim715]

I'm so very sorry for your situation.I will keep your family in my prayers.You posted on the social side and that doesn't see as much activity as the substance abuse side.Go to the top of this page and hit Substance Abuse Addiction Community,right above post a question.Then cut and paste or re type it and post on that side.You will likely get more responses that way.I wish I could help,but I just don't know.....Kim