Demystifying Narcotics for Pain at End of Life
Not everyone who is dying has pain. Disease causes pain. If pain is not present, a narcotic is not appropriate (except a tiny bit can ease labored breathing is present...
Something to Think About: a blog on end of life
morphine
Hospice Does Not Euthanize
I'm going to start by being blunt: hospice, end of life workers, hospitals, and nursing facilities make their money only as long as the people they serve are alive.. They...
The Anger Surrounding Narcotic Use at End of Life
Taking care of someone at the end of life is different from taking care of someone who is going to get better—-but most people don’t know that either. Unless we...
"I Feel Your Death Is My Fault. I'm Sorry I Let You Die"
From what you have told me I believe your mother's death was no one's fault, certainly not yours. Her body, after all the years of illness, couldn't continue and she...
"I Wanted Dad To Have a Gentle Death, But..."
...Rapid breathing like your dad was doing is exactly where a small bit of morphine (5 ml is small) helps slow down those 40/50 breaths a minute to a more...
Was It Panic Or A Final Moment Grimace?
Trying to "calm" a person who is choking or panicking doesn't actually work whether death is close or not. The question we have to ask is how close to death...
The Three Signs of Approaching Death From Disease or Old Age
Know that all of these signs of approaching death, whether indicating months or weeks, are just guideposts. Some people will show all of them...
How Do You Grieve a Violent Death?
Sudden death by accident, suicide and certainly by violence intensifies those normal grief responses. Everything we feel with normal grief is as if we are being held under a magnifying...
How To Talk About Approaching Death
Our job as an end of life specialist is to address the elephant in the room, to be direct and honest in the gentlest way possible. We are not doing...
Are Narcotics Necessary for the Dying?
Pain management is different in the last seven days because the body is not functioning in its normal way. Circulation, breathing, oxygen exchange are not happening properly so medications are...
Mom Needs Hospice? Here are your questions to choose the right one...
There have been many changes in hospice care since it began. Some for the better, some not so much. What I am suggesting as representing a “good” hospice is becoming...
Why I Wrote My New Booklet: PAIN AT END OF LIFE
In todays culture with the opioid crisis rampant, fear of narcotic use is everywhere. That fear hinders our ability to provide appropriate comfort management and is leading to misconceptions about...