If we have terrible suffering, should we exit life or stay alive to the last breath?

Morphine is generally put to good use when this time arrives.
My husband had lung cancer with brain metastasis before it was discovered.
He survived 3 weeks from diagnosis and the last week was bad, not so much pain as combativeness.
I signed the DNR as well as the permission to switch from morphine injections to the IV drip, having worked in healthcare I knew it hastens the inevitable.
 
By now we should have seen what condition others had been in before the end came. Those of my parent's were not nice to observe therefore I would like to avoid that for myself in some way but the question is how and when.
 

Nathan said:
The flippin' Big Pharma companies could make trillions of $$ if they could develop....are-you-ready.....a PAIN medication that works!

Yes, a PAIN medication that works...what a concept!!! A PAIN medication that works, that doesn't kill you are make you hopelessly addicted.
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I thought Opioids did that?
 
Everyone who hasn't been there finds it easy to say, "I would never end my life or want to end my life."
The reason they can say that is because they haven't been there; they only think they've been there. They can only go by the worst pain & the longest duration of pain they've suffered so far.
The word "Severe" covers a wide range of severity. And everyone has different pain tolerance levels.
 
rgp said:
Sorry Mitch but , ... if you can ignore pain ? and make it go away / mask it ? It is not severe pain. If that were the case IMO ... then I should be able to absorb myself in a project , and feel no pain.
That doesn't work !

I also believe that if we want/choose to exit life , we should have a say as to when & how ....... so long as we harm no others in the process.
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I saw my mother go through tremendous pain and suffering for the last 28 days of her life, and I completely agree. She passed away of congestive heart failure on November 9, so it is still quite fresh in my mind. With all the medication they gave her in hospice she was still unable to sleep at night and was still very uncomfortable during the day. She also hallucinated due to her body shutting down, even though she did not have dementia. I wouldn't wish that on anyone else. Yes, we should have a say as to when and how.
 
I actually have a fear of a traumatic health event sending me to the hospital and then straight to a nursing home, at that point my freedom of choice is gone. I have told both my kids if that ever happens sign me out for a picnic and take me to a national forest and let me wander away.
 
I realize that there is quite a difference between an animal and a human, yet it is considered inhumane to let an animal suffer ( I have never let any of my pets suffer once the Vet said they were beyond saving) so why would I watch a loved one suffer knowing their end is unpreventable and they would want their pain to end? Why are some humans left to vegetate for years? Can we not have a say as to when enough is enough?
PS ….I myself would make such a fuss nurses and Docs would be only too happy to send me to the promised land..
 
Snow74 said:
I realize that there is quite a difference between an animal and a human, yet it is considered inhumane to let an animal suffer ( I have never let any of my pets suffer once the Vet said they were beyond saving) so why would I watch a loved one suffer knowing their end is unpreventable and they would want their pain to end? Why are some humans left to vegetate for years? Can we not have a say as to when enough is enough?
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You make a really good point. I know I let a few pets linger too long, now I don't. In some ways this could be applied to humans, except that we can ask people, or some anyway, what they want.
 
Alligatorob said:
You make a really good point. I know I let a few pets linger too long, now I don't. In some ways this could be applied to humans, except that we can ask people, or some anyway, what they want.
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Yes…but..the question is who will comply to your wishes?
 
Nathan said:
The flippin' Big Pharma companies could make trillions of $$ if they could develop....are-you-ready.....a PAIN medication that works!

Yes, a PAIN medication that works...what a concept!!! A PAIN medication that works, that doesn't kill you are make you hopelessly addicted.
Click to expand...
win231 said:
I thought Opioids did that?
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Effectiveness depends on the severity of the pain. I've had pain in the past that the hydrocodone I take now wouldn't touch. There's a difference between an opiate such as morphine and an opioid such as Vicodin/hydrocodone. Morphine is an actual pain-killer. It got me through the first several months after I broke my back. Initially the dose was so high, I was in la-la land most of the time, so opver those several months the dosage was very gradually decreased, and then I was put on hydrocodone. Without the morphine I wouldn't have been able to tolerate the therapies or even walking to the bathroom or sitting up in my hospital bed, but if I'd stayed on morphine I'd probably be a drooling, demented couch potato now.

Opioids like hydrocodone only reduce pain to a tolerable level, they don't really ever stop it, and they have no effective on truly severe pain. I was told opioids are just as addictive as opiates, but that wasn't my experience. It was a challenge when my morphine was reduced, but I have no trouble whatsoever cutting back on the hydrocodone whenever I want. On days when my pain isn't so bad, I take less and it's no problem.

I think opiates work great for pain but are more addictive and opioids are more damaging to your organs while just being "ok" at managing (but not eliminating) pain.
 
Snow74 said:
Yes…but..the question is who will comply to your wishes?
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Alligatorob said:
In the US, unless we change the law, probably nobody...
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My kids are all in agreement: if I have pain so bad that I can't go on, they won't interfere with my decisions in any way, and they won't let my doctors interfere either. Interference by medical staff is an issue. That's when you need your formal directives in place and the laws that protect your right to make those decisions.
 
Nathan said:
Opioids are the only effective pain reliever, but can't be used without the risk of addiction and/or death.
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Exactly, like many addictive substances we tend to build tolerance to opiods that make large doses necessary to block pain and too much (various factors in what is too much for specific individuals) causes death.
 
I think it's important for a person to make their wishes known, well in advance, and to have the legal documents....DNR, etc. prepared, AND have the family members in agreement.

I would hate to be stuck in a hospital for weeks/months with a condition where there is virtually No hope for recovery. All that does is pad the profits of our Health Care Industry, and increase the stress on the family.

IF/When such a time arrives for me, unplug the machines, dope me up to the maximum, and let nature do its thing.
 
C50 said:
I actually have a fear of a traumatic health event sending me to the hospital and then straight to a nursing home, at that point my freedom of choice is gone. I have told both my kids if that ever happens sign me out for a picnic and take me to a national forest and let me wander away.
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Unfortunately, if they did that, or assisted in a suicide in any way, they would be charged with a crime.
 
win231 said:
Unfortunately, if they did that, or assisted in a suicide in any way, they would be charged with a crime.
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I had decided to take that risk anyway when it came to my mother. I was determined no way would I ever let her suffer. She had asked me not to let that happen and she had my assurance it wouldn't. It was taken out of my hands as a driver mowed her down, before her time, while she was still healthy & active.
 

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