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1. My Grandmother Is 93 Years Old, And Recently She

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Posted on Sun, 27 Dec 2020
Question: 1. My grandmother is 93 years old, and recently she was taken to the hospital, Her O2 saturation was in the 70s,
2. She was in the hospital for several days, then she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.
3. She was released from the hospital with an oxygen machine, & They’ve given her six months, and discharged her to hospice care
4. Her family is having a very hard time keeping her in the house and treating her, and helping her with the pain
5. Last night family started the morphine, but she was still in a lot of pain
5. Dr. do you have any suggestions or recommendations?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (3 hours later)
Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Welcome to Ask a Doctor service!

I understand your concern and would explain that it is necessary to identify the main cause underlying the pain, as there are different treatment options for different types of pain.

For example, in nerve pain we can prescribe pregabaline or gabapentine for the pain. Anti-depressants can help too.

In bone disorders or arthritis we usually prescribe naproxene or any other NSAIDs.

if she is agitated, you can try lorazepam in low dose or an anti-psychotic drug (like quetiapine) to help calm her down.

In end-stage disease we usually prescribe opioids (like morphine). In this regard, I think that morphine is not the best drug, as you can cause overdose and cardiac or pulmonary arrest. For this reason, I think it would be better trying pethidine patch, which lead to pain relief during the day, without the risk of overdose (as it is a skin patch slow releasing ).

Hope you will find this information helpful!

I remain at your disposal in case of further questions whenever you need!

Kind regards,

Dr. Ilir Sharka, Cardiologist
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Ilir Sharka

Cardiologist

Practicing since :2001

Answered : 9534 Questions

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1. My Grandmother Is 93 Years Old, And Recently She

Brief Answer: I would explain as follows: Detailed Answer: Hello! Welcome to Ask a Doctor service! I understand your concern and would explain that it is necessary to identify the main cause underlying the pain, as there are different treatment options for different types of pain. For example, in nerve pain we can prescribe pregabaline or gabapentine for the pain. Anti-depressants can help too. In bone disorders or arthritis we usually prescribe naproxene or any other NSAIDs. if she is agitated, you can try lorazepam in low dose or an anti-psychotic drug (like quetiapine) to help calm her down. In end-stage disease we usually prescribe opioids (like morphine). In this regard, I think that morphine is not the best drug, as you can cause overdose and cardiac or pulmonary arrest. For this reason, I think it would be better trying pethidine patch, which lead to pain relief during the day, without the risk of overdose (as it is a skin patch slow releasing ). Hope you will find this information helpful! I remain at your disposal in case of further questions whenever you need! Kind regards, Dr. Ilir Sharka, Cardiologist