Hospice Patients and Pain Management

Hospice programs provide care and treatment for patients in the end stages of life. Part of the practice of hospice is to help patients manage pain using medicines. Pain control helps patients remain free of physical symptoms and emotional effects cause from discomfort, such as nausea, weakness, anger, depression and irritability. Treating the pain is an important part of treating the hospice patient.

How Pain is Treated

When treating the pain associated with cancer and other diseases suffered by hospice patients, the most widely used pain relievers are narcotics. Narcotics are drugs that traditionally came from the opium poppy, so they are also sometimes called opiates. Most narcotics used today are synthetic, not derived from plant sources but instead chemicals manufactured by drug companies.

Which Narcotics are Used

The most commonly prescribed pain relievers for hospice patients include codeine, morphine, oxycodone, methadone and hydromorphone. These pain relievers are only available when prescribed by a treating physician. They are taken by mouth, by injection, or by rectal suppository. A recent advancement in pain management also offers the use of skin patches for more continuous pain relief without intravenous fluids.

Another type of prescription pain reliever that is often used with hospice patients is similar to ibuprofen. These non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, are commonly known as Motrin, Trilisate, and Naprosyn. They have proven useful for treating moderate pain, especially the pain of bone metastasis associated with different types of cancer.

Treating and managing chronic pain associated with life threatening diseases in the hospice patient is an important aspect of hospice care. Doctors and staff work with patient and family to find the best medicines available to best manage the patient’s pain, so that they may enjoy a better quality of life at the end of their lives.