Help me please question about hospice/iv fluids?!
Question: Help me please question about hospice/iv fluids!?
my grandmother is getting home hospice care and taken a turn for the worse, having trouble breathing!.
1!. hospice has NO OXYGEN mask on her and i keep insisting it but they say she's breathing through her mouth
2!. shes not drinking or eating i said does she need IV fluid they said no because shes in the process of dying, i said isn't that painful they said no because she won't feel pain in the process of dying and giving her iv fluids would even make it painful!.
Is this true!?!?!?!?!?!?!? I am so upset about it!. she's going to dehydrate to death!. (the reason shes getting hospice btw, is she suffered alot of strokes and alzheimers she's bedridden and cant speak or move)
please tell me should i be insisted on IV fluids!?Www@Answer-Health@Com
1!. hospice has NO OXYGEN mask on her and i keep insisting it but they say she's breathing through her mouth
2!. shes not drinking or eating i said does she need IV fluid they said no because shes in the process of dying, i said isn't that painful they said no because she won't feel pain in the process of dying and giving her iv fluids would even make it painful!.
Is this true!?!?!?!?!?!?!? I am so upset about it!. she's going to dehydrate to death!. (the reason shes getting hospice btw, is she suffered alot of strokes and alzheimers she's bedridden and cant speak or move)
please tell me should i be insisted on IV fluids!?Www@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
No, this isn't true and these people don't know what they are talking about!. YES she needs TPN (total perennial nutrition)!. This is similar to a tube feeding but is intravenous!. Given her state, they may not due this due to "quality of life" reasons!.
This is something your MD would have an RD (registered dietitian) calculate to meet her needs!. They would take into consideration fluid accumulation and needs to not worsen her trouble breathing!. The medical term for this is edema, which is the accumulation of fluid, and can be systemic (throughout the whole body), or localized, typically in the lungs!.
I can't tell you if death from dehydration is painful in the state that she is in, since I have no personal experience from this!. I CAN tell you that she WILL die from dehydration if they do not start an IV or oral (also called PO, which means "by mouth") water soon!. I can also say that an IV would NOT make the pain she is in any worse than it already is!.
If they don't feed her, or hydrate her she will either die from dehydration or starvation and her lungs will have nothing to do with it!. In some of the critical care wards I've worked this method is HIGHLY discouraged, and is even considered by some as doctor assisted suicide!.
To give them some sort of credit, maybe they are trying to prepare you for her loss, but they are going about it in ENTIRELY the WRONG way!. When I worked clinical we NEVER lied to a patient or their family (keep in mind we don't have to disclose information to family members, unless they have medical rights to the care of that person)!.
I know this is probably a hard time for you--to say the least!. An IV to help ease your mind and her comfort, would not be out of the question or cause her any additional pain (in my opinion, though having LOTS of clinical experience and several nutrition degrees/certifications, I am not a MD)!. If you do want to find out, call a doctor you trust, and ask their opinion of her pain level and if fluids would effect this, and if not hydrating would cause her any additional pain!.
I'm NOT going to pretend to know what you are going through, but I do hope you make it through this rough time and wish you the best!.
MAIN POINT: Get a second opinion from a MD you trust, who knows some about her condition and medical history!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
This is something your MD would have an RD (registered dietitian) calculate to meet her needs!. They would take into consideration fluid accumulation and needs to not worsen her trouble breathing!. The medical term for this is edema, which is the accumulation of fluid, and can be systemic (throughout the whole body), or localized, typically in the lungs!.
I can't tell you if death from dehydration is painful in the state that she is in, since I have no personal experience from this!. I CAN tell you that she WILL die from dehydration if they do not start an IV or oral (also called PO, which means "by mouth") water soon!. I can also say that an IV would NOT make the pain she is in any worse than it already is!.
If they don't feed her, or hydrate her she will either die from dehydration or starvation and her lungs will have nothing to do with it!. In some of the critical care wards I've worked this method is HIGHLY discouraged, and is even considered by some as doctor assisted suicide!.
To give them some sort of credit, maybe they are trying to prepare you for her loss, but they are going about it in ENTIRELY the WRONG way!. When I worked clinical we NEVER lied to a patient or their family (keep in mind we don't have to disclose information to family members, unless they have medical rights to the care of that person)!.
I know this is probably a hard time for you--to say the least!. An IV to help ease your mind and her comfort, would not be out of the question or cause her any additional pain (in my opinion, though having LOTS of clinical experience and several nutrition degrees/certifications, I am not a MD)!. If you do want to find out, call a doctor you trust, and ask their opinion of her pain level and if fluids would effect this, and if not hydrating would cause her any additional pain!.
I'm NOT going to pretend to know what you are going through, but I do hope you make it through this rough time and wish you the best!.
MAIN POINT: Get a second opinion from a MD you trust, who knows some about her condition and medical history!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
I'm sorry for your loss!.
I work with elderly patients, and hospice is there to help her die comfortably!. They don't try to keep her alive, they try to keep her comfortable!.
She passed away in piece!. That's what's best!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
I work with elderly patients, and hospice is there to help her die comfortably!. They don't try to keep her alive, they try to keep her comfortable!.
She passed away in piece!. That's what's best!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Well,if she is in hospice care,then she is there to die;that is what a hospice is for!.Still,she should be offered fluids and oxygen along with the pain meds to make her passage comfortable!.The fluids may not be given by IV if your grandmother or other relative with POA has signed papers saying that no life-prolonging treatments be given,but they could offer her oral hydration and ice chips or popsicles,if she is able to swallow!. I'm sorry about your Grandmother!.I lost my father in October and it is hard,but he was 82 and suffering from Parkinson's and many other ailments,and he passed quietly at home!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
First of all let me say that I am so terribly sorry that you are going through this!.!.!.I do understand how difficult it is to lose a Grandmother!.
Technically!.!.!.I'm not medically qualified to answer your question, but I will say that a lot of times when a person is terminally ill and near the end, they will stop eating and drinking!. This is the body's way of preparing to shut down!. I know that sounds awful and I'm very sorry, but it's true!. I have heard that giving/forcing fluids when a person is at this stage can cause more pain and is just extending the inevitable!. When my Grandmother passed, she slowing stopped eating and drinking!.!.!.she just didn't want anything anymore!. She was also on pain meds for a terrible stomach cancer, and knew that it was her time to move on!. She lived a full and wonderful life, as I'm sure your Grandmother has!.
With that said, since only you, and the people caring for your Grandmother know what her condition is, I do suggest that you (as the above poster suggested) phone a doctor that you trust and ask her/his opinion!. They will be able to evaluate your Grandmother's condition and determine what is the best treatment for her!.
My prayers are with you!Www@Answer-Health@Com
Technically!.!.!.I'm not medically qualified to answer your question, but I will say that a lot of times when a person is terminally ill and near the end, they will stop eating and drinking!. This is the body's way of preparing to shut down!. I know that sounds awful and I'm very sorry, but it's true!. I have heard that giving/forcing fluids when a person is at this stage can cause more pain and is just extending the inevitable!. When my Grandmother passed, she slowing stopped eating and drinking!.!.!.she just didn't want anything anymore!. She was also on pain meds for a terrible stomach cancer, and knew that it was her time to move on!. She lived a full and wonderful life, as I'm sure your Grandmother has!.
With that said, since only you, and the people caring for your Grandmother know what her condition is, I do suggest that you (as the above poster suggested) phone a doctor that you trust and ask her/his opinion!. They will be able to evaluate your Grandmother's condition and determine what is the best treatment for her!.
My prayers are with you!Www@Answer-Health@Com