medicinal morphine?

Question

this is a serious question about what side effects you get from taking prescription morphine and morphine patches. my mum has got real bad back problems and has tried many differant methods to ease her pain such as accupunture and epidural injections but so far they have not worked. so now she is taking morphine pills and also got to wear morphine patches, since this she has not been able to keep down hardly any food and there for not eatten very much in 3 weeks. so far she has lost around a stone in weight, would this be down to the morphine? and would here be any thing to keep these side effects down to a minimum? any serious answers grately recieved. many thanks worried son.

Answer 1

I have had horrible chronic pain for 20 years. I finally have gotten relief with Morphene Sulphate (also known as MSContin.) I also take Fiorinal w/Codeine. Fiorinal is aspirin, caffeine, and butalbital (a barbituate.) You can also get Fioricet which has Tylenol instead of aspirin.

My pain is hot nerve pain, and I saw every kind of doctor imaginable, just like your mum. I have found that patches are brutal. The patch may be her whole problem. I have finally found relief after 10 years of suffering. Feel free to E-Mail me with any questions. Constipation has been my only side effect, and I have gotten that under control too. I'd be happy to help.

You sound like a wonderful son. I would like to know how old your mother is. I'm 53. :)

Answer 2

Okay, let's get the story straightened out first. There are no morphine patches, only fentanyl. Nausea is a common side effect. Morphine tablets also can have nausea as a side effect, but usually only during onset of a dose. Several different meds could be prescribed for the nausea. One, metaclopromide works by stimulating parastalsis in the stomach and intestines, reversing the paralysis that can cause nausea. I only have had continuous nausea from methadone. Has morphine alone been tried? It might be the fentanyl. There are some other possiblities too. She should call the docs and tell of her problems.

Answer 3

There are no morphine patches. There are patches made with fentanyl, which is an opiate, in the same family as morphine. If someone, not trained in pain medicine has started her out on both fentanyl patches and either short or sustained release morphine tablets, then she is probably having side effects from having too high a dose too quickly. Often in the zeal to solve the pain issue, health care providers, not used to pain medicines, often push the dose too rapidly, this causes too many side effects, and also increased the tendency towards, physical dependency and psychologic addiction.

Call the physician, discuss a dose adjustment. Don't ask for another medication to cover the side effects of the medication. This just adds more side effects, because each medication has it's own side effects, and the side effects/effect of anti-nausea medications include disorientation, and confusion, common to opiates.

If you mother has a chronic back issue she needs to see a specialist in pain medicine.

Answer 4

Oh yea morphine makes you really really nausious. Ive had it in the hospital a few times and the patch. Speak with the doctor because morphine already causes drowsiness and adding anything to it can cause some problems, but i would have her ask if she can take Gravol (Dimenhydrinate), in the hospital it is given through IV with morphine almost always to help people not get sick, so im pretty sure he should be ok with it. The morphine isnt causing the weight loss, its causing nausia and not wanting to eat though.

You will definitely want to speak with a doctor before taking anything with morphine, its very dangerous to add things to a narcotic pain reliever.

Also speak with the doc about maybe having her take pedialyte, eating some baby foods, drinking gatorades and things like that.

Answer 5

Nausea is a common side effect of using morphine as well as weight loss.
It is possible that your mother's body will become accustomed to the morphine and the side effects will pass but it would be worth her talking to her doctor as he may be able to prescribe something to combat the nausea. Unfortunately for your mum, it would mean taking more medication.

Answer 6

I thouroughly understand your mom's position because i'm in a similar one myself.
The problem with back pain releif is that there seems to be no happy median between ineffective solutions and effective solutions with side effects.
Morphine is a narcotic that is habit-forming and hard on the stomach. While it does a good job releiving pain, it also causes upset stomach and loss of appetite.Any narcotic drug should be taken with Gravol to lessen the stomach upset.
You could also ask your mom to ask her doctor about some drugs that work on the nervous system to help reduce pain. I don't know the names of the current drug, but the forerunner drug was called Lyrica.

Answer 7

Morphine side effects:

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

shallow breathing, slow heartbeat;
seizure (convulsions);
cold, clammy skin;
confusion;
severe weakness or dizziness; or
feeling light-headed, fainting.

Less serious side effects are more likely to occur, such as:

constipation;
warmth, tingling, or redness under your skin;
nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, loss of
appetite;
dizziness, headache, anxiety;
memory problems; or
sleep problems (insomnia).

This list is not complete and other side effects may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.

Answer 8

She needs to talk with her doctor ASAP. When I had surgery, the doctors put me on morphine and it made me nauseous and caused me to break out in hives. I lost a lot of weight, too. They had to switch me to Demerol because I was having an allergic reaction to it.

She might be told to take a Graval to help with the nausea right now. However, call the doctor or pharmacist first.

Answer 9

Morphine can slow the digestive tract down so that it stops, which is probably why she is being sick. You could get her to take some senna to get the bowels moving again and also ask her doctor to give her something for the sickness, like domperidone or cyclizine. Hopefully that will help.

Answer 10

Ask your doctor about an exercise routine. Regular exercise, such as walking three times a week, may reduce neuropathy pain, improve your muscle strength and help control blood sugar levels. Gentle routines such as yoga and tai chi might also help.