: Ken,
: I was wondering since you do work in Hospice...do you think that the morphine that is given to some people just before they pass has a negative impact on those passing? By this I mean, my mother was in hospice care at home. She showed all the signs of passing soon, the nurses gave her morphine, even though she did not show signs of having any pain. She went into a coma like state within hours of getting the morphine. Did that numb her passing? I was so hoping that she would wake just before her passing so I could say goodbye but she had that morphine and I often wonder if I should have questioned that and stopped them from giving it to her.

: Thanks,
: Michele

Michele,

I know I am late in responding to this. I have been a hospice nurse for nine years. It happens sometimes that a person will go into a coma after being given morphine. What happens many times is that the person has had so much pain that their body and mind relaxes after being given the morphine so they are able to make their transition. If someone has a lot of stress going on like pain it makes their transition harder. As far as giving the morphine when she didn't need it...There have been people who were in coma's and appeared comfortable so no pain meds were given. They came out of the coma and stated they heard everything going on around them but could not talk. Their pain was out of control and they wanted to scream yet they could not tell anyone. That is why we give the morphine or any other pain med when someone is in a coma. My rule of thumb is if my patient had pain before they went into a coma they are still in pain. I hope this helps.

with much love and light,

Barbara