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Syringe Drivers - Did it speed up my mum passing away??

Nicolac978
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Hi All

My mum sadly passed away 10 weeks ago, a week before Christmas due to cancer of unknown primary with small bowel mets. Mum was dignonsed a week before she passed and it is all extremely hard to accept and to get my head round.

Mum was under hospital admission when she passed, however the day she died, the staff administrated a morphine syringe driver into the thigh. A macmillian nurse later visited mum and the driver was changed to also include anti-sickness drugs as well as the pain releif and then within about 4-5 hours mum had passed away.

Does anyone know if these syringe drivers are only used when someone is extremely sick and in final stages and likewise do you think they quicken things up or was it only used to make mum more comfortable and as pain free as possible?

It's a question that keeps going around in my head and anyone's advice and help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Nicola

  • Offline in reply to Luke

      just read your reply again and im so sorry to have to say this to you but you are so wrong and dont know how you can say that.i have read so many sad stories now about the driver .read my story about my dad again and think about what you have said .the driver works totally different than having morphine oraly i saw it for myself it was horendous i will never forget what i saw for the rest of my life.

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    I think it's got to be said that each case is different,

    My Grandad died in may with thyroid cancer that had spread as fluid to his lungs. the fluid was originally drained and thryoid tumor removed but the fluid returned and by the time it was picked up it was all too late.

    The driver was in place for 15 hours with my Grandad and it did help as it meant very little attention needed from nurses as he had began to become distressed. Even an hour before he passed away we had him up going to the toilet but he just took one last look around the room and slipped away.

     

    I can still recall the last few weeks, and have alot of questions. But i think this device gave him the peacefull passing he deserved

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    Nicola. I am sorry to read about your mum''s passing and your personal struggle re the use of the syringe driver. My father passed 2 years ago today. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer on 15 Dec, came home on 21st had a syringe driver fitted on 23rd and died on 28th..it was a huge shock and 2 years later I still wonder what was in the syringe driver and if it made his passing sooner. I found this thread today because my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer on 16 Dec this year came home on 23rd and given weeks to live so I was just looking up what syringe drivers do particularly and if they do expedite passing although I am.sure we will never know that. So far my mum does not have one but having read up about them and reasons for use I can see why. My mum is quite relaxed and sleeps a lot my dad was very agitated pulling his bed sheets and pyjamas off and vomiting really thick brown liquid which we later discovered was blood so to keep giving him oral drugs or injections would have caused him further distress. So after two.years and finding this post I think I can now finally put my doubts to rest and know that the syringe driver and whatever was in it helped to make my dad''s last few days more comfortable. I wish I'd read up on syringe drivers 2 years ago. I hope you are doing OK and remembering all the good times with your mum. Take care.
  • Offline in reply to Sam121

    Your a top man and I personally want to thank you for your fundraising efforts. 

    Happy New Year! 

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    Hi i l000 % agree with u it happened too my step mum in november my mum died 1 hour ago 28 January 2017 2half hours after being but on one of these I objected but was overruled they are not getting away with this she had a broken  wrist for 2 weeks before they believed me

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    Hello. I know exactly what you are feeling. and what is going on in your head. i had the same nightmares every night. My Husband had Lung cancer which had spread to the brain. he was told sept 2016. He died 18th Dec 2016. in my arms at home with a smile on his face. The syringe driver was put in place 16th Dec. so i thought the same. The GP had warned us if his Meds do not work this would happen. So i kept thinking what if.? I met a friend the other day whose Daughter died of the same thing. she was given a week! NO SYRINGE DRIVER. and lasted 3 weeks. but was in so much pain and agitation 24/7.She actually drowned and choked to death very slowly and my friend her Mum wished with all her heart. she had a syringe driver fitted. but of course we can not change anything. I now know without it My Darling Husband would of suffered greatly. They do not kill people they help a passing alot better for them. My Dad passed in July of 2016 his lungs filled up and he drowned it was awful..... I hope this helps Lots of Love.Michelle. Xx
  • Offline in reply to michy1

    Hi Michelle,

    This thread has been going on for some time and I may be repeating myself, but my Mum was given a syringe driver in her final week or so and it helped immensely. Like me, she had chemo veins and every injection caused her pain, the syringe driver meant she could receive pain relief without being hurt. I know exactly what was in her syringe driver, exactly the same pain relief that she had previously been given via syringes and canulas. She was well beyond the stage where Oromorph (oral morphine tablets) even came close to helping relieve her pain.

    When I come to the end of my cancer journey, I want a pain free end too. If that means using a syringe driver, that's fine by me.

    Regards

    Dave

     

     

  • Offline in reply to davek
    Hi Dave, I lost my mum last May 2016. She had a driver put in and died approx 36 hours after it was attached. The last 12 hours she was breathing very fast and laboured. She was at home, and I was sitting with her. She suddenly stopped breathing and then gulped about 4 times. It was very distressing for me to watch as it looked like mum was fighting for her breath. It has haunted me ever since that she was in distress. Is the gulping a normal part of dying? No one has been able to put my mind at ease. I go over and over the way she stopped breathing and then gulped for air. I hope she wasn't in distress
  • Offline in reply to Ashleyg

    Hi Ashley,

    So sorry to read about your Mum, I'm not an expert but what you describe sounds very much like what used to be called a death rattle and isn't unusual. There is a description on this page (under Physical Signs ...) which is very similar to your description. www.dyingmatters.org/.../being-someone-when-they-die

     

    I hope this helps set your mind at rest.

    Best wishes

    Dave

  • Offline in reply to shirljon
    Hi , I think this need to be looked into carefully , my mum went into the hospital for constipation pain resulting from her other medication, she had underlying cancer, she was alert able to walk and talk, since they started using the syringe driver and the whatever cocktail they put in there , she became bed bound , unable to walk and incoherent and now gone to stupor , I had to fight them to remove it , now they removed some of her muscle function came back and she was able to talk more coherently, I think they are over-medicating my mum and that is led to her worsening condition, the all round syringe driver that was used for almost 8 days definitely has a part in that , now they are giving her too much oxycodone/oxycotin and sedative(midazolam) now she cant talk despite trying and all she does is sleep

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