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If Hospice is involved, your Moms PCP should not be ordering anything. It may mean Hospice discharging Mom.

Hospice means Mom is dying. She or you, as her POA, have agreed that no extreme measures will be used to keep her alive. No doctors, no hospitals. No meds or treatments that extend life will be used. The person is kept comfortable and hopefully pain free. The person you now talk to is the Hospice Nurse. There is a doctor associated with the Hospice service that writes any orders needed. You ask her about an Xray. You only deal with Hospice staff at this point. The Nurse should be available 24/7. If you can get hold of her, there is a main office you can call. You cannot contact her PCP.

People who suffer from Dementia become like small children. When a child scrapes their knee they cry and act like they are dying. An adult does not act this way. Mom might just have some discomfort but to her its painful. Me, I cannot lay flat for any length of time because my lower back starts to hurt. I sleep on my side or stomach with a leg bent to keep my back straight.

I am so sorry you are going thru this.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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If her pain is worse, you should call the hospice nurse. Do you have comfort meds at home? She might need an increase for comfort care
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Reply to MACinCT
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Hospice is there for end of life care.
They are responsible to STOP THE PAIN and they have the medications to do it.
It little matters at this point what is causing the pain, because there isn't going to be treatments, and almost certainly not treatments she would survive.
The goal now is MEDICATION and COMFORT. Hospice can provide that.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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Hospice is strictly end of life care and their goal is to keep folks as comfortable and pain free as possible until they die.
You can take your mom to the ER for an X-ray, coming off hospice of course and then she can always go back under their care if you decide that's what she/you wants. But in reality what are you expecting the X-ray to show? And exactly where is she hurting?
My late husband who was under hospice care in our home for the last 22 months of his life was pretty much in constant pain up until his death even while being on strong doses of fentanyl. I never once thought about taking him for an X-ray, but worked with hospice to try and make him as comfortable and pain free as possible, as I knew my husband was dying, and nothing I did or didn't do was going to change that fact.
I'm sorry that your mother is dying, and I'm sorry that you're having such a hard time with all of this.
I hope that whatever you decide to do that you will have peace about it.
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Reply to funkygrandma59
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Roseformom Nov 9, 2024
Thank you so much for sharing and your thoughtful reply🙏 It's hard to tell where she's hurting because she is not able to tell me due to her dementia. She moans, grimaces, and bends her back in pain. It makes me so sad and I'm crying as I type. She has stronger pain meds now. I am going to call her primary doctor this coming week to see if she will order an in house X-ray.
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Rose, X-rays are diagnostic, which after hospice is involved they don't normally do diagnostic test.

Curious as you say moms healthy , then why is she on hospice?

Very sorry you are going through this.
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Reply to Anxietynacy
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Roseformom Nov 9, 2024
Thank you so much🙏 Mom has advanced dementia and has had a downturn in her health quickly and has been in a lot of pain recently. She has been on and off hospice for years. I was hoping hospice could do an in house X-ray due to my mom's pain so if it's something easily treated she could at least not have the pain she's having. However, there's also a good chance it's something that cannot be treated. It would just ease my mind to know if it's something that can be fixed easily or not.
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I have never heard of a care facility that has its own in-house x-ray department.

Perhaps find out a bit more of the medical issues so that you can understand the hospice approach - normally just to treat the pain. Do you think that discovering the cause would lead to surgery? That might be why hospice aren't keen.
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Reply to MargaretMcKen
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Roseformom Nov 9, 2024
Thank you! I didn't think about that. I think you're right and that's most likely what they're thinking. And, surgery is definitely not an option. On the other hand, I'm thinking that if it's something that can be fixed without surgery, I would love to find out what it is so she's not having pain. I found out now that she can get an xray through her private insurance and stay on hospice. That makes me happy. Thank you for your thoughtful answer💗
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