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She has severe rheumatoid arthritis and has gone off her pain meds for a week. She started taking her morphine again last night from the nurses but she thinks we are hurting her. She sounds delirius and she has severe anxiety, so much that two of her medicine for it is not even helping

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Could it be aphasia? This is caused by a stroke. Problems communicating and also comprehending.
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Anything significantly different I would take her to the doctor. Something is obviously out of character for her.

Morphine is a really strong drug. How long was she on it? Think she’s having withdrawals? Doesn’t take long to become addicted to it.

I’m sorry she isn’t doing well. Best wishes to you and your family.
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Isthisrealyreal Nov 2019
Not contradicting you, but I want to clarify that some drugs do cause dependence, but addiction is not the same thing. Addiction is behavioral and not the same as dependence. Yes, addicts are dependent, they will lie, cheat, steal and even kill to get their fix, but dependency doesn't generally produce those behaviors.

It is almost never differentiated and that is why we have people posting about no pain relief, because doctors are not looking at dependence versus addiction and the government is interfering and not making a distinction either.
Considering that 7% of people prescribed opioids have created the crisis, you would think that the powers that be would start looking at facts and not panic. They are the ones that have done the studies and shown that the 7% are the problem, why would they use their own data.

Sorry, I have seen loved ones suffer needlessly because of the bogus crisis that has cut people in need off of pain management and their quality of life is not there. Sad!
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Well I can't imagine that she was cold turkeyed off of morphine. I think that we would all be talking gibberish. The body becomes dependent on those types of drugs and it is not a pleasant experience to have them stopped without weaning off.

Has she been checked for a UTI? Or has the doctor checked for any medical incident like stroke or bleed?

It could be so many different things, you should be asking her doctor about the changes and how to figure out what it is.
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NeedHelpWithMom Nov 2019
Great point about coming off of drugs!
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Re-check all her medicines to see if what is in the bottle is actually as the label reads. Ask the pharmacist to confirm.

Why did she stop taking her meds?
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Know Your Stroke Symptoms
Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arms, or legs, especially on one side of the body.
Sudden trouble speaking or understanding.
Confusion.
Sudden vision problems in one or both eyes.
Dizziness, loss of balance, or sudden trouble walking.
Severe headache with no obvious cause.
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I am going to guess here, without enough information.

If your Mom is not on hospice, if she does not have a DNR, and if the speech problems came on suddenly....

Call 911 or take her to the E.R.
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Some great answers here re meds, stroke, UTI also dehydration a common cause of confusion - older people have more difficulty getting to the toilet in time. So tend to decrease hydration / water consumption... which leads to behavioural / confusion issues

Best to get a doctor to check when there’s a sudden change
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"She started taking morphine from the nurses..." Is mom on hospice for her heart disease? If the nurses are giving her morphine, there's something else going on. How about talking to them first? Hospice is very good at explaining every med if you ask them about it.
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