Gerontological Nurse Ventures
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Was it wrong of me to feel this way?


I have a family member that is at home resting and has a home healthcare nurse that comes by to see her every day. She is in a lot of pain and has basically been brought home to die, so the hospice and the doctors that are working with her are giving her as much pain medicine as she needs to keep her comfortable.

I have another family member that has had serious addictions to pain medications in the past. I spent the day at the sick relatives house and the other relative was there visiting. Whenever the second relative would go into the room to visit with the sick one, I would get uncomfortable and I found myself repeatedly counting the pain pills and pain patches whenever the second relative would leave.

Am I being too judgemental?

No...always go with your gut feeling.......addicts are really hard to deal with

Not at all

Not if your trying to help her

no your not being judgemental, i would do the same thing

You are just caring. I would do the same..

If the person has had a problem in the past, it doesn't hurt to keep a watch. I would do the same. The meds belong to the person prescribed them.

Not at all... Whenever I don't trust someone.. I'm always being sure they aren't messing up again. But hey, if I know for sure they're not messing up, then that's a great way to get to trust them faster

nope, just aware of your surroundings, I would have done the same thing

no not at all...

No you are looking out for the one that needs the pain meds!!

no

no..the medications is for the one in pain...u should confront the person if they are indeed stealing medications...

I really dont blame you.
So, have you noticed any pills missing?
Good luck with everything.

No, you are not being judgemental,...its enough that your other family memeber is dying..but now you have another person tryin to steal their meds for a lift in their own high. U should keep these meds locked up

No. You're being rational and sensible.
Addicts will do anything to satisfy their addiction, even steal pain medication from a terminally ill relative.
Please don't feel guilty! It sounds like you have enough stress in your life without that.

I think I would feel the same. I am not sure they would take some of the meds but that thought would be there in the back of my head. I would have to check as well.

No, not necessarily.
I would probably feel uncomfortable, too.

No, you're trying to be protective. The second party might resent you, but their history give you good reasons to be suspicious.

There's never anything wrong with feelings, it just how you act because of them that can be wrong. You're not our of limits here, so don't give yourself grief about it.

No,you're being smart! Keep up the good work!

No.
You are being protective of the person who is dying.
Keep up the good work.

Maybe not judgemental, but cautious

Sorry to hear about both of these sad situations.

No, I don't think you were being judgemental. I think you were acting out of concern for both of them, but especially the one that is terminally ill.

I had a similar situation where the son stole his mother's pain killers to sell on the street. Addiction is a terrible thing.

i don't think so. i would probably do the same thing.

no you're not. you're being cautious. there is nothing wrong with that. if they're addicted, they will do anything to get their fix. it might be a good idea to hide the meds or put them in a small locked box. i had someone in my family that was the same way and i had to hide meds from him as well. i'm very sorry about your loved one.

I don't think you are. Not if you care about your ailing family member. You know that she needs as much relief from her pain as she can get. You also know that addicts will go to any length neccessary to get what they want. Even stealing from a dying woman. It's sad, but true.

Not at all. I don't mean this to sound as bad as it will but : Once a junkie, always a junkie.

I think you are under a lot of stress and just keeping an eye on things is O.K. if that's what you want, personally I would only be concerned with the dying persons comfort. I have been there dear <3

maybe, but for a good reason.
ur watching out for ur sick relative.
dont let it bother u

no, your just trying to help both family members. keeping a eye on the medicine is a bad thing its when you loose some med's that you have a problem. so you might want to confront the person before this escalates into a giant problem, but that's just what i think.
hope this helps, and sorry for your sick family member.
hang in there things will get better.

Not judgmental, precocious. I have lived with someone who was addicted to meth and cocaine. When they are on that stuff they are unpredictable to say the least. When they are not on that stuff, well ... sometimes they will do just about anything for a score. Steal, lie, cheat and whatever else they need to do to get high. Don't you stop counting for one minute. As a matter of fact maybe you should stay in the room when the second relative comes to visit, if that's possible for you to do. If not then keep counting until your suspicions are valid. If they are valid the best thing you can do for both relatives is report your findings to the police right away. Your sick relative should not have to suffer needlessly and your second relative would be better off in jail or rehab. Believe me, if this were to get out of hand some bad things could happen. My relative ended up going to prison for 2 1/2 years. Your are not judgmental, you are a good person in a bad situation.

I don't think you're being judgemental, I think you're being cautious. And it's good that you care. Either way If you have any doubts about the addict in your family, you can always confront him/her speaking in an assertive manner without having to load your gun with a 'judgement bullet'. I'm a reacovering addict of a couple of years and I don't feel the urge to use anymore, but I still have to keep my behaviour at hand, to know wether I'm deviating from the step program. If you have any questions on addiction you can click on my link anytime,

Peace.

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