Palliative care
I have moderate COPD as well as several other serious issues, is palliative care worth pursuing? as I do not want to go to an assisted living or nursing home! What services are available? Does Indiana Medicaid cover it? I’m not eligible for Medicare until Aug 2024! I’m on SSI. I have a lot of medical doctors and 2 case managers and I’m still struggling with medical equipment and medicine! I feel I need more support!
Hi there. I am also looking into palliative care for my sister, stage 4. I was told, it is absolutely worth pursuing as the goal is to care for your needs, help advocate for you, to listen to your voice and wishes regarding your care and path. Hospice usually has a life expectancy component to it, where palliative does not. Please share your experience! I’m curious a to what you find. Best wishes!
My sister is now in stage 4 & is on Hospice. She is getting worse with breathing & talking. The Dr. has given her self-injection Morphine to use when she is struggling to breath. She said that it helps to open the air way. Has anyone heard of this?
If the injection is intramuscular (which I'm only assuming. Guess it could be subcutaneous)}, the relief will take longer than intraoral, which enters the bloodstream quickly through the oral mucosae.@CommunityMember4117a4. It is okay to question your Hospice nurse about treatment. Much of the job is teaching. You should also have the liquid anti anxiety. 
To go along with what the others in this thread have said, I too am aware of morphine being used for severe COPD, as I even wrote an article on this topic a while back, that I will post here (https://copd.net/clinical/morphine) if you want to check it out. It helps with pain, can relax you, and also relaxes your airways so you breathe easier. As a respiratory therapist, I am not familiar with how it is delivered, or why you would have been prescribed self injecting morphine. I also think this would be a great question to ask your sister's' hospice nurse or your sister's doctor. If you do this, please feel free to report back to us what you learn. I'm very curious. Wishing you all the best. John. community moderator.
We used liquid morphine all the time when I worked Hospice as an RN. & it does help ease the feeling of "air hunger". It comes in varied doses and we would instruct to place it in the buccal cavity or under the tongue.
I'd like to say also that our Hospice doc would NEVER prescribe an injectable to our Hospice patients. 
Just want to say thanks for your service as a hospice nurse! It is such important work and I am so grateful that hospice exists. We all deserve that compassionate support. Glad you're here on the site, too! -Melissa. team member
