Are terminal patients given IV hydration in hospice. or are...
People may or may not get IV fluids during hospice carefor cancer. Although it's important to keep a person reasonably hydrated during this last period of their lives, often terminally ill people find IV's uncomfortable and bothersome. For this reason, many hospice providers prefer to try to hydrate the person orally; even swabbing the mouth with a damp sponge can help keep a dying person comfortable.
Research studies on IV hydration at the end of life have shown mixed results. In some studies, no benefit was found. In others, IV hydration did help reduce delirium and other discomfort.
In the end, the best care plan recognizes that every decision has benefits and burdens. Hospice care plans should be individualized, based on the dying person's preferences and medical situation. Often a little trial and error is also needed, to figure out what keeps the person with cancer most comfortable.
My son had terminal cancer and died at the Hospice House. Right before he died he drank 5 cups of water. That was the only thing that he was able to keep down in over a week. Did not help any but it made him happy and that was all that we cared about at the moment.
One reason we did not force fluids on hospice patients was because as their system was shutting down the need for fluids decreased dramatically. Our policy was to give fluids as desired and to swab mouth frequently for comfort. It is difficult for family members to not feed or hydrate their loved ones and we worked very hard to help them through the process and keep the patient as comfortable as possible.
Human life requires water,if the patient makes the choice not to have an IV,then and only then should fluids be given by mouth.It should never be a policy to administer fluids one way.Every end life patient has his or hers differences in what they want if they are able to communicate,this is one reason why health directives are so important to have before we may become unable to communicate on our own.
sometimes it seems wrong not to give the person a iv. It is a very hard process to watch someone you loved die, my mother was in hospice for 3 long weeks before she died, miss her dearly but mostly hope she forgives.
My mom was on hospice care. They advised me to stop swabbing her mouth during the last 48 hours as this would be harming her. Thus the agony of being unable to do more left it's mark on me. I will carry this until the day I face my own end life.
As a Hospice nurse for 12 years, I am not surprised by the previous answers. Our policy is to do what the patient and/or family want. We do provide education that at the very end of life, as the rest of the body begins to shut down, so do the kidneys. Any fluid intake may increase nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. It may cause fluid in the tissues which make people more prone to bedsores. It may cause fluid in the lungs which may cause difficulty breathing. It may cause saliva which a dying person cannot swallow so their respirations sound like blowing air through a straw into a glass of water. That is pretty disconcerting to family members. Nature's process of a 'dry' death is usually more comfortable. Dehydration causes endorphins to be released in the brain which produces a natural pain relief and euphoria. IV fluids prevent that natural comforting process. IV fluids do not relieve the experience of a dry mouth as well as gentle moist swabbing does. The dry mouth is what causes most people to feel uncomfortable. It is easily relieved with a sensitive loving touch with a moist swab-unless the patient has a sore mouth or some other reason to not want the swab. Because of our medical culture, however, people think the natural 'dry' death is uncomfortable and we sometimes cannot educate people away from that. In that case, we provide the IV fluids rather than have the loved ones suffer. In EVERY case so far, however, the loved ones see the discomfort that the IVs cause and have us stop them. I am sorry for the expressed dissatisfaction with Hospice. Our team does everything we possibly can for the patient and family to have the best experience possible during such a time as this. We are truly grieved when we have patients/families unhappy with our services. We do our very best to honor the wishes of the patient and loved one whether we agree with those wishes or not. That is what death with dignity is about--having your wishes honored.
My sister recently died in Hospice. It caused me to raise many questions. She was diagnosed with cancer. She refused blood, so her doctor "suggested" Hospice. Her religion (power of attorney) "handled" everything with the doctors. They removed ALL her other medications, even her C-PAP. (Said she wasn't a candidate for treatments.) With the new "Healthcare" Reform to Socialized Medicine "push" (Note the Caduseus "Serpent" Symbol?) - I find Hospice "law" (or lack of) very dangerous, as "legalized Genocide". Why was Jack Kevorkian imprisoned but religious and medical Organizations/Government (Legalized "Drug(gery)" Cartel ) not questioned, and allowed ...?
I don't see how a patient is "comfortable" without fluid or oxygen!
Who devised the Hospice idea and rules? I certainly don't think GOD had any part in it!
I was deeply grateful for Hospice care of my husband in his last days. He had suffered so horribly in the hospital for weeks and at the Hospice Center, I could talk to the doctor and the caring nurses and make sure he did not suffer any more. Only one who has watched a loved one suffer with cancer, hear his cries and moans, can understand how much it means to have help from knowledgeable people in those last days. I asked for the strongest pain medicine possible for my beloved husband of 45 years. I knew he would be unresponsive but I knew he depended on me to do the best for him. That was my final gift to him - a pain free passing with caring people there to help us. Thank God for Hospice and the people who help us through the end of life.
My dad was under the care of Hospice for the last 6 months of his life, he had lung cancer. We were fortunate in being able to have him in our home for the final 3 months, with Hospice staff making regular visits, increasingly so as the end was approaching. My dad kept his oxygen on until moments before his death, though at that point it was doing more for us visually- he was well past the point of it helping him at all. The last week of his life, dad wasn't taking any food, though we did offer him a popsicle, and did good mouthcare, swabbing it, keeping his mouth moist. The gurgling the last few days or so, he was unable to cough and the secretions were laying in the back of his throat, was bad. I questioned the need for suctioning, and was told once we started we'd have to keep doing it, and more frequently so. My family was so impressed with the Hospice team- we already had my mom in the nursing home with dementia, so it was good we had the option of not sending him there as well.
My 94 y.o. mother was in hospice for the last 2 1/2 weeks of her life. She had been refusing to eat or drink most of what she was offered at the hospital after surgery. The 'social worker' was under pressure to discharge her, so began contacting nursing homes -- which was NOT what Mom wanted, and what we knew would only prolong the end -- feeding line, little mobility, repeated bouts of pneumonia, etc. could be expected for the next 6 months. Her doctor agreed that hospice would be the most merciful choice, as she hated being pressured to take meds, eat, drink -- anything by mouth. We found a hospice in Connecticut, not far from where we grew up, and they were wonderful. While they said she might even recover in that atmosphere, they never gave us false hope. The answer from the Anonymous hospice nurse above was even more comprehensive than what we were told, but overall they provided excellent care & support -- for Mom and for us. If I had to die & couldn't be at home, I'd head there.
I lost my sister from stomach cancer in hospice. If her caregivers had been communicative, I would have understood why they stopped hydrating her, but no one ever explained what was happening. Because of this horrible experience, I dislike hospice care. It seemed cruel and uncaring, like they were trying to hurry up her death.
took care of my father at home...stomach and liver cancer...dads doctor ordered LIPIDS via an IV and since I was a nurse, I did his care. Whether it helped or not, ? but he was comfortable when he passed away....and I found it was also comforting for my mother to see this IV as dad completely stopped his intake of fluids.
My mother was under Hospice, and I am so thankful for the care and compassion that they gave my mother and myself, which I was her caregiver. They were there for me whenever I needed anything, My mother had pancreatic cancer and was 85 yrs. old, she never suffered one day under their care, she was at home , I cannot say enough about the care that she received during the last hours of her life. Now we found out in July that my only sister is in stage 4 lung cancer, and we will be under Hospice again.
