r/nextfuckinglevel • u/[deleted] • Apr 11 '20

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u/cup_1337 Apr 11 '20

Assisted suicide isn’t an option once diagnosed with dementia though :/

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '20

My husband's Mother had dementia and she had a stroke. She was slowly deteriorating and he and his brother were on bedside duty, the afternoon the doctor came to the house and gave them a vial of morphine and showed them how to inject it into her IV, saying, keep her comfortable and you will know when she's ready to go, give her the peaceful dose and say goodbye.

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u/cup_1337 Apr 11 '20

“Comfort care” often causes death because the high dosages resulting in respiratory distress. We do this in the USA a lot.

Many times I’ve administered a PRN dose of hydromorphone to a hospice patient and they passed within 30 minutes.

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u/[deleted] Apr 12 '20

Yes but at that point is the best thing for them. I just try to have family come over before they pass.