I have seen my mother complain about constant pain, she has an entire large ziplock bag of meds. She has lost nearly 100 pounds in a year, now down to 100 and has become moody, withdrawn and becomes very hostile when I ask about the meds. I have met with her and her Dr about 6 months ago, he took her off one med and put her on a patch. I see the behavior improve and it now has begun to go back to the way she was before. Withdrawn, moody, several trips in an ambulance to ER for pain and fear she is having a stroke. I think she is depressed & addicted to pain killers. I just found out the Dr is prescribing her Oxycontin.and loritab and muscle relaxers all at the same time. I don't know what to do or where to begin to find out about the doses, if she really needs all the meds and if she needs treatment.
My mom also has chronic pain and was addicted to pain meds for 2 or 3 years, to the point where she was falling every week due to dizziness and disorientation and taking many trips to the ER for unexplained issues, including what she thought was a possible stroke. (Withdrawal?) Her caregiver and I were at our wits end.
Mom exhibited similar moodiness and unwillingness to talk about the meds. In order to track her meds, in secret, when visiting her and while she was sleeping, I went through all meds and wrote down the dosages and how many were gone from the prescription bottle. This had to be done on a regular basis by me and her caregiver (who was there daily) to find out exactly what she was taking. We discovered she was taking between 8 and 10 Norco per day (prescription was 6).
It's a good idea to visit the doctor with your mom and express your concerns. If your mother is unwilling to talk about it with the doctor present, try to get POMA to discuss with the doc yourself. (I didn't have POMA but called the doc who was willing to listen to me if not talk outright).
For my mom, it took a dozen E.R. trips, my calls to her doctor, and threats to have her put to into assisted living,until the doctor finally took her off of Norco and put her on ibuprofen. She is much better, but the abuse took its toll on her body and mind.
I hope you get some resolution soon.
If a person is old enough with a terminal condition and in enough pain, addiction is no longer the issue. Her doctor may realize this and may be prescribing compassionatly for her pain. This is actually what hospice is for. If the doctor is willing to certify an expectation of her death within 6 months (even if it takes longer in actuality), she would be hospice appropriate and given adequate pain control without regard to addiction.