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Sorry I assumed your mother was in a facility, your options in administering OTC meds are a little more flexible when you are caring at home.
My mom found pain reliving creams like myoflex or volaren to be helpful also.
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You might inquire about prescription lidocaine patches. I have them and they do provide some relief, at times more so depending on the severity of the pain yet definitely a relief. Is there another doctor perhaps in another category that she deals with at all that you could approach with this issue? I have found that doctors can vary greatly with sympathetic levels regarding a patient's ailments.
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dogparkmomma Jan 2020
The prescription Lidocaine patches are 5%. My FIL had trouble getting insurance to approve them for more than 2 weeks. But the over the counter ones are 4% so we had the doctor order them and they just go on the medication bill
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she shouldn't have to ask for ibuprofen or acetaminophen. She can just go to the drug store and buy both over the counter.
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Isthisrealyreal Jan 2020
My dads facility would take his tylenol every single time he bought it, the licensing will not allow them to have items that someone else could be harmed taking. No private areas except they offered him a locked cabinet in his room and they held the key. What?

He would buy and hide a bottle a week. Just crazy how they created a real overdose potential.
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It is safe to take both ibuprofen and acetaminophen, usually alternately, so I would ask for that at the very least. People have also mentioned pain patches - I have no experience with them but they might be a good alternative to oral meds. Frankly this NP's worries about addiction in a 94 yr old with chronic pain makes me think s/he is a bit of a quack, you could ask for an opinion from a pain specialist.
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Midkid58 Jan 2020
Amen to that!!
A good doctor will evaluate each patient and prescribe pain meds for THEIR NEEDS.. the so called 'opioid epidemic' has been blown WAY out of proportion and leaves a huge segment of the population in chronic, unbearable pain, when the judicious management of pain is the best way to ensure a decent quality of life. (Said by someone with chronic systemic arthritis that, if untreated, leaves me basically unable to function at all!)

The pendulum will swing the other way, soon enough and docs won't have to be hamstrung by policies that frighten them into underprescribing for the chronically 'in pain'.

BTW, real drug abusers will always get their drugs. Sadly, people in real need are going underprescribed.
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Absolutely—have her re-evaluated for hospice!
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Hi, thank you for your input. Hospice came out a year ago and evaluated her. At that time they said she was not ready for hospice intervention. I'm wondering if i should try again? It's been a year now. Thank you all for good advice.
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labsuper Jan 2020
At the very least, she should qualify for palliative care.
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If your mother qualifies, get her into hospice care. Much easier to get pain relief.

I don't know where your mom's bursitis is: hip, knee, elbow, etc.? Regardless, see if her doctor will prescribe methadone for baseline pain and use Norco only as needed for breakthrough pain. Ask about a corticosteroid injection and/or an oral corticosteroid like dexamethasone. Over the counter remedies would probably be limited to NSAID's like ibuprofen or naproxen. You can get these in a cream form that you rub into the area.
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evitaV Jan 2020
Methadone is an excellent pain medication but nearly impossible to get! My husband was prescribed Methadone but I had to travel 12miles to the one drug store that carried it... until they stopped. Also, most nursing homes are not licensed to administer it. He is now on a Fentanyl patch.
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Essie, I sympathize with you and your mom. While I wholeheartedly agree—she’s 94, let her have her meds and live out the rest of her days pain free, the FDA doesn’t agree with that. I think most are now aware that they’ve changed their guidelines and they are really cracking down on doctors that prescribe too many opioids. Because of this, many doctors are really adhering to the guidelines and their patients are suffering in pain because doctors don’t want to get in trouble. Have you thought about having your mom evaluated for hospice? I think her age alone would be a qualifier. Since she’s not dying, it would be palliative at this point, they would just make sure she’s comfortable all the time.
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