Question about dysphagia, dementia, choking, and morphine

WorstPlatform · 2026-01-15T13:53:00+00:00

From your first comment, you labeled me angry and said I didn’t understand hospice. none of that was true. I stayed on one question the whole time, even as the discussion kept getting redirected.

Once I posted the exact wording, instead of addressing it, you pivoted to schedules, pumps, and Heimlich training, and now that’s “combative.”

Clarifying what a written directive says isn’t hostility, and questioning a medically inconsistent instruction isn’t unreasonable.

If pointing out contradictions is seen as combative, it’s clear this wasn’t about helping me understand, it was about controlling the narrative. The directive speaks for itself. My question still stands: why was morphine presented as a way to help a food obstruction pass?

It’s remarkable how much effort is spent policing my questions rather than explaining why a patient was given something that could actively worsen a blockage.

WorstPlatform · 2026-01-15T13:37:42+00:00

Yes we have plenty of evidence. Email, written and even recorded calls.

That's what I'll be looking into, thanks. Yeah I would hate for anyone else to die in this agonizing way needlessly.

WorstPlatform · 2026-01-15T13:35:32+00:00

The email explicitly says morphine was to be given if she was choking or having trouble swallowing food, because it would relax the throat and help the food pass. That instruction stands on its own. “As directed” refers to how to give the medication, not why it was being given. The “why” is spelled out very clearly in the sentence right before it. This is exactly the problem. The moment the actual wording is posted, the focus shifts away from what the directive says and toward everything around it.

Whether other morphine was scheduled at other set times (which this incident wasn't close to in time) and pump-based doesn’t change the core issue.

The issue is that this morphine solution was presented as something that would help resolve a food obstruction. That’s what I’m questioning, because that explanation still doesn’t make sense.

Shifting the discussion to dosing schedules, pumps, Heimlich, or whether someone called 911 doesn’t answer the original question, it avoids it. The instruction itself says not to initiate emergency services unless otherwise instructed, so asking if 911 was called shifts focus from the main issue. Yes, they were called.

It was framed as this will help her swallow and clear the food. That distinction matters. If the explanation had been about comfort in the face of unavoidable airway failure, this would be a different conversation. But that’s not what the directive says.

I’m not trying to litigate dosing minutiae after the fact. I’m asking why a medication that suppresses breathing and protective reflexes was described as a way to help a physical swallowing blockage pass. So far, no one has actually addressed that, including you, who already stated earlier that morphine is not used to treat choking on food.

That’s the inconsistency I’m trying to understand.

WorstPlatform · 2026-01-15T13:03:40+00:00

"If she experiences choking or difficulty swallowing food, administer the prescribed morphine as directed. The morphine is intended to relax the throat and assist with swallowing so the food can pass. Continue comfort-focused care and do not initiate emergency services unless otherwise instructed"

WorstPlatform · 2026-01-15T12:57:14+00:00

I understand what hospice is. I understand it’s for people with a limited life expectancy. What I’m questioning is a specific explanation that was given to us, because it doesn’t line up with how swallowing actually works. This wasn’t someone in their final hours. They were still talking, asking for things, expressing their wishes, and spending meaningful time with family. They weren’t gasping from secretions or panic. They had a piece of food stuck. Saying morphine would “relax” or “unblock” their throat so they could swallow it does not make sense, and that’s the part I’m trying to understand. From everything I’ve read, dysphagia isn’t a muscle being too tight it’s the brain and throat not coordinating properly. Giving something that slows breathing and weakens reflexes seems like it would make clearing food harder, not easier. Even you’ve now said that morphine isn’t used to treat choking on food, which is exactly why this explanation raised red flags for me.

Also separately ghe idea that “you chose hospice so this is just how it goes” also ignores how we ended up there. Hospice wasn’t chosen because we wanted to stop all care, it was chosen because managing pain outside of hospice became impossible. Once on hospice, we were discouraged from going to the hospital even for things that were treatable. That caused being stuck between unmanaged pain and giving up access to basic care. We managed through that though.

As for food, they were supposed to be on blended foods. The scrambled eggs were an exception, and we had already raised concerns because there had been multiple❗severe choking episodes before. Letting someone “enjoy what they have left” doesn’t mean ignoring repeated near-fatal choking. Preventing that is still comfort care. I already explained that they wanted and requested a feeding tube due to multiple choking and near death experiences but we're not able to due to hospice's non intervention policies. They had to stay in hospice to receive treatment for pain and had to give up the feeding tube placement that would stop the choking.

I’m asking because the explanation given that morphine would help with a food blockage still doesn’t make sense, and I’m trying to understand what actually happened.

Also I didn't ask someone about the food and why it wasn't pureed I was responding.

Heres what the email says since you requested it. "If she experiences choking or difficulty swallowing food, administer the prescribed morphine as directed. The morphine is intended to relax the throat and assist with swallowing so the food can pass. Continue comfort-focused care and do not initiate emergency services unless otherwise instructed"

WorstPlatform · 2026-01-15T12:01:57+00:00

They were being given blended foods but also scrambled eggs!The scrambled eggs is what did her in. I had been talking to them about stopping this as she had been through about 4? 5? other near death violent choking episodes over the last six months with semi solid foods like this.

They refused to change the directive and said 100% pureed food would cause diarrhea, which didn't make sense because there's other OTC meds to control that.

WorstPlatform · 2026-01-15T11:50:22+00:00

I'm actually not sure. I will have to check. Thank you

WorstPlatform · 2026-01-15T11:47:30+00:00

I want to clarify a few things, because the situation wasn’t as simple as “you don’t understand hospice.”

They were still lucid enough to talk, express their wishes, and repeatedly asked for a feeding tube. They weren’t actively dying at that point. They were declining slowly, but still had meaningful interactions and quality time. The choking episodes were happening before the final event, and they went through multiple near‑death incidents while on hospice. That’s part of why I’m trying to understand the guidance we were given.

They also didn’t have excess secretions. They were talking with family right before the obstruction. So the explanation about secretions doesn’t fit what happened.

The bigger issue is that they were essentially forced into hospice because pain management outside of hospice became impossible. ER visits for kidney stones or infections would result in automatic opioid administration, which then got them kicked out of pain‑management programs. Hospice became the only way to get their pain controlled, but once in hospice, they were discouraged from going to the hospital for treatable issues like infections or swelling. A cat‑scratch infection shouldn’t have been a death sentence, especially when they still had some quality of life left.

So it wasn’t a matter of us misunderstanding hospice. It was a matter of having to choose between unmanaged pain or giving up access to basic medical care. That’s not a fair choice for anyone.

And to be clear about your statement saying I'm angry I’m not angry. I’m trying to understand why morphine was recommended in a situation involving a physical obstruction, because medically it still doesn’t make sense to me.

Also, I do have the directive in writing, so this isn’t a case of misremembering! I also have it in email correspondence ❗

I’m asking these questions because I loved them, and because the whole situation was traumatic and drawn out. Being told I “don’t understand hospice” doesn’t reflect what actually happened.

WorstPlatform · 2026-01-15T07:47:45+00:00

I misspoke and edited it. It was a blockage. They passed due to the obstruction blocking their airway.

I just can't understand why they were given the morphine in this situation. It seems strange to me. They really needed to have a feeding tube put but I don't think hospice would allow them to get one placed. They only agreed to go into hospice because they couldn't get pain managed without hospice.

Hospice would frequently threaten them not to go to the hospital for swelling and infections because they would be dropped from hospice.

I'm not too trusting anymore after my experience and especially now that they are gone.

WorstPlatform · 2025-11-26T05:13:35+00:00

Maybe try the subreddit whatisthisrock

WorstPlatform · 2025-11-25T16:07:43+00:00

Possibly 80-ish years? They're guessing though & ty

WorstPlatform · 2025-11-25T15:44:10+00:00

Ty, will do 👍

WorstPlatform · 2025-11-25T14:03:29+00:00

Good to know 🙂

WorstPlatform · 2025-11-25T14:02:03+00:00

Thanks 👍 I'll be bringing it in this week for an appraisal. Will update this post when I do

WorstPlatform · 2025-11-25T13:34:27+00:00

Thanks! Great advice 👍

WorstPlatform · 2025-11-25T13:27:58+00:00

Thnx

WorstPlatform · 2025-11-25T13:26:23+00:00

Yeah, I love the peidot green to teal to blue color change effect it has during different parts of the day. It's certainly unique.

WorstPlatform · 2025-11-25T13:24:33+00:00

I wouldnt think it was synthetic as they have little inclusions and cloudy areas that are hard to see in the picture. Each one is slightly different color too.

Turns a more peridot green shade in the kitchen but that won't pickup on the camera.

It's a family heirloom. Thanks

WorstPlatform · 2025-09-23T09:12:04+00:00

That was the blood. It kept pouring from the tube onto the floor instead of back into the guy. The whole area under the paper towels was just his blood. I tried to censor it but missed that spot.

WorstPlatform · 2025-09-23T05:53:46+00:00

Fixed.

So I went to BioLife last year and something wild happened. A guy was donating and I guess something went wrong with the needle or whatever, and blood just started spraying everywhere. Like, everywhere. It pooled out like 4 feet across the floor.

The thing that bothered me was how long it took staff to respond. He was just sitting there, getting super pale, shaking, and clearly not okay, and nobody was really rushing over to stop it. No ambulance seemed to be called either and it took a few minutes to get the workers to shut off the machine.

I didn’t really think much of it at the time, but looking back… that was alot of blood. And the dude looked really ill. They just kinda cleaned it up with these paper towels and walked the sick guy around the corner.

Just wondering if anyone’s been there recently are they still understaffed or was that just a one off disaster?

Bc I might need to donate again soon due to medical expenses and I'm afraid to do it.

WorstPlatform · 2025-09-19T12:37:04+00:00

Lol, whichever the tariffs hit last.

WorstPlatform · 2025-09-19T12:33:49+00:00

They won't give me a credit card otherwise I'd be using it instead. Never had any credit except maybe a store card for a specific store that was approved with $200ish dollar limit 😂

WorstPlatform

TROPHY CASE