looking for someone who understands

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone,

Just to give everyone some background; I am a 21 year old

college senior form central Florida. My mother (57) was diagnosed

with pancreatitis ~5 years ago. She has been to several hospitals to

see specialists (SHANDS in Gainesville and MAYO in ville). I

believe she has even been to a pain specalist. All the doctors can

say is to just to hang in there. She lives in almost never-ending

pain! How can she just " hang in there? " She takes enzymes and a

cocktail of pain pills, including Demerol. She also takes Nexium and

Zolft. She could be taking a hundred other medications as fair as I

know because she wont talk about to me about it. I just have to

snoop around. She hates hospitals so much that she has to be almost

dead to go. She sat in bed for a week hardily eating or drinking

until she was so dehydrated and malnourished that she gave up to my

nagging and allowed me to take her to the hospital. She was on a

morphine drip for a day and still was in incredible pain. Now she

just sits in the hospital alone because everything I go to visit she

yells at me (She is a heavy smoker, and being forbidden to smoke

makes her very difficult). I know that she should be very careful

what she eats, but prior to being diagnosed she had horrible eating

habits. Now they are just about the same, but in smaller amounts

(lots of candy and red meant and dairy). I am sure that is not

helping, but she wont listen to me. Luckily I normally get to live

blissfully unaware of her pain while I am at university in another

state, but when I am here I just feel helpless. I can't stop

crying. I just wish there was something I can do to help her.