Pink in the drink?

[SCadaddle]

Guys, help me out here. I'm losing my sister. Long term handicapped due to back issues and now recently throat cancer. Eating pain pills (opiates) like candy for several years, as of recently can't make decisions on how to dress much less eat. Just spent 3 days in the hospital (her oncologist arranged the admittance) but they turned her out after "observation" diagnosed as severe dehydration. Plan is to change her "pain management plan". Insured to the hilt. The family has arranged a sitter to be with her at home for now.

Aaah, failed to mention long time alcoholic as well. So tonight, the sitter said she was very secretive pouring a scotch and water (2 a night for the past 40 years), stirring it with a spoon and it turned pink. She took a taste of the spoon and then held her head in her hands complaining of pain. Sitter could see pink residue in the bottom of the glass.

Help me out here, what am I looking for before a likely ugly confrontation. Thanks.

[Bill Douglas]

No magic solution.

My heart goes out to you; meaning so well for your sister and not really being able to help.

[Heel n Toe]

The sitter should ask her what she put in the drink to make it turn pink. It could be Grenadine (ugh... in scotch?) or a coupla Benadryl.

But she needs to own up to whatever it was. She could be trying to do herself in.

I realize most who have alcohol addiction are prone to lying, but at least try asking and see if her answer is feasible.

[DanielDudley]

Colorful Elvis Drugs. I'm sorry about your sister. The closest she will feel to normal nowadays is somewhere between messed up and passed out.

We had to get my dad off of the prescription opiates a few years ago. I'm not sure what the best course for your sister is at this point.

[ckelly78z]

Plexus....pink drink ? Sorry, this sounds like a hopeless situation, that just possibly, she is trying to get out of. Prayers for you and your family.

[nzporsche944s2]

Over here we have a tablet called Sevredol which is Morphine Sulphate.

The 10mg tablets are blue and the 20mg tablets are pink. A crushed 20 could be the powder? Just don't know why you would bother crushing it when she could just gulp it whole..

They are really strong and usually only prescribed to cancer patients by palliative specialists.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by SCadaddle

Help me out here, what am I looking for before a likely ugly confrontation. Thanks.

Hard to say without any evidence/analysis, but lots of stuff that could potentially leave a pink residue. Could be anything from, bath salts, Xanax, "normal" opioid pain killers, or much more sinister stuff like U4 (aka "pink") and/or other synthetic opioid combos like U4+Fentanyl, etc... You may want to do a full house-sweep ASAP. Some of the nastier stuff can be highly resistant to Narcan, making it useless as a treatment (antidote) for overdose.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by SCadaddle

Guys, help me out here. I'm losing my sister. Long term handicapped due to back issues and now recently throat cancer.....

Help me out here, what am I looking for before a likely ugly confrontation. Thanks.

Hits close to home for me....older sis, chronic pain, long term opiod/methadone addiction under doctor's "care", etc. I would SERIOUSLY reconsider a confrontation...even if you are NOT confrontational, it might (probably will) get ugly fast...btdt. I hope I'm wrong, but imo, all you will do is destroy whatever relationship you currently have with her. YOU can't help at this point....it just sucks . Just be there for her if she reaches out to you....I wish you and her the very best and good luck!

[SCadaddle]

I do know that one of her prescriptions is Xanax, and she has been known to take them in "halves". But would a broken Xanax pill quickly dissolve in a drink by stirring it? I don't imagine she has any way to mechanically crush a pill, much less the ability to do so. Waiting on a call back from the overnight sitter for an update---sitter just called and told me it was a powdered Ensure that she mixed in the drink. Phew.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

No magic solution.

My heart goes out to you; meaning so well for your sister and not really being able to help.

Sadly I agree.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by SCadaddle

I do know that one of her prescriptions is Xanax, and she has been known to take them in "halves"....

That can be very dangerous with time released meds like Oxycontin (released over a 12 hour span). Breaking them up can deliver the dosage all at once from what I understand. I wish you all the very best and good luck!

[MRM]

I don't think there's anything to do. She is under what she clearly takes to be a terminal diagnosis after years of pain mixed up with addiction. At this point who cares what she's drinking or taking to ease the pain? Will it shorten her life a bit? Probably. But at this point she's probably not concerned with that. Throat cancer is a bad way to go. If it were me, I'd be tempted to tell the doctor to give me whatever was necessary to make me comfortable while I wound down my time. It sounds to me like that's the decision she's made. You might want to ask the docs what you can do to keep her comfortable as you wait for the inevitable. I am not personally all that afraid of dying. But I am very afraid of the pain that likely goes with the process of dying. I've told my wife that if I ever get a terminal diagnosis and it's just a matter of time and I'm not able to make my wishes known, she is to fill me full of enough morphine to keep me happy until the light finally goes out.

[RKDinOKC]

Took care of my Mom in her declining years. There are a couple of things.

Other people tend to treat a terminal person like they are already dead.
My siblings would come into her home, rearrange thing,s and get rid of things they thought she no longer needed. They never considered they were Mom's things. She liked where she put them before her decline, and kept them because she liked them not because she needed them.

When people can do less they tend to focus on the aches and pains.
Just sitting around with little to do or focus on every little ache or pain becomes the focus of attention. And the pain medications need to be rotated as each one will stop helping after they get used to them and start focusing on the pain again.

The best thing I did for her was to get a puppy. It just wouldn't leave her alone and not only distracted her from the pain, taking care of the puppy gave her something to do. She liked cats and I tried a cat, but cats tend to keep to themselves where a puppy wants attention and to be a part of everything you do. The puppy stayed with her all the time, and looked to her for food and being let out to the bathroom. The puppy even slept with her. She even started cooking after she had not even tried to cook for years. She cooked for herself, but actually it was so she could feed the puppy from her plate.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by RKDinOKC

The best thing I did for her was to get a puppy. It just wouldn't leave her alone and not only distracted her from the pain, taking care of the puppy gave her something to do. She liked cats and I tried a cat, but cats tend to keep to themselves where a puppy wants attention and to be a part of everything you do. The puppy stayed with her all the time, and looked to her for food and being let out to the bathroom. The puppy even slept with her. She even started cooking after she had not even tried to cook for years. She cooked for herself, but actually it was so she could feed the puppy from her plate.

Totally depends on the situation of course. My Mom is in her 80's and matches the OP sister. 10+ years of chronic pain, depression, and alcohol abuse. She lives in a senior assisted living facility that offers meals, trips, music, plays, etc... She does not participate and rather stays in her apartment to drink and be miserable. We recently adopted out her dog cause she she would not take her out on some days which made a huge mess. We timed it when I sent her to see her sisters and brother in Holland to minimize stress. She has not asked of the dog since.

[SCadaddle]

Originally Posted by KC911

That can be very dangerous with time released meds like Oxycontin (released over a 12 hour span). Breaking them up can deliver the dosage all at once from what I understand. I wish you all the very best and good luck!

Yes. She is the ripe old age of 60. The nursing home sent our 97 year old father out to the E.R. a couple Friday nights ago, finally diagnosed with a UTI that had gone septic. My sister and I were with him in the E.R. from about 9 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. at which point I told her I needed to go home for a few hours. She stayed with him. When I returned at 4:00 a.m. the sister told me that he was getting really anxious and that she, with the knowledge of the E.R. nurse, "gave him 1/2 of 1/2 of one of my (10mg) Xanax pills". I remained calm on the outside but was ballistic on the inside. I questioned the E.R. nurse about it and she admitted to it happening. About 4:10 they wheeled Dad up to a room and I made sure that the floor nurse knew about the Xanax. They consulted with the Doctors in the hospital and called down to E.R. to talk to the nurse. Conveniently, the nurse "knew nothing about it". sister left about 4:30 a.m. when I wheeled her out to her car and had a stern yet compassionate discussion about the Xanax deal. I stood next to my Dads bed shaking his arm and waking him up when it looked like he quit breathing until about 7 a.m. when they put the first dose of narcan (sp? or whatever) in the port on his wrist. 5 minutes later he was awake and talking. 10 minutes after that out like a light. So they hit him again with another dose at 8 a.m. with the same results, then ok until they discharged him on a Monday afternoon.

I've got a LOT on my plate with my Dad, don't need the ordeal with my sister and her issues I'm afraid are going to take my Dad down and out. We've got a mother/daughter sitter team that are worth their weight in gold on the job, the oncologist has eradicated the cancer in her throat and right now her throat is only in need of healing. But it isn't going to happen with the scotch, not eating or drinking. I've got her set up to see him in a week as that's as soon as he can fit her in. I appreciate the support you guys have given me.

[KFC911]

Be well man....tough times you're dealing with. My older sis is also 60.....put my elderly parents (salt of the earth "saints") through pure hell a couple of years ago with her bs...I thought I'd get over it as time went by, but I haven't (yet) .

You're a good man...best to you.

[RKDinOKC]

Did not put Mom in a facility. Before Mom started declining, I bought a house and moved both her and an older brother with MS into it. Mom and I took care of him until she started having problems. Then my brother moved in with a girlfriend that took care of him. When Mom started declining she was in a house she decorated and had been living in. Instead of putting her in assisted care I started working from home so I could keep and eye on her. The last month we had hospice coming in every a day for and hour or so.

I am sure having her in "her" home with someone she knew made a huge difference.

Friend of mine's father got Alzheimer's. He did pretty well until they moved him to assisted care. Then he went down hill very fast despite them making it as homey as possible. If he woke up in the middle of the night disoriented, there was no-one he even remotely knew. Mom would wake up in the middle of the night. She would ask me where we were, when we were going home, or where people she thought were there had gone. Then tell me that she was sure glad I was there.

[fanaudical]

Sorry - I've got no actionable advise. I admire you hanging in there to help your sister and father (I see too many people who just turn a blind eye to their family in time of need).

[wdfifteen]

Sorry about your situation. It's tough to helplessly watch someone you love self destruct. The pink stuff could have been some otc sleep aid like benedryl. Alcohol plus bebedryl can be pretty effective at putting yourself to sleep.

[vash]

best of luck to everyone.

cancer? you tell me i am dying of cancer and all bets are off..no more rules. within reason..like i'm note robbing a bank by gunpoint.