Medication

EPC staff can answer questions about medications used in palliative care. Scripts for medications come from your GP or treating specialist.

Taking prescribed pain medication can improve how you feel and doesn’t mean you become addicted.

Lots of people manage their medications without help. It is important though for another person to understand what the medication is for, when it is taken and how much. If things are getting harder try:

• Having a list of medications and times to be taken
• Writing down when extra medication (especially pain medication) is taken
• Using medication packs prepared by your pharmacist / chemist. Then check they are still being taken correctly.
• Making sure similar looking medications (especially liquid ones) are kept apart. You don’t want liquid pain and bowel medication being mixed up!
• Talking about medication. If you are worried about medication and the effect it is (or isn’t) having on a person then EPC needs to know.
• If the person who is unwell is having difficulty swallowing their medication, please discuss with an EPC nurse.

Our Symptom Management booklet talks about pain and bowel medications.

A good website to find general information about medication is https://www.nps.org.au/medicine-finder 

We suggest you have an up to date list of all medications (including name, strength, number of tablets/dose, what time and what they are for). There are mobile apps such as https://www.nps.org.au/consumers/keeping-a-medicines-list or they can be written down. 

For many different reasons a person may have medication given when needed through a tube going under the skin or continuously through a small pump called a syringe driver. EPC nurses will provide information on this.