Dear tanyat117-ga;
Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question.
Interestingly enough terminal dehydration is considered one of the
many more preferable means of death. To put this into context, leading
hospice nurses in Oregon rated terminal dehydration on a scale of 0
(the most undesirable death) to 10 (the most comfortable death) at an
8 on the scale. According to Dr. Joanne Lynn, MD and Dr. Joan Harrold,
MD in their ?Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious
Illness?, the dehydration itself is often responsible for the measure
of comfort one experiences at the end stages of life. Here are some
facts from their research that you may find especially comforting:
?Dehydration has an analgesic effect in some patients, leading them to
request less medication to control pain than they usually need. Part
of the decrease in pain can be attributed to the reduction of swelling
in patients who have tumors.
Dehydration leads to a more general decrease in sensation levels as
time progresses.
Patients who forgo artificially provided nutrition and hydration
eliminate the irritation associated with the feeding tubes. This
irritation is not only physical, but mental as well: Eliminating tube
feeding decreases the trapped, agitated feelings that require many
tube fed patients to be physically restrained.
Patients who forgo artificially provided nutrition and hydration
suffer less from congestion, coughing, choking and the "drowning"
sensation that often accompanies tube feeding. The possibility of
developing aspiration pneumonia also decreases with cessation of tube
feeding.
Patients who forgo artificially provided nutrition and hydration are
less likely to vomit.
Decreased urine output in patients who forgo artificially provided
nutrition leads to the decrease or elimination of urinary related
sources of pain and discomfort (bed wetting accidents, the need for
bed pans, diaper changes, and trips to commode, and the incidence of
urinary tract infection all decrease with the elimination of fluid
intake).?
SOURCE: ?Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious
Illness? (2001 New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 129-138)
END OF LIFE OPTIONS: TUBE-FEEDING
http://www.dickinson.edu/endoflife/MedicineBenefits.html
It may also comfort you to know that thirst, pain and nausea are
actually quite rare symptoms in this type of demise. A dry mouth is
one of the most common symptoms but this can be easily addressed with
small sips of water, ice chips or glycerin swabs if necessary. This
will aid in reducing the dry sensation while not defeating or
unnecessarily prolonging the natural chain of events.
END OF LIFE OPTIONS: TUBE-FEEDING
http://www.dickinson.edu/endoflife/MedicineCare.html
There will, of course, always be nay-sayers who claim that
?starvation? or dehydration is a cruel, inhumane, and agonizing death,
the facts appear to support the notion that such is not the case.
According to Dr. Ira Byock, director of palliative medicine at
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, and author of the
book ?Dying Well?, "The cessation of eating and drinking is the
dominant way that mammals die?it is a very gentle way that nature has
provided for animals to leave this life." "Nature has given us a
wonderfully peaceful way to exit this life."
WORLD NET DAILY
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43467
DARTMOUTH SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
http://dms.dartmouth.edu/news/publications/news/2005/mar05.shtml
AMAZON
?Dying Well?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1573226572/booknoisenet-20/002-7376743-3435265
As for the time that has passed in your loved one?s and the typical
time it takes for a person to succumb, it should be noted that
everyone is different. For example, if your grandmother has congestive
heart failure and had been abnormally retaining water in her tissues
(edema), this could account for the extraordinarily long time it has
taken for her to succumb. Conversely, a person who had been water
deficient leading up to the denial of food and fluids might succumb in
only a matter of days or even hours. Having said that, a patient who
is suffering from a disease wherein their normal cognitive abilities
are directly impacted by the retention of water (stress on the heart,
lack of oxygen to the brain, etc) such as congestive heart failure for
example, may actually experience a brief ?alertness? for a time as the
body chemistry is equalized and the previously problematic storage of
water is exhausted. This however will likely be brief as the chemistry
starts declining once the excess water, minerals, and electrolytes are
naturally consumed or eliminated and the body begins to shut down.
Once the body is denied these elements the decline should be
relatively rapid and your grandmother will likely pass in a painless
state of unconsciousness.
Given the extraordinary time frame since your grandmother has been
without fluids it may also be comforting to know that her passing is,
in all likelihood, imminent and the final days are fast approaching.
You should mentally and emotionally prepare for that notification
soon. According to leading authorities like Dr. Bycock for example, if
she is comfortable and not in duress at this late stage of the
process, she will probably pass away in that same state of comfort.
I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher
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