At what point do narcotics become toxic?

I have a friend battling cancer. She was given two weeks to live and it has been three weeks. Three weeks ago she was talking and now she is totally out of it, hallucinating and is bed-ridden. The cancer is not in her brain. It started in her stomach, moved to her ovary and now into her bones. Are the drugs making her this way? She is on very high doses of Morphine and Dilaudid and Methadone. Can the pain just eventually make you this way?

netpetman - thanks for the information - I had never heard of parenoplastic syndrome and just looked it up - it's very informative

As a healthcare provider I can tell you that as cancer advances the pain usually increases. There is alot of cases where we have to use high doses of narcotics to control the pain.....and to do this it is possible to lose some mental clarity. We try not to have this happen......especially if death is not emminant. However, your friend is especially in need of pain control, death is coming very soon. Why, at this point, would we try hard to balance these drugs to produce the highest amount of mental clarity? Truthfully, I have administered medication knowing that the level could slightly advance the time of death......but having a peaceful, pain-free passing was the most important thing to me. Even when people are not responding, it is possible to see them and assess the level of pain.( Moaning, increased respirations, restlessness, ect). So even when not mentally clear, pain can be evident. So you have to ask yourself......what is important to you.

Battling cancer takes an extreme toll on the body. The drugs may be worsening it, but they are helping her. It could be a parenoplastic reaction as well.