Hello everyone
I have a lot of constipation after my first infusion
what are the ways to mitigate
Best regards
Hello everyone
I have a lot of constipation after my first infusion
what are the ways to mitigate
Best regards
Hi Wakaka,
I use handfuls of raisins and a glass or two of prune juice to loosen things up. I try to avoid laxative meds that often have their own side effects. Good luck.
Thank you very much
Years ago, (decades) as part of the prep for a Sigmoidoscopy by my PCP, she would have me drink a 10oz bottle of Magnesium Citrate. It worked well and then the cleansing was completed with a Fleet shortly before driving to her office.
One day when having an uncharacteristic blockage I decided to SPRAY some Mag. Citrate on my skin and lightly rub it in. Sprayed on the inside arm of elbows, inside of wrists, back of knees and on my hands then rubbed onto my ears. NO DRINKING but instead allowed it to work into system like a Transdermal Patch.
No gastro upset, no lousy taste in mouth, no quantity of fluid required when drinking and it worked great and is cheap since an opened bottle kept in the refrigerator could last for years.
caveat - YMMV if tried.
I prefer eating a few prunes at breakfast to keep things moving along. However when on pain meds it is typical to get constipated, sometimes severely. Dr explained that a laxitive containing “senna” would work best. I found several inexpensive generic brand stool softeners that contain senna and seem to work well.
I’m on pain 4X daily meds and constipation is an ever present, ongoing problem. I use sienna pills daily . Mom is the universal laxative used in hospitals if you need to clear “ everything “ out for a fresh start . I use mom now and then when the sienna is slow to respond. I’ve experienced the “ extreme “ emergency that a plugged intestinal tract brings. It causes sepsis and becomes an emergency room condition. Sepsis from intestinal blockage may be one of the most sickening and debilitating illnesses that you have ever experienced in your lifetime. It’s prudent to try to avoid this condition at all costs.
Just IMHO.
❤️❤️❤️
Magnesium citrate bf bed . See how much your body can handle bf it swings in wrong direction . My father uses senakot but I personally can't take any I'm on very constipating meds for autoimmune issues . Most are deficient in magnesium so it won't cause any depletion as many softeners do . I use mg citrate btwn 200 to 400 . You have to find the write number for you. The brand I use is NOW and George's aloe or lily if the valley aloe might help as well. If you can move around or rub belly rub rt in circular patterns following the colon. This will help trapped gas and the pain .
I use a stool softener with breakfast and dinner (generic version of colace- no stimulant) plus I use generic Miralax once a day mixed in with my orange juice. And I am taking morphine 3X/day along with docetaxel and carboplatin.
Best wishes!
Read j-o-h-n’s replies.
I found that you really have to try the various tools and see what works best for you. During chemo I became friends with Metamucil. I had always gotten plugged by the stuff but I found that a half dose works great, and I use that chemo or no chemo.
For the week after the infusion, my regime was 4 oz of prune juice in the AM with a glass of Miralax, and 1/2 dose of Metamucil at night. That would never be enough to get systems going after the infusion, so I used 1/4 dose of milk of magnesia a couple of nights in a row or whenever things got stopped up again. I first tried a full dose and that was too much. If you read the side effects on the anti nausea drugs such as Emend, ondansetron, palosetron, and prochlorperazine, they all have potential constipating side effects.
For next day action, straight senna in tea form (not pills) is the only thing that works reliably for me, though not everyone has that luck. I have tried other laxatives that "work" but in unappealing, messy ways.
For ongoing regularity, I take two things daily:
1) the "stool softener"docusate sodium 100mg (at night)
2) whole psyllium husk (in the morning)
The latter is the active high-fiber ingredient in Metamucil. I buy it (on Amazon: Yerba Prima Organic Psyllium Whole Husks 12 oz, 15.39) and put several teaspoons on my high-fiber cereal (Alpen, raisin bran, oatmeal, etc.). Beware, it will change the consistency of your cereal a bit, as it absorbs the liquid and gets a bit sticky.
You want to start with a teaspoon or two and work up to several, 'til your body is used to the extra fiber. This and the docusate sodium are not next-day solutions but more to use over weeks and months to have a "regular effect," so to speak, and keep things moving.
On Docetaxel #4 right now, but have always had constipation issues. Magnesium Citrate gummies work magic on me. I take about 625mg to get it just right (that's 5 of the Qunol brand sold at Costco). Sometimes I've taken as much as 1000. Easy to adjust the dose with gummies...loose stools, cut down, hard stools, up a little.
Quaker Oats "high fiber" oatmeal mixed with buckwheat groats for breakfast has also helped.
I lived on nightly Metamucil for decades but it doesn't do the trick for me any more.
I had the same problem after my first Cabazitaxel infusion. Meanwhile I had Cabazitaxel 9 times. My solution is Movicol® (Macrogol) powder, dissolved in a glass of water. I think in the USA it's sold as MiraLAX®. I start with a first half dose in the evening two days prior to the Cabazitaxel. Then another half dose after lunch and after dinner one day before Cabazitaxel and full doses after breakfast on the Cabazitaxel day plus a few hours after Cabazitaxel. And another full dose the next day.
This is always preventing constipation on the day after Cabazitaxel and a rock-hard bowel movement on the second and third day afterwards in my case - without any side effects.
Ask your doc about writing a prescription for "Lactulose Solution". I tried all the usual OTC stuff, and then my palliative care doc recommended this, and it works great.
I became constipated after beginning Erleada and my Dietitian wife had me eat several ounces Yogurt 1 to 2 times per day & worked like a charm. Getting my Calcium, too.