I’m on 400mg Hydroxychloroquine daily, Methotrexate 25mg injection weekly & Amgevita 40mg injection fortnightly, 5mg Folic acid daily, Colecalciferol 800 unit daily, for RA.
Flare up days ibuprofen or solphadine.
Along with other drugs Levothyroxine 50mg daily, Omeprazole 20mg twice daily & lastly Atorvastatin 20mg daily.
I am now putting on weight, (eat no differently) &
going to the loo is getting so uncomfortable so constipated. I have taken various pills & potions but it’s getting that I need to take these daily which is “not good” I seem to end up with a headache. I just feel as if I’m on a ****** treadmill to nowhere, getting more & more depressed.
I can’t get to see a doctor as we all know!!
Anyone have any knowledge or advice.....
Please, thank you 🥴
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Asheen
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Hi, I suppose it could be due to one of your medicines or a combination of them. Have you thought of asking your local pharmacist? I always find they know more than GP's about these things! My local pharmacist is great, very knowledgeable. Personally, I always dose myself up with prunes for constipation 😂 usually works for me. Hope you get it sorted out!
Hi Asheen sorry to learn of your troubles, I also take mtx sulfa and hydroxy and always constipated for two to three days after mtx injection so I drink plenty of water the day before and on the day of the injection and use laxido powder if nothing is moving. My diet has now changed to very low carb intake and I use a blender to make a healthy smoothie once a day full of greens and fruit. I realized carbs were blocking me up badly. So its what you eat that matters. I also learned there can be foods that are bad for my RA and make me constipated like processed meat and carbs like chips, crisps, rice & white bread and white pasta.
Drinking plenty of fluids helps your kidneys flush out uric acid faster, therefore I eat a mediterranean-style diet which includes fish, nuts, olive oil and plenty of fruit and vegetables. Eating a balanced diet and having an adequate fluid intake can also help provide you with better energy levels, help to maintain your weight.
Always seek the advice of your doctor or dietitian before changing your diet. Hope this helps.
I take 3 x sachets of movicol a day as I have a lot of scar tissue from major ops. This works well to keep me regular as getting constipated causes me great pain. Give it a try. You do have to play around to find the correct dose for yourself. It's not a harsh laxative so is safe to use daily.
A GP suggested to me to sprinkle linseeds/flaxseeds on cereal, into yogurt etc., as long term use of laxatives can cause additional problems. I have linseeds every day on Alpen (nas) and it works for me. Chia seeds help too.
Who would think not being able to go for a no2 would cause so many problems but it does. Water , prunes etc will help. For me what really helped is apple cider vinegar( must contain the mother) 1 table spoon with water before each meal really helped . I also have put on weight with mtx .
My son was hospitalised with constipation because He didn’t like going to the toilet at school and held on till he got home. 🙄🙄His doctor suggested exercise to get things moving. This worked for him.
Your hypothyroidism (which is what levothyroxine is used for) will tend to make you constipated. Untreated hypothyroidism will make you hugely constipated, and in my experience it doesn't improve much when you're on levothyroxine. I take Miralax every day. I'm in the U.S., but I'm sure the same thing is probably available in your area, I just don't know what it's called. All my doctors know I take it daily and have for about five years and no one has ever said it's a problem. It's not like a stimulant laxative. I also take magnesium oxide at night. It's a bit irritating to the tummy, which is a bad thing for most people but good for those of us who tend toward constipation. You have to be careful how much you take, though, since it can cause diarrhea. I take 500 mg. now but have taken 750 mg. in the past. As someone else said, you have to play around with things and see what works best for you. Good luck, it sure can make you miserable.
I eat 2 heaped desert spoons of ground flax seed (linseed) every morning on muesli, and find it works well. I have hypothyroidism too, and am on RA meds.
The seeds have to be ground. You can buy them already ground or do them in a coffee grinder yourself.
It’s a simple and healthy way to increase fibre and linseed is also rich in Omega 3.
I have been using ground flaxseed since january this year. It really keeps you regular and helps in weight loss. As someone else pointed out your problems are caused by the drugs. You can eliminate some drugs by changing the diet. Eg since I started using flaxseed I have not taken any Lanzaprazole for acid reflux. Always use ground flaxseed it is available from Amazon straight from the farm fresh.
My consultant put me on atorvastatin 40mg and losarten 50mg but after carefully sudying the nasty side effects I have not taken any yet. I am trying tumeric capsules instead.
You have my sympathy. My system seems to have decided to cover all bases. In the mornings I suffer from constipation, later in the day it turns to Diarrhea. My diet is healthy and I get a decent amount of exercise for a man in his early 60s. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason to it all.
Sorry you'r not feeling too good. I too try to have prune es daily, which does seem to help, I try to drink at least 2 - 3 sports bottles of water a day and keep to a healthy diet. Do you have a number of the nurses in the RA dept at the hospital, that you could ring them and ask them rather than trying to get a dr's app? Good luck hope you get some results. X
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