Methadone freezes bowels

[Lfoba]

Methadone 10mg works BUT it freezes your bowels - no BDM without another drug that costs $350 per month. I am getting off and back to alprazolam - hopefully sleep right thru the RLS like I used to.

[kelirock]

what's BDM.

[Lfoba in reply to kelirock]

I meant BM as in bowel movement

[Not-methadone-addict]

Hi there,

No disrespect meant but I’m also on 10 mg of methadone and in comparison to the amount utilized for pain control or drug addiction you are on such a teeny, tiny dose it should have little to no affect on your bowel movements and certainly wouldn’t need a $350 a month medication to make you able to go to the bathroom. A simple 100 mg over the counter stool softener or increase your fiber with Citracal (I'm sorry I don’t know if you are in the UK or elsewhere so not sure what it’d be called) but essentially it’s a powder you can mix into your orange juice in the morning or even a glass of water. There are dosing instructions on the bottle. Or just increase your fiber intake naturally, which is easiest for your body. Lots of fruits and vegetables, good whole grains, dried fruit (try to avoid sugar added versions), beans/lentils, nuts, potatoes, popcorn (try to eat the stuff that doesn’t have additives or a lot of added fat like butter, etc). If you think I’m just saying this because I take methadone, it’s not. I’ve had 15 years experience and I’m a registered nurse here in the US. The most important factor with taking fiber or even a stool softener is to keep well hydrated or you’re going to get blocked up like it’s cement! Yes, again, experience with not going poop for five days when I go every day. Doctor and Physicians Assistant both winced at my X-rays because there was no room even for gas to move. To keep well hydrated it’s not important to count how much you water/liquids you drink (also you can consider coffee and tea as part of your fluid intake as they only act as very weak diuretics and are still hydrating you, just don’t go crazy) but keep your urine a clear medium to light yellow color that you can see through. Don’t let yourself get dehydrated either because having a poop will be high near impossible then too. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DRINK SO MUCH WATER/LIQUIDS YOUR URINE (PEE) IS COMPLETELY CLEAR WITH NO YELLOW AS IN COMPLETELY CLEAR!!! That is imperative and can put you into some serious electrolyte imbalance and that in turn can cause cardiac issues. Feel free to direct contact me or on here.

One final note. Be very, very careful of benzodiazepines (also called benzos) as they are very addictive with alprazolam (Xanax) being 2 times more addictive then any other. Never quit cold turkey if you’re on a regular regimen or you could have seizures and worse. People have died in just a few days going off on their own. This requires medical assistance and weaning. Unfortunately even though I’m a nurse and thought I was only taking it periodically I found out in a hurry the very hard way I was indeed addicted to it thanks to my very incompetent psychiatrist.

Take care and let us know if you need anything!

Big hug!

Sus

[LotteM in reply to Not-methadone-addict]

Good reply, Sus / not-methadone addict.

[Not-methadone-addict in reply to LotteM]

Thanks! That makes my day!

Sus

[Lfoba in reply to Not-methadone-addict]

Thanks for the advice. I have never had advice on such things. My prior doc dropped me off Alprazolam and gave me another sleep aid instead. Not a word about withdrawal. I went thru hell with hallucinations, tremors, and the whole works. I was bedridden until he got back from a conference and said "oh you need to taper off not stop". Same with methadone from my sleep doc until I got ahold of him and he said " oh you had to taper off". That is what I am doing now. On the constipation issue with methadone - my daughter is an RN at a skilled nurse facility with many opioid patients and said to take psyllium husk caps, polyethylene glycol, a senna tab, and two stool softeners each day. lt usually worked. if not after 3 days I took a dulcolax (bisacodyl). My regular doc thought that was a lot to take every day and then I found "opioid included constipation" (OIC) drugs online. My doc had some samples and they seemed to work. Then I found that all were $250 to $350 for a month's supply. Not covered by Medicare and too much for me to afford on social security. SO here I am tapering off methadone and back to alprazolam. I have always had trouble sleeping and always had mildish RLS until I was dropped from alprazolam and then it was constant day and night. I went thru ropinirole (started getting augmentation as we upped it so stopped), gabapentin and then methadone 10 mg and the gabapentin. Now its alprazolam 2mg and 1200mg gabapentin. I am being sent to a gastroenterologist. I am also taking my daughters suggestion for constipation

[Not-methadone-addict in reply to Lfoba]

Whoa, I’m so sorry for the late reply. I’ve been pretty sick and could barely keep up with anything. I’m so sorry you can’t take the methadone and really surprised about how much constipation it causes. I was right there with you on the alprazolam. My psychiatrist (which I hesitate to call her that) got me addicted to it but I wasn’t really aware I was until I just stopped it one day. Whoa. I started throwing up, my blood pressure and blood sugar way elevated and I felt like I was going to die. You’d think I would have known being an RN but I wasn’t taking it on a scheduled basis but apparently too much and too often. She kept telling me she had my back. Uh no. You turned me into an addict. Just so you are aware and anyone taking alprazolam (also called Xanax) it is the most dangerous benzo out there with 2 times the death rate of any other benzo (benzodiazepine) so never, ever take yourself off of it. I was reading up on it after what happened and a doctor talked about a patient who stopped on her own and she died just 4 days later. They didn’t learn about the fact she was taking them until talking with her mother. Anyway, I guess the very best thing you can do for yourself? Know what you’re on, what you’re taking it for, how to safely come off. Scarcely enough doctors don’t always know what they are doing. Ask your pharmacist. My doctor tried to cold turkey stop 8 mg of Requip (ropinerole). She was the stupidest sleep specialist I’ve so far had the misfortune of meeting up with.

Sus

[kelirock in reply to Not-methadone-addict]

Excellent reply, you covered everything.

[DJTP1962]

For some reason I find plums in particular, when eaten in the evening, help with bowel movement the next day.

[Not-methadone-addict in reply to DJTP1962]

There’s definitely proof to that and I’ve done that too! 🙂

[Lfoba in reply to DJTP1962]

thanks

[DicCarlson]

If you need help for constipation - this is awesome - totally natural, been around for a thousand of years. It's call Triphala - a triple blend of 3 fruits/herbs - gentle, fast and effective.

[Lfoba in reply to DicCarlson]

Thanks I will try it.

[puzzler1]

Hi there

I was very interested to read in one of your older posts that you had an appointment to see Dr Buchfrurer last January. I’ve emailed him recently about my wife’s medication for refractory RLS.

To cut a long story short, his recommendation now is for the opioid Buprenorphine and according to an email from him, he and his colleagues will be officially suggesting this for first line treatment of RLS.

My wife (in the UK) is now taking temgesic (buprenorphine) and finding great success with it without the constipation problem because you only need to take a micro dose.

I wondered if you should go back to Dr B to get him to up date his advice.

Hope you find relief soon

[Lfoba in reply to puzzler1]

Never got an appointment with Dr B. Found a local sleep doc. Can you email him without being a patient? Thanks for the suggestion

[LotteM in reply to Lfoba]

Yes you can. At [e-mail]. He usually replies within 24hrs. He may suggest a good stool softener covered by medicare. Maybe discuss your current regime with him. Good luck.

[puzzler1 in reply to Lfoba]

Yes, you can email Dr B and he’s pretty good about replying. His email is:-

[e-mail]

I asked him about providing evidence for the successful use of Temgesic (buprenorphine) for treating Refactory RLS and he gave this reply;-

‘The use of buprenorphine for treating RLS is relatively new so there is no literature on the use of this drug for treating RLS. However, a group of us have just written the second revision of the Mayo Clinic Algorithm guidelines for treating RLS and this will be published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings Journal (which is a well-accepted prestigious journal) in the next few months and that will be the first official recommendation for using buprenorphine for treating RLS.

However, I am attaching our article on the appropriate use of opioids to treat refractory RLS. Since buprenorphine is much safer than regular opioids, it should be quite reasonable for any doctor to realize that buprenorphine should be even a better choice than regular opioids for treating RLS. I use buprenorphine extensively for treating RLS and have had excellent results with much fewer side effects than with regular opioids.’

So we asked our UK consultant and my wife was very lucky that they agreed.

[Lfoba in reply to puzzler1]

thanks for the email

[Hidden]

Before you go off the methadone, there are things that you can do. I have the same issue. I also have a rectal stricture from a hemorrhoid surgery that I have to have dilated every few years so this was doubly important for me. I was prescribed Linzess the drug that most likely talking about and it was pricey even with insurance.

I take 250 mg of an over-the-counter stool softener drug here in the USA called "Ducusate Sodium" (Colace is the trade name in the USA although it is available in generic as well) twice a day. This drug does not contain a stimulant laxative, but works by keeping the stool soft.

I also take a laxative called "Polyethylene Glycol 3350". My GI doctor says that it is safe to use daily despite the mild package warning that says not to use for long-term relief. It works by increasing the osmotic pressure in the colon and draws water body into the stool. This also softens the stool. It is a powder that I mix into my orange juice, but you can mix it with water, milk or any other beverage. I have even done it with pop but it makes it a bit fizzy for a few seconds

I take 30 mg of methadone every day plus 0 to 20 mg of oxycodone to control this damnable disease. I would not start out taking 250 mg of ducosate twice a day plus a capful of polyethylene glycol 3350 a day like I use. I would start out with the ducosate 1 time a day and and increase it to 2 times a day if necessary and if that is not doing it add the polyethylene glycol every morning.

For what it is worth . . .

Jerold Crawford, former RN in Emergency and Infection Control - happily retired.

Citrus Park, FL USA

[Lfoba in reply to Hidden]

thanks

[Shumbah]

When I started Buprenorphine Dr Glen Brooks recommended miralax powder I also enjoy stay hydrated I add lemon or orange to my water , I eat watermelon daily.