This is one of the side effects of radiation and pain meds that has been awful for my husband. I wish the doctor had prescribed something stronger than two softeners a night. They are just not enough. Has anyone had better results with regular dosage of laxatives?
Constipation due to pain meds - Advanced Prostate...
Constipation due to pain meds
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LaRue44
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Oh I had same thing.. OTC medicine did not work. Finally I got prescriptions of lactulose then everything very smooth. Even your primary can prescribe you
Google keyword : Lactulose, 10 GM/15 ML Solution.
Thank you. I will get that for him.
Use senna instead of a softener.
Whenever I go on opiates (hydromorphone) or start a chemo cycle I am at risk of developing constipation.
I start taking senna the day before, 2 x 8.5 mg tablets every 6 hours, plus drink lots of fluids. I continue taking the senna up to 1 day after I stop opiates or chemo.
Works perfectly to keep me regular.
I occasionally have this problem. Mira Lax nightly and Linzess helps to kick it. Linzess is designed for opioid constipation so I am told
superb power of Linzess
I’ve been successfully using and adjusting my laxatives to match changes in my pain meds for nearly 66 months. A lot has to do with how much opiates you intake daily, type of opiate and your body weight. I’ve ballooned to 325lbs thanks to ADT drugs , so this is my regimen.
As Magnus, post above me , said gentle and predictable Senna is what I use as well. I take 15mg of norco every 6 hours , usually, about 60-75 mg a day if I have moderate break thru pains. I like to have one BM a day regularity.
To achieve my regularity, I take 4 50/8.5 mg Senna veggie tablets at 10:00 a.m every morning. I get productivity by 11:00 pm that same days. Along with body weight , fluid intake impacts effectiveness as well. Consistency in fluid intake helps greatly.
Sometimes the food you eat and or forgetting to take your meds causes an upset in your daily balance. If , for any reason, I skip three days of bm or start feeling cramped , irregular or plugged up ….. I use a capful of MOM ( milk of magnesia ) , same as your daily stay in the hospital. After mom does it’s inevitable job, I wait one day and resume my schedule.
Obviously consult with your pcp first , to start this or any otc medication.
To start, I’d mom myself to clean everything out and wait a day to start everything at the beginning of a cycle. Then start with a small dose ( one or two ) tablets of Senna to establish the best , most comfortable level that works for you at this time. This can and will change over time and need readjusted. If you can establish your bm to a regularity , omit the mom cycle until something changes and your cycle becomes irregular. No need for MOM if everything is working OK.
This is my particular methodology as suggested by my pcp and pallitive care team . All supervised by medical doctors and staff. Always check with your own pcp / pallitive care team as well. Warning : this is serious subject, failure to have BMs properly and / regularly might cause a serious condition of toxic bowel impaction. This condition can become emergency room serious , the toxicity of a bowel plug can get to a life threatening point. I can say from personal experience that having a bowel plug can make you so sick that youve probably never felt “ that “ sick before in your life.
Just say’in.
❤️❤️❤️
You mention ‘ballooning” to 325 lbs……from what initial weight and average calorie intake per day….? I’m having a hell of a time keeping weight off despite very low calorie diet……can’t exercise energetically due to advanced arthritis.
I’m a big guy anyway at 6’1”, had a small little belly on me and I weighed around 235 or so. When I was DXed, I was losing 17 pounds a week like wildfire. Soon as I started ADT my weight started gaining again. Both my wife and my oncologist like me better being overweight. My wife’s thought that if I start losing weight in a free fall again, this extra weight will add a few weeks to my longevity lol.
No matter what I eat or how much I starve, my weight has been stuck at 325 for the last three years or more.
😂😂😂
Wow that's exactly how he was. He was ready to push the "off" button if he had one. I wish he could gain weight like you did. Hopefully his appetite will come back. Thank you.
Cannabis or hemp derived Delta products stimulates most people’s appetite. Some into eating overdrive. Of course, like everything else, not everything works the same on everyone , but it works on me and everyone I know. If you haven’t, give it a try… if you are in the USA you can probably buy Delta-8 products thru the mail legally.
❤️❤️❤️
Regular opiate user here. Codeine 60mg x two or three times a day. Big bowl of oats, papaya, pineapple and banana, every day for one meal. 2 litres of water daily and two senna nightly. Longest without bm was 5 days on hydromorphone. Never going to go there again!
Doctors do not know everything about everything. Relying on their input without research is not great. Knowledge is power! You’ve been supplied excellent input by those who have been in similar circumstances. Hope he goes to dunny and evacuates soon!💜
Long term use of laxatives should be avoided. The same is true for opiates. Unfortunately many of us seem to be doing both, and the synergy between them is onerous.
The better his overall health and habits, the better he can live without either pain meds or laxatives. If you/he feel that he must take the meds, plenty of water, exercise and fibrous foods are the best solution. Metamucil is an effective alternative to laxatives for many.
Exercise helps relieve constipation tremendously, while little or none exacerbates it.
What you don’t want is the trifecta of consistently sedentary, insufficiently hydrated and a low fiber diet. Attack any or preferably all of these areas, and strive to use laxatives only occasionally if you can.
Colace daily with Miralax as needed
Yes I'm going to try regular Miralax and he's already taking stool softeners. Thank you.
Yes, good, he'll need both. (I find if I take the Miralax about 3 times per week it does the trick. (1/2 dose each serving). Colace 1 in the morning, 1 with my lunch and 1 before bed. (Add Prune Juice to the menu when things get bad 🙃. ) At least 64 oz of liquids / day. 32 of which is water. <<- this is pretty much my daily routine. 🙏
Has he tried Prune juice? That was recommended by my doctor. Also got a pack of dried prunes. With the sachets it worked beautifully. Once sorted and poo softened then vary the sachets and other laxatives to suit. Good luck.
Prunes work wonders. If I am stopped up, I eat a few and then just two a day for a few days and i am back on track.
NOT a doctor but did stay at a Holiday Inn Express, --- every colonoscopy and other up the butt procedures I've had for over 35 years has required that I consume 1 bottle of Magnesium Citrate for flushing out. EVEN my PCP who felt the GL10 tumor in my prostate doing her DRE and when she used her Sigmoidoscopy POOP SHOOT probe in her office years before she sent me for my first colonoscopy required MagCitrate be consumed.
Guess what, after first drinking the MagCitr I tried spraying it on my skin and rubbing it in when I had a plugged up issue AND IT WORKED!!! I avoided taking stuff orally and screwing with my gut biomes and besides it's cheap. Just like drinking some Apple Cider Vinegar with MOTHER when I have an upset stomach/gas takes care of those issues CHEAPLY.
Might not work for all but it has for me and many friends. Is not absorption via the skin a medically approved method of administering products bypassing the gut and not messing it up? Could be an inexpensive AND easy long term fix.
Good luck.
have you considered getting a bidet? This greatly helped me with that problem 34 years after rectal cancer surgery…
My dad had the same issue.
He only took pain meds for a week and almost ended up with a bowel obstruction due to those horrible meds.
What he DID do for 5 years was take medical marijuana gummies with a combo of THC and CBN. The CBN somewhat negates the "high". We played around with the dose, he had WAY less pain, a much better appetite and slept better at night.
We live in Michigan so it was easy for me to go to a dispensary and they were very helpful and knowledgable when I told them what it was for.
He had ZERO side effects from that, but multiple side effects from pain meds.
However, this may help too.
What I have done for years and it helped him was every morning drink a warm glass of water with lemon juice and shaved ginger. You can make it into a tea. Drink it first thing in the morning and while laying down, do a deep but slow circular stomach massage from the belly button out. It helps to move the bowels and stimulate contractions that help if you do it regularly, and slowly with as much pressure as is comfortable
God bless you all, and I'm sending prayers for strength,
Dawn
Be careful. You could wind up in the hospital with acute blockage and infection. Stay ahead of the problem while on the strong pain meds. For me, the Dr. Prescribed 2 Prochlorperazine 10 mg oral tablets twice a day, and MiraLax oral powder mixed into everything I drink. Adjust accordingly after things start normalizing. Best of luck.
Try Linzess, prescription only. There 72, 142 & 294. If radically constipated take 294 ( only once) an hour before breakfast, but on maintenance use 72. It really works.
Might work for you ... Miralax every morning, at least for me, in coffee. It is basically tasteless so you could put it in anything. Took 3 to 4 days to take effect. For me it was hard stools, worked well.
Oh it brings back the horrible memories. Yes stool softeners didn’t do anything for me. But as others have posted above those medications work wonders. I’ve been off the opioids for 90 days now and not even a Tylenol. The Zytiga has stopped the pain completely. Things are flowing perfectly now.
Good for you brother 😁😁😁
I concur with others who have recommended you get a doc to write you a script for "lactulose solution". Comes with a dispensing cap, and a single cap is like a "magic elixir" for constipation.
Buy a bag of oranges and eat three of them a day. Great minerals and vitamins to boot as well this'll keep him trotting with even more drugs. One or two before bed, Perfect.
See if you can get the Bluejay oranges as they're real juicy and sweet.
Gut biome is critical, fermented foods and raw pre /probiotics supps help a lot I also take magnesium citrate in the evening. Fresh Aloa Vera leaf or Juice works wonders for me. Worst case order up some Chinese take out, lol just kidding. Best
Miralax is your best friend. I take 75mg oxycodone per day and use just under 2 doses of miralax every evening.
Your milage may vary...
Pat
Miralax powder.. with plenty of water.
senna and colace when necessary. They work better together. (And as mentioned by others others) lactose. My dad doesn't doesn't use mira lax because it is more rough on the kidneys and he has issues.
Industrial Plunger (either end)..........
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n
Adding a 2nd reply, I have had good results for constipation using Castor oil. Few drops rubbed on belly and in belly button at nighttime works for me. Rubbing the oil on the belly and then placing hot water bottle or a heat pad will also help. Read my other reply for more remedies I have used with success to treat and prevent. I like to cut an whole onion in half and bake, onions are good for gut digestion Best.
gut health is critical. If you take one quality probiotic daily you should see improvement.I also try to eat some prebiotic foods daily and also drink carrot juice and raw sauerkraut. I get the sauerkraut at Walmart for $4.84 a one pound bag. The brand is Cleveland. A forkful two times daily does the job. It has to be unpasteurized to be of benefit. The probiotic I take is from Life’s Garden and has 100 billion with 34 strains. I only take that a day or two a week. The sauerkraut actually has more probiotic per 1$ spent. Certain types of magnesium work as laxatives and magnesium is an overlooked mineral very often. God bless.
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