Constipation and Opiates

pain meds do cause constipation, try the ibs forum, but more liquids gentle walking and best to see your doc so he can maybe prescribe something to counter balance the effects of the pain meds. Good diet always helps lots of fresh fruit and veg. hope it works out for you xx

Scarred,
Sorry to hear of your struggles. I suffer the same thing.

You could try drinking more water. I've upped to between 3-4 liters of water per day; plus make sure you get enough sodium so the water can be absorbed. You can just add a pinch of salt to your water, or else you can eat a small salty snack with every liter. Alternatively, you can try Gatorade, but you need to watch your potassium levels if you drink it for too many days in a row. Also, my PCP told me to cut down on juice because it's not as hydrating. She said if I really can't stand plain water, I can make caffeine-free herbal tea (but no sweeters) so I've experimented with different flavors when times have gotten desperate -- so far blueberry iced tea is my favorite. :) I absolutely hate!!! drinking so much water, but I have to admit that it does make a difference.

Also, you can up your daily fiber. Lettuce, bran cereals/muffins and some other foods can be found for pretty cheap and might help you steer clear of the OTC meds. Worse had a good suggestion to look up more foods on the ibs forum. I will say from my experience that it's pretty miserable stomach pains the first few days on the new diet, but eventually your body gets used to it & you'll start feeling better.


good luck,
frances

Have had the same probs as well and it is not a nice feeling at all.  Went to my doc and suggested something i dont remember because the last thing I wanted to do is to take more meds or pills so I went with the prunes and they do work wonders and also alvacodos! Always try natural if you can manage it!

Scarred:

I have had issues with the big C since I was a small child. I have additional trouble anytime I consume milk related products, and of course add in the pain medications I now take and there's just no getting away from it! I've tried all the remedies there are, but this summer after my hysterectomy my gyn prescribed Mirilax (you can get it OTC like Chutz said, and there is also a generic version that is much cheaper). Anyways, I have to agree with Chutz that it works really well. In fact, I would say it works better than any other treatment I've ever tried - ever! And it's gentle, too! Once I got past the initial issue, my doc has me doing a "maintenance" dose of 1/2 the recommended dose every other day. If I feel like things are backing up, I can just increase it as needed to the full dose daily for however long I need to.

Ry

btw...Chutz, it's good to see you again!

Thanks everyone! I am so glad to see that I am not the only one having this problem. I was kinda embarrassed to talk about it and thought that you all would think that I was being gross. But when your bloated its very uncomfortable. I will get hubby to get me some Miralax and see if that helps. I've tried MOM but dang it that is so harsh and I refuse to go through that again!

Fiber is one of my huge issues as far as eating right as I am not a huge salad fan and think that it is for rabbits (ha ha ha) but I know I should try to eat better then I have been and am going to try to eat more healthier. The problem is with this move and all happening pretty soon I don't want to buy a bunch of groceries when we are just going to have to throw them out when we move. But as soon as I get to KS or wherever I am going here LOL I will start eating more healthier and see if that helps my problems.

Scarred

If you don't like to eat veggies and fruits, you can get more fiber in your diet by using an otc supplement such as Benefiber, Metamucil or Citrucel. They make caplets that you can take with your daily dosing of meds. They even have chewables :)

I get severe constipation from narcotic pain meds which is one reason why I can't take them. But in the past there was no avoiding them so my GI told me to use Miralax and it was the most gentlest of all laxatives that I ever had to use. Of course one shouldn't rely on a laxative to help them with their daily function.