Oxycontin Oxycodone - Constipation Amitizia and Other Side Effects

Amitiza, the greatest medicine I’ve ever taken. I have Zero discs left in my back. I’ve fractured my spine two times and my neck once. I have no feeling in my legs below my thighs as most of the nerve columns are permanently dead. I have severe stenosis, degenerative joint disease and debilitating arthritis in my spine. Six years ago several neurosurgeons and orthopedists told me I’d be confined to a wheel chair the rest of my life and to stop pushing so hard to try to walk. At the time I could no longer walk and they told me I’d never be walking again. My nervous system was the equivalent of an 85 year old male and degenerating daily. I was only 48 years old at that time. They all told me there was too much destruction in my spine to ever consider surgery. Got extremely angry and realized someday I’ll be in a wheel chair and I’ll stop trying when I see there’s no other solution but not when they decide. Found a very progressive pain management doctor and explained my scenario and my goals. For a year I was administered heavy doses of morphine and Oxycontin and daily physical therapy. I pushed through the pain and learned to walk again. I’m still walking today but using muscles and staying focused. Previous to this event I had back problems for many years and chronic constipation since I was 21. As my back problems increased so did my chronic constipation until I would only go once every 5 to 8 days and painful!!!! Hard as rocks and bigger than boulders and would clog any toilet. I could take a whole container of Miralax without any effect. The catch 22 was the longer I was constipated, the more pressure it put on my spine causing me more pain and the need for more Oxycontin. The more constipated the less absorption of the Oxycontin into my system. The more pain the less I’m able to exercise further increasing my constipation. Zelnorm was a joke. Zelnorm only gave me gas for about 2 days. I have hypotriglycerides. My triglycerides are normally 1500 to 1950. Mega doses of Vytorin were prescribed increasing my already severe constipation. Plus they also attacked my gall bladder. I was in so much pain I couldn’t walk again for three months after stopping taking Vytorin. These are called statins and at small or mega doses by body had severe problems with any statin. I was permanently disabled at age 48. Does anyone else suffering chronic constipation suffers from body poisoning? I can’t focus, think, relax or feel positive. I’m irritable all the time and no energy. Everything seems like a monstrous chore. I tend to need lots of sleep and feel unrested even after sleeping 12 hours. And the pressure from being backed up puts a lot of pressure on my spine further increasing my back pain. Vytorin or any other statin at any dose affects me terribly with stomach pain and more constipation. But not treating my triglycerides and I suffer almost complete short memory loss and narcolepsy even while I’m driving. Untreated my blood looks like maple syrup and after it sits in the vial you can actually watch the fat globules accumulate in the top of vial. It’s really disgusting. My brain doesn’t get enough oxygen and my ankles swell twice their size. The blood’s too thick for my heart to pump it back from my ankles. Fortunately other than triglyceride problems my cholesterol and other chemistry are perfect. Otherwise I’d have been dead years ago from a stroke or clogged arteries. Amazingly even untreated for all these year I have no build up in any of my veins, arteries or capillaries. But this does affect my thinking. I did my own research and started eating fish everyday and taking three fish oil tablets a day. But fish oil made my constipation even worse again. I had to get the constipation under control if I was going to have any quality in my life. As soon as Amitiza was available I asked my pain doctor to prescribe it for me. After day 1 it was only gas. Two days later I went and it took 1-1/2 weeks for my system to clean out. Yes, I tend to get diarrhea at times. But I could then take the fish oil which lowered my triglycerides to 250 to 300. That’s the same results as mega doses of Vytorin without the side effects. No more swollen ankles or narcolepsy. No more back attacks from constipation. No more blood poisoning from all those toxins being backed up in my system. No more losses of memory or narcolepsy. (Really bad for a Mensa with an IQ of 165) Reduced my Oxycodone and Oxycontin intake to less then 25%. No it didn’t cure my back. I’m extremely alert and active, only need 4 or 5 hours of sleep and can walk five miles a day. Anyone suffering extreme debilitating pain also has depression and taking oxy knows all too well the terrible side effect of severe constipation. Did I have any headaches or nausea when I started taking Amitiza? Probably but I was too busy getting my life and my health back to let that become a memorable issue. I didn’t even know I was supposed to take it with food until reading this blog. I really don’t care. When you deal with extreme levels of constant pain for years, some nausea or headaches don’t even register. So if I had them at first, I don’t remember. But they obviously weren’t significant. I also find anger is a very effective tool when channeled properly and efficiently. Fear, pain and slight discomforts give way to anger and perseverance. If I didn’t fight back and listened to what the so called specialists all told me, I’d be in that wheel chair today with complete atrophy in my legs with no chance of ever walking again. And thanks to Amitiza, I’m healthier than I ever dreamed possible. My recommendation – I don’t read internet blog side effects of medications until I take it for a while. Otherwise if I read blogs before taking Amitiza, I probably would have had side effects.