effects of pain meds

[christinem]

Just wondering if anyone has good advice about treating constipation resulting from pain meds. Can't take anything too exotic because of the warfarin. Have been drinking water, walking, eating fruit, taking the odd coloxyl with senna, but not too many. All suggestions welcome!

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Ross]

In the U.S. Colace is recommended. I don't know if it's available under this name where you are, but go to the drugstore and ask the pharmacist for the best stool softener available.

 

[Magic8Ball]

I took lactulose for nearly 12 months post surgery to avoid the 'strain' worry of pushing with fresh stitches in the heart.

Worked a treat for me.

 

[ctyguy]

Pain meds had the same effect on me, as soon as I could get off of them I did but while I needed them I used a stool softener. Im probably 4 weeks removed now from pain meds but still take the stool softener every other day just to help things along. I still see bits of blood on the paper from time to time so that is why I'm still using them.

 

[KathyM]

I also found beni sure to work great. I add it to my coffee or tea in the morning, I also take colace and senna.


Good Luck
KathyM

 

[Cooker]

This is a common problem....consume as much fiber as you can and drink lots of water?.I found that taking fiber supplements such as Metamucil in warm water at night worked for me?.or try heating up a couple of cups of prune juice in the microwave and downing it right before bed....It will work itself out

 

[Superbob]

Colace (a stool softener) worked well for me. The Chimp's combination of Metamucil and prune juice sounds a little "exotic" to me.

 

[Bina]

Post op I was given Colace.....good stuff. No gas, no bloating, no surprises.

 

[Jkm7]

They gave me prune juice in the hospital as it is gentle. (I like it so didn't object. ) They also mentioned milk of magnesia.

 

[Dawn-Marie]

What really works for me is to eat prunes...they have more fiber than just drinking the prune juice.

 

[WayneGM]

I drank prune juice.

 

[cp172]

Dulcolax stool softener worked for me.I learned the hard way what happens if you don't take something.Biggest hemroid I have ever seen.

 

[Sean L]

Colace

Colace

I use Colace. But I am not on pain meds now as I am two weeks out. I honestly have been lucky and am not in a lot of pain, when I am I use tylenol. In the hospital I used percocet and that stuff made me REALLY constipated. That is why I tried to avoid using it if possible.

 

[Philip B]

Like others, I used colace for the first week or so post-op. I really don't like doing meds so I began eating dates, prunes, and dried plums. Plum juice became my beverage of choice for awhile. The cardiologist's staff didn't know quite what to think when they asked if I was doing colace a couple of weeks after surgery and I explained what I was doing with the dried fruit and juice. One of the nurses commented that if what I was doing was working she saw no reason for me to stop.

-Philip

 

[Bryan B]

BTW...the generic name for Colace is Docusate Sodium and is sold over the counter. I took that in the hospital with no luck so they brought out the big guns...the Dulcolax suppository. I couldn't go home until I could show the nurse something most people would not care to see. After that the Colace (docusate sodium) stool softeners worked pretty well. And Colace or other stool softeners are not laxatives (although they do sell stool softener and laxative combinations) so they are pretty gentle on your system. Stool softeners are designed to draw water into your digestive tract which helps to soften the stool.

OK...I think that's the most times I've ever typed "stool" in one paragraph.

 

[Jkm7]

Both surgeries, I had to have a BM to go home. No one mentioned stool softeners or anything for me to use at home. Just told me not to strain. Once I got back to my high fiber diet at home, I was fine. It was surprising how low fiber the food was on the menus from which I ordered my meals in the hospital.

 

[azpam]

dried apricots,warm tub baths on abdomen (or heating pad to it)to soften inside, add extra virgin olive oil to a salad or to warmed prune juice.

 

[laynekulwin]

Side-bar To The Pain Med/constipation Dialectic

Side-bar To The Pain Med/constipation Dialectic

Vicodin, morphine, whatever - all seems to be constipating me, too. Just sent home yesterday with an ample supple of suppositories.

OK - in theory this should work... just help me understand how you are suppose to get that magic bullet shoved far enough into the holster for it to do its job?

If you are going to be doing this by yourself, as I am... I suspect that there has to be a better method!

I'm calling the pharmacy tomorrow. They surely have a solution for this predicament.

 

[sknydave]

ehh.. I'd try colace first! There's also milk of magnesia, which doesn't taste very good, but it has to be better than shoving things up there all the time.



(not that there's anything wrong with that)