Constipation!
 

I have been suffering for a few weeks now and nothing seems to work for me.....I just made a batch of the fruit paste and took my first dose so I sure hope it helps (I will include the recipe at the end of this post)!
I began having trouble about a month ago and found out a couple of weeks ago that I have Arachnoiditis caused when NS nicked my spinal dura during surgery (no cure, pain control only) so I now know this will be an on going problem for the rest of my life:(
If anyone knows of any other tricks,tips....please share them here???

Yakima Fruit Paste

DOSE: 1-2 tablespoons per day

1 pound prunes
1 pound raisins-pitted
1 pound figs
4 oz senna tea (look in your health food store, it looks like a bunch of leaves)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup lemon juice

1. Prepare tea-use about 2 1/2 cups boiled water added to tea and steep 5 minutes.
2. Strain tea to remove tea leaves and add only 1 pint tea to a large pot, then add fruit.
3. Boil fruit and tea for 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and add sugar & lemon juice. Allow to cool.
5. Use hand mixer or food processor to blend fruit mixture into smooth paste.
6. Place in plastic container and place in freezer. (Paste will not freeze but will keep forever in freezer).
7. Spoon out what you require each day.

Enjoy eating it straight off the spoon.
Spread it on toast or add hot water and make a drink.

* If the fruit paste is not working (you are not having bowel movements) then you need to increase the amount of fruit paste you are taking.

* If the fruit paste makes you have very loose stools then you need to cut down on the amount of fruit paste you are taking. Perhaps even taking it every other day in some cases.

Hello???????????

prunes and raisins
 

If i understand your post correctly, you're asking what othe rpeople do to relieve constipation? I usually just eat a lot of dried pitted prunes for snack, and/or raisins too. my doctor also suggested eating a lot of fruits but prunes work best for me. I cannot tolerate prune juice (yach!!), but i like prunes. :)

drink lots of water. keep your bowels hydrated.

a bowl of oatmeal with added raisens or other dried fruit.

eat whole grains.

be careful of some of the products like metamucil. you HAVE to drink LOTS of water. a member here had a horrible experience with a blockage.:(

drinking too much caffiene ( gasp ) can have a dehydrating effect. herbal teas can be soothing and add the extra water you need.

also...watch your dairy intake. that can bind you up.:o

how is the paste working? and how does it taste?

i take an herbal supplement daily. i have been taking it for month. boy has it helped me! it's a cleanse type of product. you can pm me for the info. or anyone can for that matter. :) i don't sell it...not affiliated...but i don't usually post those kind of links.

fresh coconut meat
 

Fresh coconut meat. Hard to break open...but it does the trick if you eat enough!!! Also...tastes similar to pecans or some other nut. Pretty good.

Thanks everyone that took the time to reply...I really thought more people would have the same problems as me but maybe it is too much of a delicate subject for most....I just know my life these days revolve around this problem....I am completely miserable and I drinks tons of water...made the fruit paste and even started taking magnesium...anything!!Laxatives do not touch me...I guess its time to call the GP and ask for Reglan and anything else out there that may help me go. Everytime I eat I feel sick so I know I am full of it:(

Plugged
 

Yes, Junie, you could be right. Some people may be too embarrassed. I have gotten way passed the embarrassment! Six weeks ago, I was so plugged that I was throwing up every day! I was throwing up bile and boy was I sick! If I ate anything, I threw up, if I drank anything I threw up. So, instead of doing the smart thing and going to the doctor, which I had been to more times than I can count over the summer, I decided to fix the problem myself. I started taking laxatives and I mean I took three every two hours until I ended up taking 27! I almost died!! It unplugged me alright but I was shooting it out both ends for hours!! Please, Please, don't anyone ever be stupid enough to do what I did. It's just that I was so desperate and with the other stuff that was going on in my life at the time, I just wasn't thinking correctly. I have had this problem all my life but now that I am on so many meds, it's so much worse. I did tell my doctor that I had a terrible problem with it and all he did was say I should start taking metamucil and I tried but would throw up every time. So, that's out. Many of you have given me ideas that I am going to try and I thank you all.

Love,
LInda :)

Hey, Junie...

The absolute best help I've found for constipation is walking. I saw an article once in a doctor's office that explained how the continual compression and release of the bowels during normal walking actually serves as a very important "engine" for keeping the process of digestion moving along.

It doesn't even have to be a fast-paced, energetic walk, although that's the best. You just drink a couple of glasses of water or juice, and then walk at an even pace for as long as you can. Try to relax you abdomen as much as possible, and just let nature take over. It really helps me. Hope it helps you.


Idealist

Poor ((Boopers)) I tell you kids, nothing to be embarrassed about. I never had a problems with the meds until the Dr. put me on Norco.

Deadly for the bowels!! I take Dulcolax and like Curious said, drink plenty of water! I feel like I'm sloshing in water some days:D

I guess it is embarrassing but I'm so old I don't much matter, if its a problem I get the help where I can.:p

You know, I've noticed not too many use this forum. Even when we are talking about our pain with others many times we discover ways to help all of us.. I don't think of it as complaining. It's helpful to me.

So, lets all spit it out, who knows we may be he;ping many others we don't even see.

I'm about to hit my head on the keyboard here. Anybody else ever do that? lol guess I'll go crash and burn. Take care all. See ya tomorrow. Have a painLESS night:D
Julia

I have been using Miralax, a prescription medicine prescribed by my gastroenterologist....The Miralax has been taking a little longer to work and I am using more of it since my last surgery so he just prescribed Zelnorm. I also eat lots of fruits and bran, but I need the help of the meds.

yes, Idealist!!!
 

Yes!!! I forgot!!! Walking does a lot...working those hips. But, I guess that doesn't help those who aren't mobile.

yup
 

I just wondered into "chronic pain" for the first time, being a poster on peripheral neuropathy for many years. Then, I was diagnosed with a rather humungous spinal cyst, which put me on the spine board as I was working my way through the decision for laminectomy and fusion. And now, well, 9 months post op, I've been told by my neuro I'm a "failed back". And somehow, with all this, I find I spend more time thinking about this issue than any other.

So, for what it's worth: my GI was very concerned that I had been regularly using herbal laxatives, which I had thought were primarily magnesium and which had worked for a long time. He said that on colonscopy my entire colon was turned black from them, a condition called melanosis coli. By itself, there's nothing wrong with having a black colon; however, it makes colonscopy almost useless for picking up early cancer.

He was adamant I switch to miralax and colace plus fiber, saying there's a combinatoin of these for everyone which will work. (the cause of the constipation being the drugs plus the loss of nerves from the spinal cyst).

He's mostly right. You can take up to 6 Colace a day, or more if you wanted. There's no upper limit on this stool softener. Likewise, while one dose of Miralax might work for some, or alternate days, which I did for quite a while, it's okay to take several doses a day, as all it does is increase the water content of what's passing through.

While some people don't think fiber is so good for people with slowed movement, his view is that anything which adds bulk without hardness stimulates movement.

So, since the surgery, I've switched to this protocol, and it mostly works.

Again, staying away from stimulants like senna is important for as long as you can possibly do that, because of its result in melanosis coli. That includes Dulcolax.

When in the hospital, after the surgery, whwen nothing was moving for 5 days, they finally intervened by giving me Miralax every two hours until there was a result, and...there was a result.

So I think he's probably onto something here.

And less calories than prunes!

lizajane, did your dr say what in the herbal laxative caused the blackness? i take a cleansing type everyday. it is for more than colon. cleanses other systems too. but i sure dont want to keep taking a product that could cause other problems.

my constipation "cures"
 

Constipation has been a part of my life, and I didn't even know it. When I was in the hospital a year and a half ago (for an acute attack of porphyria), which included severe constipation, a nurse told me to eat peanut butter. (Sorry for those who have peanut allergies.) I chosoe natural peanut better (the kind where the oil sits on top) and it's not an immediate cure, but sure enough, the next day things right themselves.

Like others, I've also found drinking extra water and exercise to be helpful. Lastly, I drink a small amount of coffee. I know that caffeine is supposed to be a no-no, but as long as I drink enough juice and water, things even out. I think it's the stimulant in coffee that works.

Go with the flow, I say! :D

purple pal in Wisconsin

Wow....stay away a couple of days and look at all the replies...but I hate to say everything and I mean everything I have tried is not producing much:(
I have no choice but call my GP on monday and ask for miralax and maybe Reglan??
I know I must do something soon or I will end up in the hospital with a impaction and that would be horrible:(
Thanks for everyone that took the time to reply...maybe something said here will help someone!!

I have had this problem too. I have tried everything--including that nasty citrus liquid Magnesium citrate. It may work, but it can also make things flow around the road block.......I needed something that works everyday. A friend told me about Dr. Schulze's Intestinal Formula #1. It works, and I have never gotten crampy from it. The doctor's at the hosptal said it was fine to take.

melanosis coli...
 

typically results from Senna type laxatives.

http://www.medicinenet.com/melanosis_coli/article.htm

There has been a "movement" away from the use of these for that reason.:p

In long term care, the most common laxative now is Miralax, now available in generic called Glycolax.

Don't underestimate prunes/dates/figs...these are high in nutrients and do help some people.

I haven't seen anyone mention glycerine suppositories yet.

They help a lot so that there is less straining and pushing, and less time sitting on the toilet.

For me, the worst part of having constipation in the amount of time I was sitting in the bathroom trying to get things going... because of my muscle and joint problems I was getting pain flares in my hips, legs, and back areas anytime I had to sit there for more than 10 minutes... so for me, the glycerine solved that part of the problem.

Thanks again everyone....still battling and I had sis go to walgreens sat. and pick up exlax and ducolax supp so was able to move a bit....also I went ahead and ordered what BarnBum is using since it was so cheap...and if this does not work then off to the doctor.
I hate going to doctors so that is last resort.
Liz, I really know what you mean about the sitting, it kills me...causing leg cramps and all sorts of new pain:(
Thanks again!

I finally had my first pain clinic appointment last Tuesday and was started on MS Contin. It seems to be helping with my pain, and I haven't had a lot of side effects that I usually get with the opiates (nausea, itching, headache). The one problem I have had is the constipation. I have not had a problem with this in the past, except when I was on a bunch of opiates in the hospital.

I got Colace when I picked up my MS contin last week and have been taking it every day, but in reading these posts it looks like I can go up on the Colace dose quite a bit (only taking it once a day so far). That is good because the Colace doesn't seem to have worked at all.

I was getting really frustrated by Friday night because I hadn't gone at all since Tuesday, so I went to the pharmacy and got some glycerin suppositories, which also didn't work. So then I got some magnesium citrate and took that, and it did work, but it only worked that one time, and I can't be taking mag citrate and getting diarrhea every day or even every other day.

I need to come up with a regimen that works for day-to-day use, since I am now going to be taking the long-acting opiates every day. I got some generic senna laxatives today, but now after reading about melanosis coli, I am hesitant to use them as part of my daily regimen. Does bisacodyl cause melanosis coli, too?

My diet is already pretty high in fiber, because I need to eat 4-5 small meals per day consisting mainly of complex carbs for my metabolic disorder. I make sure that the sources of complex carbs I eat are mostly whole grain, so there is a lot of fiber in my diet. I also try to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.

I am going to try to make some of that Yakima fruit paste stuff, and I will ask about adding Miralax when I go to the doctor next time. Any side effects to the stuff, besides the obvious "makes you go"?

I'll tell ya what has worked for me....I've had this problem a lot, but then suddently I was going all the time. Like 8 freaking times a DAY. Like, even in the middle of the night, having to change my bedding and all (too graphic, I know, but to give you an idea of how well this worked...too well, but it's finally perfected!).

Anyway, I am on the duragesic fentanyl patch, a high 75 dose, PLUS percocet 3 x's/day, PLUS 2 ferrous phospate tablets a day. All those cause constipation, right? So you can only IMAGINE how backed up I was. i was taking exlax - the chocolate ones - at night. That wasn't even working. So I was taking the dulcolax suppositories, and yes, they were working...but sometimes only after using two of them. And those aren't really "fun" ya know. So my pain doc suggested using the Senna (which is the generic senokot). Two every morning. Sure, they helped a bit...but not well enough. I was still straining, but having a movement ever 3 days. Still tummy aches though, so it wasn't enough.

On a whim, I was talking to my pain doc also about the muscle spasms and the restless legs I was having and neither of us wanted me on "another pill" so he asked if I took magnesium. Yes, I did...one pill every evening. He asked how many mg's that was. Well, I didn't kow...but he said the "average" was 250 mg's per pill...which wasn't enough to stop the restless legs and spasms. So he wanted me to take 1000 mg's. So, that's what I did...AND YOWSA!!!! Did my bowels ever start MOVING! I had absolutely NO IDEA what was wrong with me. I thought I had ecoli, cuz I had eaten spinach quite a bit lately and I thought I had bought a package of that "tainted stuff" ya know. I had NO IDEA I wasn't supposed to start taking 1000 mg's all at once, but "wean myself" onto it. So...that's what happened when you don't wean yourself!

I did that for about 3 weeks. Ended up going to my MD cuz I got my very first hemmorhoids and everything (does that mean I'm a GROWNUP now?). Finally posted cuz I figured I sholdn't be embarassed anymore about "those" issues, and someone read about the magnesium, referenced "whatcha think Milk of MAGnesia is?" and I felt silly...did some googling, and WELLA! Yeah, i figured it out myself. Cut the magnesium OUT for a few days, then went back to 750 mg's and started the senna back up, 2 pills in the am....so that's my maintenance now....2 senna's and 750 mg's of magnesium...and I'm scootin just fine now. Sure, now and again I'll need a dulcolax suppository...but only about once a week/10 days as opposed to a pack a week like before!

That's what worked for ME. Everyone is different...and I learned the hard way. LOL! Sometimes that's how we learn though! There is also a tea (if you like tea) called (crud....PAIN BRAIN POPPING IN!!!!) never mind...I'll edit later when I figure ot the STUPID NAME! It's supposed to be very healing....the natives had a special way of drinking it....comes ina green bag.....spelled different than it sounds....MATE....native....something like that??? GRRRR! Someone else will probably know it before I can figure it out. I think I hve some at work here. I'll go fetch it and post it later.

Anyway, it's said to be "magical" and very healthy for hte brain, heart, eetc when it's drank regularly.

NATIVA MATE!!! that's it! Yerba mate???? Cru....its one of those. Anyway, guess I should drink more cuz my brain could certainly use it, huh? LOL!

So much for my scatterbrained input! I'll go back tot he rsd forum where I belong! LOL!

Hugs
LisaM

Lisa,
The magesium used to work for me but in the last 3 days I have taken 1500 mg a day and nothing. I guess I am dealing with some paralysis from the Arachnoiditis. Thanks evryone.

Yes, Mrs D was correct. The melanosis coli was caused by the senna in the herbal product.

Add me to the list of the constipated!
I take Colace everyday, a little coffee or Diet Coke in the morning, and Flax Oil in tablet form every day. Yes water is also very important....lemonade too. I don't drink tap water anymore, it makes me sick so I only drink bottled water now.
I am still irregular but at least I am going. There were times I wouldn't go for up to 3 weeks at a time. Yes...I know what you all must be thinking. At this point I have decided not to worry about it. I too was on opiates back when and that is when it all started. Ever since I have been having bowel issues.
Good luck on trying!:D

Miralax is wonderful!
 

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to report that on friday Pm doubled my pain meds and gave me Miralax and I took it friday...skipped sat sun, took it mon-tues-wed and it worked like a charm on wed...and I went this morning normally so I feel much better and now will play around and find correct does for me! I am very impressed since Nothing else worked (and I tried it all)!

I dont use this anymore because i have such oily skin but i used to use flax seed oil.
I used the liquid that you store in the fridge.
I put a teaspoon in my oatmeal every morning.After i cooked the oats.Your not suppose to heat the flax.It worked like a charm for me.
It actually helped with my terrible cramps from IBS as well.

Is that a TORTOISE...
 

driving that CAR? LOL

Too cute.I did'nt even realize what that was until you posted Mrs D..lol
Very cute!!