How do you deal with pain meds and constipation? Great idea below...

Wow meggie price, it sounds like the whole world is backed up! I guess it is a question that no one wants to ask, but everyone has problems with. My pain management doctor told me right from the start I would have problems, I even had to call off work once! He gives me Omega-3 fish oil (and no you don't burp up fish taste and it doesn't taste like fish when you take it.) He gives me samples of it, there are four gelcaps in the bottle.You can buy that in bulk at Walmart too, but he says the presciption stuff is better (if you have insurance.) I take two in the morning and two at night, he also told me to use Mirilax ( it think it was Lexus1985 that told you) I eat tons of fresh fruit and I drink the full eight 8oz. bottles of spring water every day. Things are usually petty smooth with me if you get my drift! Fall Queen

unfortunately, i have to take lactulose which makes me severely ill, requiring anti emetics, etc with a combination of ex lax in huge amounts, but i have end stage liver disease so i have to take the lactulose or my ammonia builds up in my brain and causes me to become unconsious. i tried adding some oil to the limited food i can eat, i had to go total vegan, does anyone else have this problem? when i added the oil it raised my ammonia levels to deadly levels again. i'm stuck permanently it seems.

I started eating Kashi cereal, making sure to gradual increase my fiber intake from 20% to 55%, so I didn't have an 'accident' or an 'embarrassing situation'. Once my morning fiber was increased, I made sure I slowly added more greens to my diet, like swiss chard, collard greens, spinach. They are full of beneficial vitamins, and I enjoy the taste. There are other high fiber veggies one can eat.

I use Kelloggs Fiber Plus bars which are delicious and have35% of your daily value of fiber.The choclate Chip tastes so good I find i eat them after going to the bathroom.They do give you some gas,but they help me there are a few brands that are good,but make sure they have at least 9 grams of fiber.I hope it helps for you because I had the same problem... I hope it helps you out,Good luck also prunes but they just look nasty so I never tried it but I hear prunes work good also.

Great idea ! I get so constipated even though I take Miralax, colace & Milk of Magnesia (as needed) ... Thanks :)

Hey I know you asked this about 4 weeks ago but if you are still looking, I got this supplement at the herbal store called Colon Care. It's really great, you take two capsules like 2 - 3 times a day (morning, afternoon, evening or just morning and evening) it's pure fiber... and tons more than anything that's marketed at Wal Mart. Without getting detailed here any laxative or stool softener didn't work for me and upset my stomach. With the colon care it took a couple of days to get into my system but by week two I had a daily, regular schedule. No bloating or gas. I loved this product. You can also get it online I believe, it's capsules called Colon Care.

Phillips Milk of Magnesia works great, the cherry flavor is good, and no stomach cramps.

Hi again, I've been dealing with this problem for a very long time. I will give the dried apricots a try. I've tried everything else. I even use Alli (because the side effect and the bonus is I could use to loose a few pounds). Thanks for the idea!

I hope everyone has been benefiting from this. I was reminded by my husband the Trader Joes apricots are really bitter and quite dry so do need moistening- and probably adding water to any of them helps with the digesting period. I also know that constipation from meds is harder to deal with after it starts than getting on top of it from the beginning. Crossing my fingers for everyone plagued with this- as if pain and dependence aren't bad enough.

It's not too appetizing, but a large, warm glass of prune juice at bedtime works great! Good idea about the apricots too. They taste better, I'll give them a try, thanks!

Thanks for the post. I have one heck of a time sometimes because of pain meds and some other meds. I shall definately try this, anything is worth a shot right now. Hope it works for me too, I need all the help I can get. Thanks again

I have had this same problem even BEFORE pain meds. I used to use a probiotic, which works very well, but can be expensive. I have a prescription from my GI doc called Amitiza that works well. It only absorbs into your colon, and not in the rest of your body. The downside is, it is Extremely Expensive!!! If you have ins., it's fine. Without, however, 60 pills(1 pill 2x's a day) is about $300! And that is the insurance company's price! I also use Miralax, which is now over the counter, and is relatively inexpensive. The combination of the two has been a godsend for me, but for everyday pain med constipation, Miralax works just fine. It is odorless and tasteless. I just add it to a cup(8 oz.) of orange juice.
@ Meggieprice- What exactly are "unsulphered" apricots? And where can u get them? Are they just "dried" apricots? I would like to try it! I would much rather eat fruit, than take MORE medication!!! Please let me know! Thanks. Heather

This may sound really bizarre to some people, however, I'm going to share this anyhow, I have tried many OTC stool softeners, and they do help some, on the other hand, Prune Juice at bedtime, or in the morning, or both morning and night did help, and the funniest thing I've tried is believe it or not, "baby prune Pablum", helped more than anything I've ever tried, Now, I now a few of you may think I've lost a few brain cells, albeit, I have that too, lol, On the upside, you cannot imagine how well it worked, I use it three times a day, and my stools are normal now, especially taking the Kadian I'm on. It works for me, and what can it hurt to try it??? You never know what will work best. And this is one that even surprised me, so if you want to stop the cycle of constipation, it's worth a try, we all react in many different ways, and this is one that is working for me... I wish you luck, I know this can be frustrating. Bless you, and Good Luck...

They help me as well, even better than prunes or prune juice. You just have to be careful to not eat a whole lot of them at a time. I love them so it's hard for me to stop. But if you eat too many it can give you a tummy ache. My doctor also suggested I try Align and it seems to work pretty good too. But Apricots are definitly the better, more natural way to go if it helps.