Chron's disease plus constipation caused from pain meds???
I was diagnosed in 1997 with Crohn's disease and was living with lots of abd pain, diarrhea, nausea, etc. Now I have been diagnosed with several things that cause chronic pain and I have been taking pain meds for years now. The weirdest thing is that they stop me up so that I literally can't go without taking a laxative or supplement like Miralax. Now I have been taking the Miralax regularly and I'm having diarrhea. I can't seem to win a happy medium here. I've got a follow up appt with my gastro in May, so I've been seeing him regularly and just had an EGD and colonoscopy done a few months ago.
Anyone else out there with this dilema? I don't want to be constipated but I don't want diarrhea either....I'm just scratching my head here!
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I'm on SSDI with 3 kids, a great man, and several dogs and cats. I have a myriad of pain causing medical problems.
Re: Chron's disease plus constipation caused from pain meds???
It's not uncommon for pain meds to cause constipation since they slow the motility of the gut. It's a not so nice side effect. Generally, when I have to take any kind of pain med, I also try to take a stool softener at the same time so that I can avoid the constipation. Hope you're feeling better.
Re: Chron's disease plus constipation caused from pain meds???
Hi
I take high levels of meds and am always juggling this issue. I've found that if u take a little of the bowel med regularly it seems to work better than only doing so when you've got a problem as it can soon then get really difficult as the stools back up get v large and can be v painful to pass.
I've found the best to take is Manevac which is granules. If u take a teaspoon or two each night it means u can go each day but don't have diarrheoa. Used to take Senna but they gave me really bloating andpain and are renowned for it. As I take morphine daily I have tried quite a few things. Glycerin suppositories aren't bad neither is sodium picosulphate liquid. At the worst case scenario I take Picolax which is the bowel emptying powder pre op. It sounds drastic but if not kept an eye on you can get in more pain with your bowel than u were taking the apin meds for in the first place. I.B.S. complicates my case as I can tend to swing between constipation and diarrheoa anyway.
Don't know if this has been any help but have been battling with the issue for 10+ years so have tried a few drugs.
Definitely ensure you drink at least 2 litres of water a day, if not you don't really stand a chance, you can tell if you are dehydrated as the first signs are normally a headache, apart from a thirst. Try to pay attention to your motions and if u don't go 4 a day make sure u up the bowel medication to compensate just don't go too mad otherwise you will swing from 1 to the other.
Hope this has helped a bit, overall talk to your GP and see what meds he recommends, don't know if u have the 1's I've mentioned but can always say you've had them suggested if u want and see what he says. Sounds like u do definitely need GP help though. TC
Re: Chron's disease plus constipation caused from pain meds???
Scraggy- I have the same problem of constipation due to pain meds. I hadn't heard of your suggestion of Manevac, and since you had success with it I was willing to give it a try. However, I can't find any in the U.S.- it seems to be a U.K. product exclusively. Do you know if it is sold under another name over here? Or can you suggest something similar? I've tried Miralax and senna, prune juice. I've never tried any fiber supplements because I am afraid that they will swell in my intestines and make my colon explode or something. I know that's an irrational thought, but for some reason they make me nervous.
Re: Chron's disease plus constipation caused from pain meds???
I used to drink milk everynight before I went to bed and sometimes that would help with the constipation in the mornings but then my friend turned me onto this mangosteen juice. He was such a pain but kept insisting that I try it and I finally gave in to him. I should have listened to him before for once but you know how that goes. Anyway I dilute about 2-3 oz of the juice he gave me in water and within a few days I didn't have the constipation problem anymore.
