Painkillers/Constipation... what to do?

OMG, I had a similar problem to this over the summer. I was dealing with an...embarrasing and painful medical issue, which lets just say constipation would only make worse. So to help with the pain, I started taking over the counter pain meds (not realizing that it would constipate me) and for most of the summer I was in this vicious cycle of hurting, so I took pain meds to help the pain, which only made the pain worse. Towards the end of summer it finally dawned on me that it was the pain meds that was making everything so bad. I asked my doctor if that could be the problem and he swore up and down that the kind I was taking wouldn't constipate me (he said that only the prescription ones should do that, like the ones you are taking), but as soon as I stopped taking them, my problems almost instantly got better. Long story, well long I guess is that I know what you are going through and feel your pain. I feel really bad for you because if mine was this bad with just over the counter meds, I don't want to think about how it might be for you. I would talk to your doctor. Maybe see if there is anything else that you can take for pain that wouldn't bind you up so much. If not, maybe consider trying to tough it out without the pain meds. It unfortunately sounds like you might be in pain no matter what you do, so if it were me, I think I might choose to have my pain in my mouth...

Don't take a laxative and a sleeping pill at the same time.

Milk of Magnesia. Seriously. Safe and effective. I have chronic constipation and magnesium supplements are the only thing that has helped me. When things are really bad, MoM does the trick. Recommended by my gastroenterologist and I wanted to kiss him on the lips for it.

Prune juice! My go to.

Oh man, i'm so sorry you're in so much pain! Sadly, i can't relate on the mouth pain level, but I have IBS and sometimes it gets to an extreme level. The only thing I can recommend (if you don't want to mess with your meds) is to drink a TON of water. My docs always tell me to drink lots and lots of it to help... soften up and gets things flowing (ew, i know- his words, not mine!) :ohwell:

I would definitely try that but also talk to your doc and let him/her know what's going on to see if there's something else you can do.

Good luck! I hope this gets resolved soon because I know all too well how much (extra) pain that can cause. :flowerforyou:

Dulcolax and drink lots of water. Dulcolax is not a laxative. It will just soften the stool but it will take a couple of days to work.

I have the same problem with Oxy so that is why I HATE HATE HATE when I had to take them after a car accident and after a root canal.

One dentist gave me 2 Tylenol and 3 ibuprofen to take AT ONCE before I left his office. She told me it was equivalent to any one Oxy or Vicodin. (She then wrote me a script for either Oxy or Vicodin - I don't remember which). It really worked for me and I've used the Ibuprofen/Tylenol "cocktail" ever since.

My podiatrist agreed with my dentist but stressed the ibuprofen over the Tylenol, My primary doctor told me to not worry about it and to continue to take both.

As a result, I still have 30 Oxy + Vicodin tabs that I got back in 2010 and only take 1/2 tab once a month if I have a LOT of pain from something -- like working out too much. (I guess I could sell them on the streets and make a few $$$ - kidding)

I'd give the probiotics another go. They've changed my life. When I first start them I have to double up the first few days till I see results.

My boyfriend used to have this problem with heroin (he's clean now btw) but he would take mineral oil and he said it worked like magic

while on pain medication you should always have a bowel regimen. Stool softeners/and or laxative. There are several over the counter products. Docusate (softener) and docusate w/ Senna (softener/laxative). There is also bisacodyl (laxative) that you can take w/ stoof softener.

I had stomach surgery and my surgeon gave me a nasty drink the day before to clean me out so he could operate. I ask him if I could use it again if I got backed up this is what he told me to do.

mix hot water, 1 tablespoon of 100% pure maple syrup, 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, and a pinch of cayanne pepper. You must use 100% pure maple syrup. Not Aunt Jemima won't work. :sick:

Grab some probiotic pills - that should help restore your gut flora which in turn will help get everything working. Also, miralax is relatively harmless and often works for me.

I recommend Miralax. It is flaxorless and can be mixed into any drink. I give it to my daughter who has always had problems going to the bathroom. Take it daily for a week or more if need be and then once you are no longer have issues, switch to a daily fiber. Also make sure you are drinking lots of water. My rule of thumb is to drink my weight in ounces per day...so for me it's 1 gallon of water per day. Helps flush everything through the system.

Throwing one out there, dark chocolate. My best friend's OB/GYN recommended 1/2 a bar of Hershey's Dark Chocolate whenever she got constipated while pregnant. She (friend) said it worked within a couple hours.

When I had abdominal surgery last year, I was prescribed Colace and OTC fiber pills to combat the possible constipation from the narcotic pain killers as well as to keep me from straining/pushing to hard (tmi sorry) while my abs healed.

I had health issues where I was prescribed senna tablets and I had to be on them for almost a year and a half. I was worried about being dependent on them but when I stopped taking them I was just fine! -- hope you get relief soon, it's a real pain in the as..... Okay someone was bound to go there.