Opioids Methadone treatment constipation relief

[thatrandomdude]

Hey, I don't know if this is the correct place to ask this but I thought i'd give it a shot and see if anyone has any ideas.

I've been on methadone treatment for about a year or so now, and completely clean from everything else, but i have pretty much constant severe constipation and it's pretty debilitating to say the least.. i never really had issues with it before i started on treatment (i was using DHC tablets, around 600mg a day), i still had issues going to the toilet as expected with any opiates but it was never too bad.

does anyone have any tips or anything on how to ease it? I've been eating as much fiber as i can but still no better, and laxatives would just be a short term solution, should I just speak to my Dr about it? been putting it off as it's not the easiest thing to talk about but a lot easier with anonymity the internet offers.

any help would be greatly appreciated.. (I know this is a bit of a weird subject but yeah)

thanks.

 

[MsDiz]

Sometimes eating fibre when you’re constipated just ends up making it worse.

First things first, hydrate! You need to be making sure you’re getting enough fluids into your system. 2.5/3L a day is optimal!

Secondly, there’s not reason you can’t use laxatives if they are the osmotic kind. There’s movicol which is a great one. It brings water to the bowel, softens the stool up and it passes much easier. I would ask the dr for a prescription of it and then use during the week. You might only need 3 sachets a week to keep yourself regular, it’s just something you need to tweak yourself.

Thirdly, you can then make sure you’re getting your fruit and veg into you. A good balanced diet will do wonders for constipation!

Honestly it’s such a pain but there’s no need for you to suffer when it’s so easily treated.

 

[thatrandomdude]

Sometimes eating fibre when you’re constipated just ends up making it worse.

First things first, hydrate! You need to be making sure you’re getting enough fluids into your system. 2.5/3L a day is optimal!

Secondly, there’s not reason you can’t use laxatives if they are the osmotic kind. There’s movicol which is a great one. It brings water to the bowel, softens the stool up and it passes much easier. I would ask the dr for a prescription of it and then use during the week. You might only need 3 sachets a week to keep yourself regular, it’s just something you need to tweak yourself.

Thirdly, you can then make sure you’re getting your fruit and veg into you. A good balanced diet will do wonders for constipation!

Honestly it’s such a pain but there’s no need for you to suffer when it’s so easily treated.

thanks mate for some good advice, water is the only thing I drink so I don't think it has anything to do with that but probably more so with the diet. I have been improving over the past few months with what I eat but it's still not great so i'll have to work on that.

from what I've read pretty much everywhere said that it's not a good idea to use laxatives for a prolonged period as without them it can make it even worse but I know there are different types.

i'll have to mention it to my dr next time I speak with him as it is a proper hassle, just been putting it off as it's a bit of an iffy subject but hey ho.

thanks again for the advice.

 

[HoldBack]

Sometimes eating fibre when you’re constipated just ends up making it worse.

First things first, hydrate! You need to be making sure you’re getting enough fluids into your system. 2.5/3L a day is optimal!

Secondly, there’s not reason you can’t use laxatives if they are the osmotic kind. There’s movicol which is a great one. It brings water to the bowel, softens the stool up and it passes much easier. I would ask the dr for a prescription of it and then use during the week. You might only need 3 sachets a week to keep yourself regular, it’s just something you need to tweak yourself.

Thirdly, you can then make sure you’re getting your fruit and veg into you. A good balanced diet will do wonders for constipation!

Honestly it’s such a pain but there’s no need for you to suffer when it’s so easily treated.

This is pretty much right on.

Try everything you can think of before you consider a lower dose of methadone.

 

[MsDiz]

thanks mate for some good advice, water is the only thing I drink so I don't think it has anything to do with that but probably more so with the diet. I have been improving over the past few months with what I eat but it's still not great so i'll have to work on that.

from what I've read pretty much everywhere said that it's not a good idea to use laxatives for a prolonged period as without them it can make it even worse but I know there are different types.

i'll have to mention it to my dr next time I speak with him as it is a proper hassle, just been putting it off as it's a bit of an iffy subject but hey ho.

thanks again for the advice.

Yeah look, it’s not great for people to be using laxatives constantly but the ones they are using are the stimulant ones. An osmotic laxative literally just brings water to the bowel. It won’t cause cramps or anything and it’s something that should be thought of by a dr when someone is on medication that causes constipation.
As someone who takes opioid medication for a medical issue I take 2 sachets of movicol every week and I have zero issues.

Best of luck with it! Don’t be worrying about speaking about it, honestly it’s such a common complaint no one is gonna think twice. As I tell my son, everybody poops!