Opioids Suboxone colonoscopy

[cj]

I have a very important colonoscopy on Monday. I'm currently tapering Suboxone. I dropped from 6mg to 4mg on Saturday so I'm feeling a bit of withdrawal and some loose stool but I still feel constipated.

My fear is the sub will stop the bowl prep from working. So I won't too cause as much GI opiate withdrawal symptoms as possible on Sunday and especially monday. I figure I'll be back to mostly normal bowl wise from this drop by Thursday.

So I'm thinking take 4mg Thursday. Then drop too 2mg for Friday and Saturday morning. Then no more until the procedure.

I guess it's a two fold question.
1. How strong is the bowl prep stuff? Will it work for someone like me who suffers opiate constipation but is in the midst of a quick taper anyway
2. How will Suboxone half-life and build up effect my plan? How fast can I expect to start getting GI type withdrawal symptoms since I'm already in a quick taper from months at 8mg? If I can't take the withdrawal Saturday night would an emergency 1mg dose frick the whole deal up? I know I can't take any Sunday or Monday.


Shit I'm panicking anyone been through this before?

 

[DoctorMolecule]

When my dad was dying of cancer he was on a pretty hefty dose of morphine (150mg-250mgs per day) and if I remember correctly the stuff they make you drink to ?clear you out? is so powerful the morphine didn?t effect it all.
Hope this helps, let us know what you end up doing and what ends up happening.

 

[cj]

Thanks I hope that's the case. I found a study that said people on opiates have a 30 percent failure to prep properly. That's why I'm trying to stack the deck in my favor by being somewhat in withdrawal.

 

[Phantasia]

You should do a clear liquid diet a day or two before. But yeah, the pre-colonoscopy protocol should be very effective even on sub according to my nurse friend.

 

[kleinerkiffer]

^that's a really good idea, if you can manage to not eat for a day or two
I don't have experience with being on opioids when getting a colonoscopy, but ime the stuff you have to drink really clears you out completely (graphic: you're literally pissing out of your anus at the end)

 

[Etterwonde]

Shouldn't be a problem. I was on a daily menu of Methadone (~30 mg if I remember correctly), as well as Diazepam (3 x 10 mg), Clotiazepam (a thienodiazepine; 2 x 10 mg daily, taken as needed when in distress of a panic attack), Pregabalin (2 x 300 mg), Lorazepam (2.5 mg taken before bed), Brotizolam (a thienotriazolodiazepine; 0.25 mg taken before bed), Clonidine (2 x 150 ?g), Campral (2 x 333 mg, three times per day), Vitamin B complex, and last but not least transdermal Testosterone (Androgel) when I underwent a colonoscopy as well as a gastroscropy under anasthaesia with Propofol.

I still take those drugs on a daily basis, only the Methadone is gone (I'm now on 2 x 80 mg OxyContin + 1 x 20 mg OxyNorm, with the latter taken as needed) and the Clotiazepam is gone as well (now I manage my panic attacks with 2 x 2 mg of Alprazolam, taken in case of distress). But I digress...

As DoctorMolecule stated, the laxative they give you is VERY strong (I can't remember the name anymore; also this was in Europe, so it's possible the procedure is done different on your sinking boat). It literally makes you shit water. It's like a brown double-reverse full course dinner: first comes the dessert in the form of hard shit cream balls -hot instead of cold & hard instead of soft-, then follows the main dish in the form of the fat sausages. These brown buddies are followed by the appetizer: tiny shitty snacks in the shape of tuna rolls.

And that's when the soup comes. Oh, do I remember the soup! This "soup" contains two things: water and excrement, and is served cold. There will be a lot of "soup", be warned: you are going to wish you had taken more Suboxone instead of less when the soup is served. So there you have it: a reverse menu of the fecal type, excreted from the arse instead of ingested by mouth.

Bon appetit!

 

[mtop2036]

I had one about 6 months back while being on methadone, 54mg. Also have gastroparesis which makes matters much worse but was still able to manage with some complications due to the gastroparesis.

So if they give you the powder that comes in the gallon jug you mix with water(which you most likely will get) it's just miarxlax with added electrolytes. But it's about the same amount of 10-12 doses of regular miralax. You'll be fine.


Etterwonde hahaha

 

[cj]

Cool. Thanks guys. Ill let you know how it goes

 

[PharmSauce]

Hey man,

There are two types of laxative regimens they give you, at least as far as my knowledge goes. One is bisacodyl (Dulcolax), polyethylene glycol (PEG) 3350 (MiraLax), and a bunch of water. The other option is a big ol' jug with a bunch of sodium and magnesium salts sitting at the bottom. The big jug preparation functions as an "osmotic laxative," which means all the salts in your GI tract will chemically attract a whole shitload of water. In the other regimen, bisacodyl is a stimulant laxative which would be functioning by increasing motility/movement of the smooth muscle in your intestines, inducing desired effect. The mechanism acting behind opioid induced constipation would counteract the bisacodyl to some extent, but you will certainly make some progress, if not 100% with 20 mg bisacodyl.

So you have some strong osmotic laxative action going on in both preparations. The PEG is also an osmotic laxative. Opioids have zero effect on how much water can fill your intestines, so there will be no problems there. Even though the stimulant laxative action in the bisacodyl/PEG regimen is being counteracted by opioids somewhat, it is probably strong enough to override the opioid. If you are using that method, and you are worried about it, you can safely take up to 30 mg bisacodyl. Anyway, the pre-medications they give are designed to make damn sure your colon is cleansed, lol