Dealing with OPIATE RELATED CONSTIPATION ~ Mega Thread

[zurichsb]

During the time I was on methadone through the clinic they offered us a multivitamin and (2x) fiber pills with each dose. Never suffered from constipation during that time. I wish I had thought of it years earlier!!

 

[indicameds]

Fibercon laxitives daily work wonders for me. They keep me regular and I never get clogged up anymore. i got on em after I had a scope ran and colonoscopy and Ive stayed on the every since because of how great they work at keeping me normal. One every night before bed and Im going in the morning every morning.

 

[SugarCoatedHigh]

I have the exact problem. I am a very healthy eater. I can take fiber. I can drink prune juice. I can even take over the counter laxatives. If I am on a roxy binge, I am bound for days. I know how my body works. I have to wait as long as I can to do one, one morning, I try after 4 or 5 days, and my body will somehow, realize this is its chance. Now, that I have been taking week breaks and even longer, I am back to normal. I am sorry to say, what I eat or even what I take normally for constipation (without opiates in my body) will not work for me. It is just how the drug effects me.

 

[maximumstrength2]

I have been on methadone for a year now starting at 50mg's moving up to 110mg's over the course of that year, for some reason it's like my body does the complete opposite of what it should. I wake up at 4:30am on the dot every morning and have the worst runs. I have to take loperamide everyday to prevent any leakage. Sorry I know this is sick but I have not been like that my whole life, side note, I do smoke weed legally but don't take coke or alcohol which I know can push the methadone out of your system faster. Only possible thing it may be is like 18 months ago I was having severe abdominal pain and the runs.they did a ct scan with the barriem and after hours of waiting was told I need a follow up scan cause the Dr sawv what he said could be the early onset of crohns disease but wasn't sure. I thought that was genetic and no one in my family has it.......sorry for rambling I took a few adderall and Ritalin just wondering your thoughts on what it could be

 

[timetohunt]

When I'm hooked on opiates like I am now again (oxymorphone nasal), my BMs come about every three days, on occasion it extends to 4. I don't consider it critical, though I should and will look into getting more regular. See, I'm also not eating very much. My biggest issue is the dry gigantic stools. In the past I would just bare the pain, bite something and push. It got so bad that I could literally feel the opening rip. I think I produced a hemroid as a result. I'd wish I discovered my new method earlier. What I do is, wear disposable medical gloves and simply manually manipulate the giant mass into a shape the will pass . I don't have to touch the mass or feces because when I do the manipulation it is still in the barrel so to speak. The gloves are for touching that area in general and in case of a slip up.
Ah ..the fun world of dope addiction. At least I'm productive and not miserable in bed. I've got plans to quit again once I get my finances and house in order. Withdrawal is so much worse when you know you have left your affairs in a wreck.

One last nasty point, these BMs clog the toilet almost every time. Often must take an old knife and slice it up. It is usually harder than an Xmas fruit cake. Actually, that is about the true exact density.

 

[Fornax55]

lol, I bet one of y'all wondered when I'd bring up this thread... just wondering - Im havin' the old pellet poops - small hard and painfully solid chunks. these are allegedly caused by lack of fiber and dehydration but I did an experiment to deal with my regular constipation and ate NOTHING but raw fruit and vegetables for 48 hours, a diet of just fiber,vitamins and water... and this is seemingly what csused it. I find this hard to believe and will resume laxative use but if anyone has any idea how that would make sense lemme know..

 

[kinkyjohn]

I find this hard to believe and will resume laxative use but if anyone has any idea how that would make sense lemme know..

Maybe 48 hours is insufficient given that opiates significantly reduce the periphal minor muscle movements in the body that keep things moving down the bowel (there is a name for this I cannot remember). Because of this it's likely even the perfect bowel moving diet won't prevent constipation when things move so slow. Speeding it up should help - prune juice or mildly laxative mints - as should drinking a hell of a lot of water as the intestines absorb water from passing food.

Pellet poops are not actually that unusual anyway ... you can always refer to the bristol scale (using wikipedia because you really need the pictures for this one):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_stool_scale

If your doing number 1s your fine really as at least it's passing though I usually pull out the big laxative guns if I can only manage one or two rabbit pellets. The result is usually an off the chart big solid gold ball blocking mass followed by massive and rapid evacuation. I've been 7 days without a crap before and after laxatives didn't work I had to use meth to get it moving. Try imagining that ... sitting on the loo alternating between hitting the pipe, waves of euphoria and moments of "oh my god what the **** is that!"

 

[RTrain]

I'll tell you what finally has allowed me to be about as regular as I have ever been while dependent on opiates. It's actually 2 things, but they have worked better than any OTC meds I have tried, any change to my diet, or drinking water.

I simply have done 2 things regularly and it keeps me "regular"...well close enough, my shits are still dry/hard and I will still have times I feel the need to go but only get gas or those small pellets that aren;t worth the effort it takes to get them out. But, I am having a good bowel movement almost everyday, as long as I've kept this up. And I've had some bad constipation in the past with similar habits to what I have now.

So what I do, just these things:

1. I take 2-3 magnesium citrate pills per day. I will sometimes even taken 4 if I feel especially backed up and its been a while. To make sure the magnesium works I also take 1 or 2 vitamin D3 pills, typically I take the 2000 IU dose. I also drink a good amount of milk, which has D3 and calcium, the calcium also helps the magnesium work better. Not only is magnesium important as a remedy for constipation, but it also is vital to so many other functions of the human body and opiate abusers are almost certainly deficient in it. Taking it makes opiates work better, so that's another reason to take it.

2. I swear this is the real secret and why it's helped me so much, but a simple can of soup has helped me better than anything. Maybe it's the sodium in there, idk, but if I eat a can of Campbell Chunky or Progresso soup it seems to do wonders. It has become too frequent to be a coincidence. I started eating a can everyday for lunch and I was having a good bowel movement the next day every time. I then stopped for about a week and my constipation returned and I didn't even think about the soup. Then I got a sore throat so was eating nothing but soup and next day... voila, I was a good BM.

So that's it for me, just done those 2 things and I feel great with my regularity, better than I ever have while using opiates (even while on Suboxone at around 3-4 mg a day I have had worse contipation issues.)

 

[morphine-dreams]

Has anyone found that they just developed a tolerance to it? I used to get some of the worst opioid constipation ever but as I started using more regularly it's not an issue. It's still there, it just isn't nearly as bad. I'm hoping this trend continues rather than it going the opposite way.

 

[Man in the Dark]

Senna an all natural supplement that I get in the whole foods it's called smooth move works like a charm for me. I have tried it all Smooth Move helps me go at least 3 times a day. I take it every other day.

 

[aplumgirl]

I'm a daily opiate user for chronic pain and it's been over 3 WEEKS since I crapped!! I would dearly love to go every 3-4 days!!! I've used magnesium sulfate a lot in the past but man that's a literal pain in my butt! I'm suffering from the constipation but the mental suffering of the thought of this poop coming out is much much worse!!! Any thoughts?

 

[phishy2]

You really should work out a daily plan to make sure your bowels function normally. Best to work this with the doctor writing your scripts, since some of the medications needed might require a script.
Mag sulfate or mag citrate is not meant to be a regular solution to constipation, because it can elevate mag levels in the blood and cause other electrolyte issues used frequently, especially in people with decreased kidney function or chronic dehydration. To throw out some better ideas, generic senekot, a vegetable based laxative is worth a try. Generic miralax would also be worth a try. Ducolax suppositories work quite quickly, 15 minutes to an hour. And enemas, either the phosphosoda regular emena or mineral oil enema if lubrication is needed to get hard stool to pass. Most bowel products are greatly overpriced when brand-named or bought in small pharmacies. The big box stores do stock them, generic and much cheaper.

BTW, I am a physician and have spent many hours getting peoples bowels functioning normally.

Steve

 

[Johndoedoe.junk]

I'm a daily opiate user for chronic pain and it's been over 3 WEEKS since I crapped!! I would dearly love to go every 3-4 days!!! I've used magnesium sulfate a lot in the past but man that's a literal pain in my butt! I'm suffering from the constipation but the mental suffering of the thought of this poop coming out is much much worse!!! Any thoughts?

Wow, three weeks? I would go for magnesium citrate, it's in the laxative section of the store and is a clear drink in a small glass bottle, very inexpensive. Sometimes the dollar store has it. Drink the whole bottle followed by a glass of water and wait to see if the magic happens. This should hopefully clear you out but shouldn't be used on a regular basis. It should basically break down and pretty much liquefy any crap you have backed up but I've never used it for a three week backup. It worked well for me after about 5-6 days of not going.

If that doesn't work then I'd say go to the ER as 3 weeks is a LONG time.

 

[Cosmic Trigger]

There's nothing like a daily enemma for constipation. Easy to do, and not usually painful and often pleasurable. I would not let myself go for more than a day without shitting. That's just not healthy imo.

 

[noone1]

Not exactly constipation related directly but at the end of the week before I use again I start having to go to the bathroom a lot. Developing hemorrhoids is not fun from all the wiping. Gives me another excuse to use.

 

[rujex]

In the retirement home i worked the nurses would use plum jam mixed with buttermilk and a warm bath - before resorting to laxatives.

 

[crzydiamond]

I'm on methadone, and that can really constipate you to the point of weight gain

Fellow friend on the clinic recommended Phillips milk of magnesia. That works wonders, drink the little cupful that comes with it and everything feels like it clears out of your body. Plus like someone said--most likely we are deficient in these minerals to start with.


Also, on a daily basis, a stool softener can make a huge difference.

 

[tightlywound]

I'm on suboxone and have at points been entirely dependent on enemas. I've tried everything, including that expensive ass opioid constipation med movantik (naloxegol), nothing helps. At the moment I'm taking small shits w great effort 1-2x week but they don't touch the amount in my intestines and I keep getting more and more bloated and uncomfortable. Ugh. I think I'm going to try miralax again.

 

[IMtrying]

I am on Suboxone as well and just take CVS brand stool soften and it works the best.

I've done eneams before but nothing great to come from it; still hard as a rock shit. the stool softeners soften it up to the point where you can shit again. ha.

 

[BigG]

Thread title......"dealing with opioid related constipation"

Last post by....."IMtrying"

made me laugh anyway...