CB...Not to belabor the point, but I will, just in case. The above statement is so very true.
Thanks, SBO! "Intestinal health is extremely important. Easy to ignore." I say this from place of pain and agony. I've never used recreational drugs, but I don't judge anyone who does/has. Opiate induced constipation is CONSTIPATION, whether recreational use or prescribed for PM.
If you don't feel that you fully evacuated your colon, I have the answer. Magnesium Citrate $1.25 per bottle OTC. It's clear liquid that's citrus flavored. Drink 1/2 bottle. If nothing happens in 2-3 hours, drink the rest. Stay close to the toilet and don't fall asleep without a diaper. It will CLEAN you out. My GI doc has me use this product+Dulcolax for colonoscopy prep. I can't drink the gallons of Go-Lite.
The enemas take practice, but they are NEVER preferred method. By the time it's gotten that serious for me...It's enema or ER. Right now, as I type, I KNOW I need major surgery to remove adhesions and "free" my abdominal organs. I FEAR (with this disease o'mine) that I will awaken to a colostomy bag. I refuse to submit to surgery. Sometimes I feel like the character on Rob Schneider's silly movie "Animal". He tells the sheriff that his cattle are so spooked that they "can't eat, sleep or shit...and that's all they got".
Me, too.
Unfortunately, I have a Pain Management specialist who does not consider the body as a whole. He shouldn't be in the field, much less the Director of the Hospital Pain Center. He's batshit crazy. I digress. He never listened to me or read my extensive medical history of complicated GI issues. I am wreaping what that fucker has sown, so to speak.
My story is LONG and disheartening, but available if you research DixiChik. My cancer surgeon told me in 1994 that my insides are mutilated by disease and my body's efforts to "heal" itself (adhesions). He basically gutted me to excise disease, put me on tumor-suppressing Megace for many years...said he'd done the best he could do. I'll never forget his saying "Your case is complicated. It can't be explained or wrapped in a pretty package with a bow. You're alive against all odds. I've done all I can do."
Way back then...Miralax did not exist for me. I had to take a lot of nasty puke-grade junk to move my bowels. I'm thinking Miralax was first made available by prescription only. It then was presented OTC. The earlier product wouldn't dissolve as well. Fast forward 2 decades, I guess. It dissolves just fine in cold or hot drink. Name brand costs $15 and change...should last the better part of a month, taken daily. I'm using the Equate (WM) brand...works fine like SBO said.
I have to make a conscious effort to maintain BMs, as "normal" for me without opiates is once or twice a week (not good). My belly gets bloated and distended, compressing my bladder. Then I can't empty it. UTIs ensue and the vicious cycle continues.
I'm too "type-ative", not a 140 character or less kind of gal.
CJ...UA Tide is our arch rival in SE conference. We made Tears ROLL last year. I have to give 'em props, though. I refrain from excessive taunting because karma's a bitch...and we lost our QB. It's nice to "meet" you, as I feel like a catfish out of water here on BL. I need help with PM perspective.
I'm sorry if I've made no sense. My Dalmatian (1 of 2) Hotty died on Monday. Her sissy Toddy, my husband and I are still in shock.