Re: pain medication and constipation

[Guest guest]

Hi Jackie,

So sorry to hear your Mom is having these painful complications...it seems

many do. Glenn vascillates between diarrhea and constipation. Onc dr. told

him to take Metamucil to soften stools. Probably all pain meds create some

constipation. He also has horrible fluid retention and buildup problems. He

gets 2-4 liters drained every 10-14 days to relieve the pain. In between, he

takes oxycodone for the pain (only when he can't stand it any longer) He

swears all the pills he's taking is what's making him sick, (he also hates

taking meds) when actually all they do is relieve the pain and discomfort. And

also, have your Mom try Gas-X; sometimes that helps Glenn immensely. Tums are

different and don't seem to do the job of relieving the pain. Hope this

helps a little...the Gas-X is actually the greatest help!!

Lots of hugs and prayers, Donelle

Caregiver to Glenn

Colon resection 6/03, open wound for 2 months, chemo for 8 months

Mets to Liver found 4/04, inoperable; one tumor too close to artery and vein

Chemo infiltration to chest 8/04 with severe side effects including severe

pain and muscle damage (permanent??), unable to eat, colon shut down,

hospitalization w/morphine 8 days

Fluid build-up and draining on a regular weekly basis

11/09/04 on 5FU/Leu/Oxaliplatin/Avastin " cocktails " 46 hr. infusions

TRYING TO KICK BUTT with this darn disease!!!

[Guest guest]

The constipation is a side effect of the pain meds at the very least. The

best thing I can say is keep her moving - walk walk walk if at all possible. It

helps sooo much with circulation and keeping things moving internally. Those

feet are little pumps for the lymph fluids and can help alot in just moving

things along to help relieve gas and some constipation.

Just a couple of other things - what kind of diet is she on? Perhaps a

nutritionist can help tweak the diet so that she's on the right kind of foods

for

her that won't add to the problems. Has she been tested for any food

allergies? Any kind of intolerance can be exacerbated by her current illness.

I hope she feels better soon.

Sheila

[Guest guest]

-Where was her primary tumor located? You said it was stage IV ...

where had it spread to? And did they take all of it? Is she on chemo

now to keep it from coming back, or to get rid of what they couldn't

when she had surgery? Her symptoms ... constipation, gas, bloating

don't sound related to pain medication. I mean it's possible, but I

don't know. I'm not a doctor, but I just went through all of thiw

with my Dad. When was the last time she had a CT scan?

-- In colon_cancer_support , " O.

Kittrell " <swanpondfarm@c...> wrote:

> Does anyone have any advice about constipation? My mom (aged 70,

otherwise

> in good health) was diagnosed with 4th stage colon cancer this past

summer,

> and had surgery to remove the primary tumor. Her recovery went

well, and

> she has been on Xeloda and Avastin over the last several months. In

> January, she began having discomfort in her abdomen/belly:

bloating and

> gas, fluid build up (she's very thin, so even a little extra is

> uncomfortable), as well as loss of appetite. All these symptoms

seemed a

> lot like her symptoms that preceded her cancer diagnosis! Her

doctor

> checked her out and also had a consult to see if there was a

problem with

> gallstones. (There were gallstones, but they are not calcified and

have

> definately taken a back seat to the cancer treatment.). He has

decided to

> move ahead with Avastin, thalidomide and another type of chemo.

>

> He gave her some pain meds---Lortab, which make her more

comfortable with

> the symptoms. She hates to take medicine and will actually

underplay her

> pain to keep from taking anything. Now she is experiencing

constipation,

> possibly due to the pain meds. Is there any advice on the list

about what

> would help? One pain med better than Lortab for that side effect?

Are

> there any good colon cleansing natural remedies? We were wondering

about

> Dr. Natura Colonix. We're all open to natural things, but don't

want to

> mess around. It's just that we want her to be more comfortable and

to have

> less symptoms like constipation, bloating, gas, etc.

>

> Thanks in advance, Jackie Kittrell

> swanpondfarm@c...

[Guest guest]

-Where was her primary tumor located? You said it was stage IV ...

where had it spread to? And did they take all of it? Is she on chemo

now to keep it from coming back, or to get rid of what they couldn't

when she had surgery? Her symptoms ... constipation, gas, bloating

don't sound related to pain medication. I mean it's possible, but I

don't know. I'm not a doctor, but I just went through all of thiw

with my Dad. When was the last time she had a CT scan?

-- In colon_cancer_support , " O.

Kittrell " <swanpondfarm@c...> wrote:

> Does anyone have any advice about constipation? My mom (aged 70,

otherwise

> in good health) was diagnosed with 4th stage colon cancer this past

summer,

> and had surgery to remove the primary tumor. Her recovery went

well, and

> she has been on Xeloda and Avastin over the last several months. In

> January, she began having discomfort in her abdomen/belly:

bloating and

> gas, fluid build up (she's very thin, so even a little extra is

> uncomfortable), as well as loss of appetite. All these symptoms

seemed a

> lot like her symptoms that preceded her cancer diagnosis! Her

doctor

> checked her out and also had a consult to see if there was a

problem with

> gallstones. (There were gallstones, but they are not calcified and

have

> definately taken a back seat to the cancer treatment.). He has

decided to

> move ahead with Avastin, thalidomide and another type of chemo.

>

> He gave her some pain meds---Lortab, which make her more

comfortable with

> the symptoms. She hates to take medicine and will actually

underplay her

> pain to keep from taking anything. Now she is experiencing

constipation,

> possibly due to the pain meds. Is there any advice on the list

about what

> would help? One pain med better than Lortab for that side effect?

Are

> there any good colon cleansing natural remedies? We were wondering

about

> Dr. Natura Colonix. We're all open to natural things, but don't

want to

> mess around. It's just that we want her to be more comfortable and

to have

> less symptoms like constipation, bloating, gas, etc.

>

> Thanks in advance, Jackie Kittrell

> swanpondfarm@c...

[Guest guest]

Try Senekot as it is very gentle

[Guest guest]

For natural stuff prune juice works well

[Guest guest]

LOL, but a little bit goes a long way. Jolene

flipper759@... wrote:

> For natural stuff prune juice works well

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Jackie,

All narcotic medication is constipating to a degree. All

suggestions have been good, I'll just highlight a couple of things:

1. I think long acting pain relievers are probably more

constipating than short acting. Lortab is short acting; Oxycotone

is long acting. I started and stopped taking the latter - I did not

like the way it made me feel. On the same token, however, if a

narcotic pain reliever is needed, I have both read and heard that

patch (Duragesic) delivery is less so. You might explore that for

her.

2. Exercise, moving, and fiber are all good to offset

constipation. Anti-constipation medication, effectively, comes in

four forms:

a. Bulk - Metamucil, or for that matter, any source of fiber

helps constipation by building stool bulk. The bulkier it is, the

easier it is to move along;

b. Saline - Magnesium citrate, Milk of Magnesia, Fleets Phosphor

soda. The salinity of these blocks water absorption to offset

constipation.

c. Stool Softener - Pill or Mineral Oil - Not really a laxative -

just makes it easier to pass, as stools are softer.

d. Stimulant - Senekot - This helps constipation by stimulating

muscle movement in the colon.

Having said that, all will work to a certain extent - and fiber,

irregardless of what else is used, will most certainly not hurt

either. But the cause of constipation due to narcotics is the

slowing of muscle movement in the colon. Realizing that, I've read

and it would make sense that stimulant laxatives therefore work

best. The only problem is that (although they claim to be gentle

and are for many) stimulants like senecot can be irritating and

cause gas/cramps, usually more so than the some of the others, like

MoM. Trial and error is the best way to tell (for example, even if

using senekot, more fiber or metamucil

Hope this helps - Joe

> Does anyone have any advice about constipation? My mom (aged 70,

otherwise

> in good health) was diagnosed with 4th stage colon cancer this

past summer,

> and had surgery to remove the primary tumor. Her recovery went

well, and

> she has been on Xeloda and Avastin over the last several months.

In

> January, she began having discomfort in her abdomen/belly:

bloating and

> gas, fluid build up (she's very thin, so even a little extra is

> uncomfortable), as well as loss of appetite. All these symptoms

seemed a

> lot like her symptoms that preceded her cancer diagnosis! Her

doctor

> checked her out and also had a consult to see if there was a

problem with

> gallstones. (There were gallstones, but they are not calcified and

have

> definately taken a back seat to the cancer treatment.). He has

decided to

> move ahead with Avastin, thalidomide and another type of chemo.

>

> He gave her some pain meds---Lortab, which make her more

comfortable with

> the symptoms. She hates to take medicine and will actually

underplay her

> pain to keep from taking anything. Now she is experiencing

constipation,

> possibly due to the pain meds. Is there any advice on the list

about what

> would help? One pain med better than Lortab for that side

effect? Are

> there any good colon cleansing natural remedies? We were

wondering about

> Dr. Natura Colonix. We're all open to natural things, but don't

want to

> mess around. It's just that we want her to be more comfortable

and to have

> less symptoms like constipation, bloating, gas, etc.

>

> Thanks in advance, Jackie Kittrell

> swanpondfarm@c...

[Guest guest]

Ok here we go again.

Since all are sharing their good info, I need some help " agin " .

I notice I am very weak; not surprising since I haven't done much of anything

for the past six months. I am weak legged and need to build up strength. One

of the docs says walk a few minutes (actually said 2) each day.

Ideas???

Karima

Re: pain medication and constipation

Try Senekot as it is very gentle