www.incontinentsupport.org

Many people take prescription opioid pain medication, such as Hydrocodone. One unfortunate side effect is constipation. This condition even has a name and acronym - Opoid Induced Constipation (OIC).

Opioids inhibit peristalsis (the waves in the colon that move stool toward the rectum) and slow transit time. The slower transit time means that more moisture is extracted from the feces, resulting in hardened stools that are difficult or painful to eliminate. On the Bristol scale these usually are Bristol 1 or Bristol 2.

I take prescription Hydrocodone (as needed) for severe pain and suffer from OIC. How many of you guys (and gals) share this problem and what do you do about it?

--John
(double incontinent)

I haven't used an opioid analgesic since I injured my back in June, 2012. However, my gastroparesis has much the same effect. I overdose on stool softeners, laxatives, and the occasional enema. If I allow a blockage to develop, depending on its location, I can vomit fecal materials, or diarrhea develops upstream of the blockage, seeps past it, and I soil myself. If you need to use opioids regularly, you might explore using stool softeners as a management tool. They might enhance your daily enema usage, allowing for more complete cleansing. Good luck and keep us informed.

I use buprenorphine myself for pain due my spinal injury in L4 and in fact is mcuh better for the bowel incontinence, of course. The times I´ve been without taking it my incontinence got much worse. But for sure that it has its inconvinients too, anyway, I consider it a good help for my (our) condition.

Regards for everyone!!

_________________
CARPE DIEM ET QUAM MINIMUM CREDULA POSTERO

I used to take 100mg/day oxycodone for chronic back pain. My doctor gave me colace (docusate sodium) as a stool softener to help things along.
I normally took 500mg at night and that took care of the constipation.

My docs have me on Colace (docusate sodium) and Senna the night before, then Magic Bullet (bisacodyl) suppositories the next morning or a soapsuds enema. The combination is addressed at neurogenic bowel plus opioid induced constipation.

So far, everything is an experiment to find the best protocol. They are reasonably effective , but I would opine that everything is a compromise.

Patrick, I cannot imagine the difficulty of trying to treat your complex medical condition.

--John
(double incontinent)

Thank you John for your consideration. Like you, and, I guess, just about all the rest of us here, our medical condition(s) demand continuing experimentation. I was glad to read that your doctors do have you on a combination of medications in addition to your enema regimen. As long as I overdose on ducosate sodium and laxatives, and I'm careful what I eat, I can prevent the worst regurgitation. I simply dare not permit even the slightest hint of a blockage. But that means that I risk bowel leakage every day. Humility is a virtue; it's the humiliation that bothers me.