No "URGE" to go for 20 days

[bbray]

Please can someone help me? I live in a remote part of Arkansas that isn't particularly known for it's healthcare. I am 51 years old and have been taking Oxycodone for 10 years. I was up to 160mg per day but 2 months ago told my doctor I wanted off this medication and now I'm down to 80mg per day. I have had constipation problems in the past but I'm experiencing a complete inability to pass any stool issue, there is no sensation of needing to "go". Here is the past 20 days of my life... it has been 20 days today since a bowel movement.

Current Symptoms
Bloating, loss of appetite, low back pain, shortness of breath. No "urge" to have a BM.
When attempting to produce a BM I may get a little water with some brown "sediment" but not often,

typically just non-productive.

History:

Friday July 29th - It has been 10 days since a bowel movement. A colonoscopy peformend by my GI doctor

3 weeks prior was good. Nothing found. Bowel movements had actually increased in frequency after

procedure for a period of a week and a half, then everything just stopped.

Called GI doctors office. Was told to take MoM and Mirilax. MoM at morning and night and

Mirilax 3x a day. Did that for 3 days.

Sunday July 31st. Still no bowel movement. Went to ER xray taken - lots of stool shown

on xray but no apparent obstruction. Was given injection of Relistor and after an hour no movement.

Sent home with Rx for GoLytely.

Monday August 1st. Rx for GoLytely filled. Drank entire contents, no movement.

Tuesday August 2nd - MoM - Mirilax - drank some mineral oil.

Wednesday August 3rd. Went to ER again. Another xray taken and large buildup of stool indicated. No

apparent obstruction. Was given another Relistor injection and a cola enema. Produced a very small

amount of watery stool. Sent home with instructions to take colace tablets followed by 2 glasses of

Mirilax, repeat up to 4 times. Followed this regime for 2 days. On Thursday I consumed 8 glasses of

Mirilax, no movement.

Thursday August 4th - Colace - Mirilax - prunes - mineral oil enemas. No movement.

Friday August 5th - Dr. appmnt with family doctor. Xray taken - no apparent blockage. Told to continue

laxitives and use saline enemas.

Saturday August 6th - Colace - Mirilax - saline enema, mineral oil enema - cola enema. MoM x2.

Sunday August 7th - Colace - Mirilax - prunes - saline enema, cola enema, metamucil. Still no movement.

Can ANYONE PLEASE help me??? I'm at a loss here... I don't want to keep wasting money going to these doctors and being told to take more laxatives. What should I do?

[Caseywub]

Did you ever get relief ? How are you doing ?

[Barb135]

This thread is 10 yrs old, so it’s unlikely the previous posters will respond.  If you have a question or similar problem, it might be better if you start your own new thread.  

[bbray]

Thank you.. I just bought some Activia and plan on eating it daily... I had some probiotic tablets but I'm out at the moment. I've lost track of the days, it was 20 days when I posted this so I'm around day 23 I guess... still nothing but a little fluid.. sorry to be so visual in my descriptions but I'm soooooooo ready for this to be over with. I'm really starting to worry that I may have some obstruction that the xrays aren't showing. I wouldn't wish this experience on my worst enemy.

[Not2sure82]

Probiotics are a great suggestion. I'm sure you've seen the ads for Activia... That is the one I use. It really does work well. Also, you can take a probiotic capsule of live cultures to get  some more in you. Also walking and moving are great ways to get your bowls to move. If you are able to get to a pool... swimming and walking in the pool helps too. Keep moving! I hope you find relief soon!

[bbray]

Thanks Dave, I actually have - I was at 160mg per day and I've cut that in half... that is when the problems started so go figure.

[Dave2436]

I agree with mammo,
I have had chronic digestive problems and one of the things that helped the most was when I started taking Align probiotics at the recommendation of my gastroenterologist. They keep me regular and feeling normal. One other thought is your use of Oxycodone. My wife has been using vicodin for years now due to multiple medical issues and gets constipated often. She has found that if she takes more than a couple each day she will get constipated. Perhaps you could try lowering your dose to see if that has any effect on your regularity.

[bbray]

Thanks mammo, actually that is something I did think about and have eaten it a few times but not regularly. I will try increasing the amount. I was feeling so bloated last night I thought I was going to explode. Feeling so fed up before trying to go to sleep I drank about half the bottle of MoM. Well that loosened something because I woke up about two hours later with the sensation to go... I was excited.. well I went but it was pure liquid. Then about an hour later I woke up and the same thing. This morning when I woke up I didn't have the urge but the second I stood up I did... I went and all liquid again. It seems as if things are working off of gravity now for some reason. I know there has to be TONS more to come out considering the length of time with nothing happening. Can you tell me the amount of yogurt you ate daily?  Any particular brand?

[mammo]

I went thru this exact same thing and while waiting to see my GI, I decided to start eating yogurt enriched with probiotics once a day....but not really expecting any results.  After 10 days.... everything went back to normal.  I was stunned because I tried, Laxatives, Miralax, Enema, suppositories and nothing!  I knew I had to have a blockage. I always knew probiotics play an important role in our digestive tract, but I never expected these results.  Please give it a try, I think you'll be surprised at how well it works....just be patient.

Colace has never worked for me, and the Metamucil may just be making things worse for you.

Good luck, I know the frustration of this and please let me know if it works!!