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Extremely severe constipation please help

my wife is on methadone and also has trouble sleeping and takes Nytol/Benadryl (as both contain diphenhydramine hydrochloride, the same drug and depending on cost buys either). Anyway Methadone being an opiate causes constipation and so does diphenhydramine hydrochloride. Because of this she suffers from severe and I mean SEVERE constipation. She often does not have a bowel movement for 5-7 days at a time. And when she does it is like clay and the size of a pop can (literally not an exaggeration). Over the counter laxatives do not help and neither does healthy amounts of fiber supplements. The only thing to date that has had any effect is milk of magnesia taken in large amounts i.e., 1/2 to a full 769ml bottle. Half the bottle does not always work. And that much milk of magnesia has to be really bad, but nothing else works. She has tried squirting mineral oil into her rectum with minor results to putting on latex gloves and manually breaking it up as best she can. This causes her great pain and bleeding. And she breaks out in zits around her middle to lower back etc... which is an obvious sign of toxicity. She also has burps that smell like feces when she hasn't gone in a long time. Telling the doctor about this and more than one doctor has resulted in the same answer "eat more fiber and drink lots of water." I am almost 100% sure that if this carries on unabated that she will eventually have to have a colostomy bag or worse. She still has the same constipation with or without the sleep aids, so that has been tried. Can someone please please help her I am very worried. Oh and vast amounts of plums/prunes etc... also does not seem to have any effect. Thanks
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17407376 tn?1457020439
both....rx is a lot cheaper.....I get 2 big bottles....$2
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Avatar universal
I also am on methadone, and take diphenhydramine for sleeping. I have had severe constipation to the point of going weeks to months without a bowel movement. That has become a problem of the past though since I found the best thing ever, Fleet saline enemas. They are only 2 dollars at Wal-Mart for a 2 pack, and they work wonders. I use 1 every single day even if I do not feel like I need to go, and it always makes me go. That way it never gets to the point where it becomes a huge rock hard boulder of stool. It is so easy too. You can sit on the toilet or however is comfortable and insert the tip in your rectum, then you squeeze as much of the liquid in as you can. Then hold it in for at least 5 minutes, though I usually try to hold it in for 8-10. Then when you can hold it no longer you sit on the toilet and let it out. It always works for me, even if it's been a week or more. I hope this helps.
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Avatar universal
Miralax is over the counter.  However, I would not recommend taking more than the recommended dose without consulting with a GI doctor.
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Avatar universal
thanks for the quick reply. is miralax over the counter or prescription? ty
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Avatar universal
After my gallbladder surgery, antibiotics and pain pills, and nausea pills I didn't go for a month.
I took milk of magnesia, a dipository, and senna tablets. NOT A THING.

Take Miralax, twice a day and even if she doesn't go keep doing it. In more severe cases it takes up to 2 weeks. I was took it twice a day, with twice the dosage, my gastroenterologist said to.
Also, take a probiotic, it replaces the good bacteria in your stomach which aids in digestion. Pick the one that has the most STRAINS OF BACTERIA, not amount of bacteria. Strains as in different types.
It could be her flora too, which moves things along I believe so drink plenty of water, I was advised 12 cups and I would think the same for her.

12 cups of water, miralax twice a day double dosage and a probiotic for 2 weeks and she'll feel a lot better. Now that I'm off of those medications I take regular dosage twice a week if that and continued my chewable probiotic. I don't seem so sensetive to foods with the probiotic either.
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Avatar universal
Welcome to the gastroenterology community!  May I ask what she is on the methadone for and how old she is?  Has she tried other sleep medications that don't cause constipation?  Also, has she tried medications like senokot or magnesium citrate?  Is she being monitored by a gastroenterologist?  It doesn't sound like she is because a GI doctor shouldn't recommend drinking that much milk of magnesia.  She really needs to be monitored by a GI doctor for this.  She may need to have her large intestine removed which you can discuss with her GI doctor.
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