What a subject to have to ask about--constipation! My husband still uses PEG (one yr. out) although he has begun to eat solid food once a day--only abt. 2 T full--thus, there's little to no fiber in his diet. He also takes Dilaudid which also adds to constipation problems. Any ideas on how to relieve c. probs?
It was sort of hit or miss with the stool softeners in my case. Although, I did buy a bottle of them based on suggestions from the OCF. I ended up switching to Ducolax suppositories for cased of extreme emergency.
A friend of mine recommended that I should try prune juice right into the feeding tube, but I never did try that. My dietician had ordered not only the Prosure for the PEG, but also a few cases of food that had high fiber content to it.
One of the many reasons I wanted off my pain meds so quickly was due to the constipation issues. However, I don't know which problem is worse, constipation or uh.... the other extreme. Sometimes I think we are striving for a happy medium.
Jen
Prune juice through the PEG tube and 1 tsp. of flax oil twice a day was helpful for me when I was using Ensure Plus. I discontinued prune juice when I switched to Fibersource with "Benefiber."
My mom used the prune juice, but switched to Milk of Magnesia due to advice from the Chemo nurse. It really helped and we were able to use it right through the Peg mixed with some water.
That's a LONG time to be on Dilaudid - how come? Stoping the narcotics will have a dramatic effect on the constipation issues. If he suffers from chronic pain of some sort and can't get off of them then what others have told you should work.
I spent a lot of time curled up in a fetal position on the bathroom floor from just those very issues. As soon as I weaned myself of the narcotics the problem went away. Constipation is actually asked about a lot here. Do a search on "all open forums" on the word and a number of threads will pop up.
I am really glad to see the other "big C" issue discussed because John is having that problem also [so is my 14 mo. old grandaughter] so any imput is welcomed
Actually, I don't know why we are so hesitant to talk about it. It's one of the most advertised maladies on T.V. today. I got some great hints for John to try tonite. Thanks. Amy
What helped me was what was alluded to at the start of this thread - fiber. I use Isosource which has a small amount of fiber, but I supplement it with Equate Fiber Therapy from Wal-Mart. Benifiber is good but too expensive for me. I usually take a teaspoon full in a glass of water before I take the Isosource. Do NOT mix it with your drink if it already has fiber in it. I tried adding fiber to my Isosource and ot would clump up and I would have a hard time getting it through without making a mess. I am now eating solids most of the time but I sometimes will take a can and when I do I take fiber with it.
When I was on prescription pain meds, I had to take daily two "Senesol" pills ground up and put through the PEG--along with the occassional stool softener. But I didn't need the stool softener that often unless I forgot the Senesol pills for a day. My medical oncologist once said the three main problems with taking prescription pain meds for cancer are not addiction but "constipation, constipation and constipation". You have to stay really on top of it too in a daily way........
The chemo nurses at Hopkins recommend an herbal tea, "Smooth Move," for chemo and pain med-induced constipation. It is a senna tea and supposedly gentler and more effective than Senakot. We bought some and it tastes pretty good! It is readily available from health food stores.
The advantage of the tea (they said) was that as a liquid it can easily be given to folks on feeding tubes.
Gail
i have a JG tube, not a PEG, but I inject pepcid into it daily (2.5ML) and also Docusate Sodium (10ML), and this seems to keep everything regular. I'm not sure that'll work as a long term solution though. That's for a doctor to answer.
The one benifit i found out about having a PEG tube was that you dont have to taste that nasty milk of mag. 30cc everyother day kept things moving comfortable for me.