sounds oh so familiar. I wasn't about to give up the pain pills or patches yet they caused the constipation. The prescription laxatives did not work, nor did folk remedies like prune juice etc and I was in imminent danger of ruining some resident's day by needing a bowel obstruction procedure.
Glycerin suppositories to the rescue. You can buy them at any drugstore without a script. I just doubled the recommended dose and used them daily. It's important to follow the instructions literally: not to go into squeamish details but full insertion and holding it in for 20 minutes are needed for this method. No risk of overdose, no bad side effects, and it works when all else fails. As usual a nurse, not a doctor knew the answer to a common patient side effect. IMO it would not hurt to try a suppository

Charm