Unrelated Health Issue

Anything on your mind that isn't about RLS? It's nice to realize that there is life beyond this disease and have an opportunity to get to know our online family in a different context.
ViewsAskew
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Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by ViewsAskew »

Too tired to write much coherently....but it just occured to me. You're taking methadone every day. That changes my transit time from about 12-24 hours (going once or twice a day, depending on whether I'd had dairy, which could have made it 3-4 times a day) to about 85-90 hours, or going every 4-5 days. If I use a LOT of things to create movement- from psyillium to bean capsules to stool softeners to lots of fiber in my diet to lots of water, I can reduce it to 48 hours. That's still a long way from where I was.

Not sure where you were before this happened in terms of transit time, but my guess is that the methadone is influencing the outcome.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

debbluebird
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Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by debbluebird »

If it turns out that you can't go, then sometimes they do a endoscopy of the small intestines. They can sometimes straighten out the kink that way. If that doesn't work then they might have to do surgery. I hope that it all works out. Sometimes they also use antibiotics if there's infection. Let us know.

Polar Bear
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Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by Polar Bear »

It has been a good few hours since you have posted ...... I hope all is good with you.
I know someone who recently went 11 days without movement, this resulted in the use of an enema. .

I so hope that you have had success.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation

EeFall
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Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by EeFall »

Just before going to work this morning I did go which is fantastic news! I talked to a guy at work who said he had a similar thing happen to him after a surgery that had occurred 4 years before! I had no idea that surgery in the digestive track area could lead to that and the methadone just makes it much worse but I have no choice at all. I certainly won't be taking anymore oxycodone as I had been once in awhile to help sleep nor anymore kratom which is like taking a double dose of methadone as far as constipation.

This thing is not over, I am going to have to be extremely careful for many weeks, months, I don't know how long. I'm staying on a bland diet, doing exercise like walking everyday, taking laxatives and the psyllium everyday too. In fact I am taking the powder laxative with my psyllium in 8 ounces of water everyday now at 5:30 pm when I take my methadone and Lyrica for the evening. I hope it all continues to work. I talked to the guy at work about the place where one of my incisions was, that it gets hard and soft and almost seems to disappear and he thinks that is probably the spot in the small intestine that is becoming blocked because it is paralyzed in that area, it just does not move food by itself and so gets blocked up.

This could be an ongoing thing and I don't want anymore surgeries or medical problems now that my WED seems to finally be under control! It just doesn't seem fair, but then no one said life is fair. Part of the problem I now realize is when I went the 17 days getting off the meds and the 10 days with no RLS meds. I started having a regular GI tract again. Then I started doing methadone and kratom again and my body was no longer used to it. One day I even did oxycodone also and my body already had the problem which I didn't know about.

Anyways guys thanks for posting and caring. I am going to be taking much better care of myself for now on, I sure don't want to end up in the hospital after going through this living hell of my meds not working for RLS, and now they work. I should be enjoying this time! I can work, pay my bills, go out and enjoy things. I feel pretty darn lucky despite this new health problem, I never really thought the detox thing would work, but it sure seems to be.

Night I'm going to bed at 9PM! :D

EeFall
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Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by EeFall »

At 10:30 pm this evening I wake up suddenly and realize I have severe RLS symptoms. I can't believe it and practically jump out of bed. I am writing this standing up because I can't sit still. I can't understand it and go check my pill case that has all of my meds for the week in it and I never took my methadone and Lyrica at 5:30 pm!!! I am a total moron. I just can't believe I could do something that stupid, I will be lucky now to get to bed by 1:30 am. :oops: :oops: :roll: :(

The only interesting thing about this is that I felt fine at 9 pm and went to bed and woke from sleep at 10:30 pm from symptoms so I know that I am taking just the right amount of meds with like a 4 or 5 hour reserve only before WED hits me without meds.

ViewsAskew
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Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by ViewsAskew »

EeFall wrote:At 10:30 pm this evening I wake up suddenly and realize I have severe RLS symptoms. I can't believe it and practically jump out of bed. I am writing this standing up because I can't sit still. I can't understand it and go check my pill case that has all of my meds for the week in it and I never took my methadone and Lyrica at 5:30 pm!!! I am a total moron. I just can't believe I could do something that stupid, I will be lucky now to get to bed by 1:30 am. :oops: :oops: :roll: :(

The only interesting thing about this is that I felt fine at 9 pm and went to bed and woke from sleep at 10:30 pm from symptoms so I know that I am taking just the right amount of meds with like a 4 or 5 hour reserve only before WED hits me without meds.


I have done that too many times to remember. I just bought an electronic pill case - it's small, but would probably hold 4 day's worth for me. I don't actually put the pills in it just keep it at my home work desk, where I usually am when I need to take meds. It has up to 4 timers. It beeps for about ten times when you should take it, then stops, but repeats at regular intervals. If you don't shut it off, it eventually stops, but leaves an X over that timer display to know you missed it. It's small enough to fit in a shirt pocket and easily fits in a purse, so I can take it with me when I go out.

It's only been three days, so who knows how effective it will be over time. But, for now, I'm glad I have it.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

EeFall
Posts: 1557
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Location: Washington State, USA

Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by EeFall »

ViewsAskew wrote:
EeFall wrote:At 10:30 pm this evening I wake up suddenly and realize I have severe RLS symptoms. I can't believe it and practically jump out of bed. I am writing this standing up because I can't sit still. I can't understand it and go check my pill case that has all of my meds for the week in it and I never took my methadone and Lyrica at 5:30 pm!!! I am a total moron. I just can't believe I could do something that stupid, I will be lucky now to get to bed by 1:30 am. :oops: :oops: :roll: :(

The only interesting thing about this is that I felt fine at 9 pm and went to bed and woke from sleep at 10:30 pm from symptoms so I know that I am taking just the right amount of meds with like a 4 or 5 hour reserve only before WED hits me without meds.


I have done that too many times to remember. I just bought an electronic pill case - it's small, but would probably hold 4 day's worth for me. I don't actually put the pills in it just keep it at my home work desk, where I usually am when I need to take meds. It has up to 4 timers. It beeps for about ten times when you should take it, then stops, but repeats at regular intervals. If you don't shut it off, it eventually stops, but leaves an X over that timer display to know you missed it. It's small enough to fit in a shirt pocket and easily fits in a purse, so I can take it with me when I go out.

It's only been three days, so who knows how effective it will be over time. But, for now, I'm glad I have it.


Thanks, I will surely look into that! I just woke up on couch it is 2:50 am, gotta go to bed for the 2 1/2 hours I have left. Good night :lol:

debbluebird
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Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by debbluebird »

Glad you were able to go. I take the Metamucil every am, plus 3 senna in am and 3 senna in pm. I just adjust what I take so that I can go. Sometimes I can take less, sometimes more. It's with any opioids. When they gave me the Vicodin, I had to take more. Hope you got some sleep.

ViewsAskew
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Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by ViewsAskew »

For what it's worth, I ordered this one: http://www.amazon.com/Electrical-Dispen ... pill+alarm. It wasn't the cheapest or most expensive. There was a smaller one, but didn't have as good of reviews. I tried a watch with alarms before, but I don't wear a watch and couldn't hear the timer if it was in my purse. It also didn't keep going every few minutes.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

EeFall
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Location: Washington State, USA

Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by EeFall »

debbluebird wrote:Glad you were able to go. I take the Metamucil every am, plus 3 senna in am and 3 senna in pm. I just adjust what I take so that I can go. Sometimes I can take less, sometimes more. It's with any opioids. When they gave me the Vicodin, I had to take more. Hope you got some sleep.


Wow I had no idea this was such a problem. I may need to take more of everything.

I had another attack today, I was at work and left a little early because first of all it hurt like hell and secondly I wanted to get home so that if it continued I could drive 30 miles to emergency rather than 50 from work. It hurt on and off for a few hours. Nothing really changed except I ate and took 2 kinds of laxatives, one pill form and another powder form plus the fiber stuff. The pain has gone away but I don't know why, I haven't had to go, it just went away. Not totally though but not painful.

So this was the first attack in 6 days, last time it was 10 days apart. The 10 days apart was without doing anything for it because I didn't know what was wrong. I think that maybe the bland diet and laxatives and fiber is maybe allowing some to get past the blockage, but it must be there and I doubt now that anything has changed for the good internally. I mean I am doing all the right things and it is hurting even sooner? Actually I wonder why a few weeks ago it was starting to happen every other day then this. None of it seems to make sense.

I feel like I have a ticking time bomb sitting just below my incision from the surgery I had last year. I was afraid this would happen and it did, but it is like a volcano that has decided to spew out a little smoke rather than erupting. I guess I should be thankful for that, but frankly I'm not. I would rather it either just go away or erupt so I can take care of it. I can't make any plans or do much (a little like WED lol), oh well. All I can do is continue to be careful and wait and see. That is the difficult part, waiting to see if anything will happen. Its real fun driving home from work with a pain in the gut wondering if I am going to have to go to the emergency room.

EeFall
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Location: Washington State, USA

Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by EeFall »

ViewsAskew wrote:For what it's worth, I ordered this one: http://www.amazon.com/Electrical-Dispen ... pill+alarm. It wasn't the cheapest or most expensive. There was a smaller one, but didn't have as good of reviews. I tried a watch with alarms before, but I don't wear a watch and couldn't hear the timer if it was in my purse. It also didn't keep going every few minutes.


I am on my way to Amazon now to look at them. Thanks!

ViewsAskew
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Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by ViewsAskew »

I eat extra fiber every day. I drink extra water. I try to walk. I take a stool softener - 1-3 tabs a day, and I use a bean extract capsule that seems to work really well for me. Without all of that? I would think I was DYING. First, there is the transit time that is sooooooooo slow. But, when you do have to bowel movement? Without anything, it is so painful, it can make me cry. Part of that may be because I'm missing part of my colon, but there is a specific spot in my gut that is hurts so much for the hard, impacted stool to move through. Yikes. When I forgot to take something or follow a low fiber diet for a few days, I pay dearly and remember all too well why I try for a high fiber one as much as possible.

My doctor told me not to use senna regularly - but I think it depends on whether you're using it from the fruit or the leaf. One of them is OK to use regularly, the other not. But, since I can't tell which is which and they aren't always labeled, I avoid it. The stool softener seems more important to me - as does the fiber (I really need both finds, so try to make sure I eat things like apples, pears, lettuce, prunes - stuff that has both soluble and insoluble).
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

debbluebird
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Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by debbluebird »

I forgot to say that my senna has the stool softener in it too. I don't like to take laxatives. They give me bad cramps. Hope it gets better for you soon.

EeFall
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Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by EeFall »

Okay today. I just wish I had WED only to be concerned about, but it is what it is.

EeFall
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Re: Unrelated Health Issue

Post by EeFall »

I ordered Senna-Gen Tablets today in 1,000 pill size and also MiraLAX powder 30 day supply. Then I also did a little out-of-the-box thinking and purchased a vintage Oster Stim-U-Lax massager. It is used and should be here in a few days, didn't want to spend the money for a new one. These things have been around for over 50 years :lol: . They are the kind that have a few metal spring that you place your hand in and the motor rests on top of your hand. I remember when I was a kid that the barbers had them to remove tension in ones neck.

They are body massagers though and I was thinking they vibrate like crazy so why not get one and place it on my stomach and vibrate the heck out of my small intestine at least once a day. Maybe it would help things get moving since part of my small intestine is paralyzed. The incision scar above my bellybutton in particular gets hard, soft, and squishy :shock: several times a day. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to think that maybe that is the exact location that is having trouble. So I will vibrate it once or more a day and see if it helps. Also if I get another attack (the really bad stomach pain), then I will use it and see if it goes away.

It will be nice to have anyways since it will probably do my wife and I both some goods with the aches and pains we get :lol: , getting old, ya gotta love it. In the meantime I have been eating mostly the prepared plastic cups of diced mangoes and peaches, jello, jello puddings, Skinny Cow chocolate ice cream bars, P&J sandwiches, and my wife cooks me something easy to digest for dinner. One good thing is I'm losing weight like crazy. Can't even wear my rings, they just fall off :roll: . I cut myself shaving really bad last week and then I stopped shaving to let it heal, now I have decided to stop shaving (wife not happen) but I don't really care at this point what anyone thinks about anything anymore.

Yes, I have a bad attitude. Even with a lot of sleep, maybe the meds are messing with me but i don't think so, I'm just fed up. I have been seriously thinking of taking a job out of state that should last a year or two and just go by myself. I could make a lot of money and pay off all of our bills and get in a position where I could retire. I'm even fed up with this place we bought in a 55+ community manufactured home park. They just put in new asphalt on all the streets here including speed bumps. We live at very end of park and depending on way we drive we either hit 5 or 6 speed bumps. The park is already posted 15 mph. A bunch of old people who have nothing better to do than worry about speeders. Speed bumps are a pet peeve of mine, also my wife's. We would never have put our new manufactured home here last year if we knew they were going to put in speed bumps. So I am in a grumpy mood...

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