19 Year Old Male. Scoliosis Progressing.

[jrnyc]

Time release or extended release pills or tablets cant be cut...it changes the release & gives out all the medicine too fast...

hope you feel better soon
jess

[JDM555]

awww John I know what you mean about the constipation. its the drugs and your body waking up and it sucks!!!! I know prune juice is gross but it definitely helps I drank that a lot before and after surgery and its one of the highest foods/drinks with iron. My mom even warmed it up for a little in the mircrowave so it was lukewarm and it wasn't so bad. Hope it gets easier and easier it will!!!!
Maliha

Yeah, constipation definitely sucks. My stomach feels like it's going to explode but I can't fart or go to the bathroom. And when I sit on the bathroom, I swear it feels like a piece of wood is passing through lol, it hurts so bad!
John

Just another suggestion for constipation, if you can't stand prune juice.....Pear Juice!...it's made for babies, and is in the baby food isle. It does work well and tastes good. Not sure if they have it in the regular juice isle, always found it in baby food isle.

Really? I will keep that in mind! I will see if I can find some and try it out. Thanks
John

John

You could also try castor oil. Years ago, that was standard issue and as kids, we had no choice. Dad decided that it was time for a lube job and that was it. You might say we were pretty clean cut kids......

Its a little better tasting than prune juice. On the shelf, they only sell small bottles for some reason. I guess you wouldn't want to go overboard with it. One teaspoon. I guess they want to prevent a repeat of what happened in the movie "Dumb and dumber"

Ok, enough of the jokes.

Its a fine balance between surgical pain, and pain from being constipated. Eventually, you will need to cut down on the meds and this needs to be done slowly. I would e-mail your surgeon about cutting back and weaning off your medications. Some pills can be cut in half with a knife, and some cannot. I think it has to do with "binders" in the pill and can be dangerous, so talk to your surgeon.

My constipation felt like I ate a bag of cement, and then added the water. Man-o-man! It got to the point where my bowel pain considerably outweighed my surgical pain. This issue was the decisive factor on my decision to get off the drugs.

Hang in there, it does get better.
Ed

Hmm, Caster Oil huh? That seems interesting, I would rather have a TBSN of that stuff instead of many cups to drink of.

And cement, exactly! I hate this constipation, it's like there is no exit and I just keep eating, and there is no where for the food to go anymore.

As far as the pills, these pills can't be cut in half, they are slow-release. The only way I can wean off of these is if I take it at 12.5,13,14,15,etc. hours apart instead of 12. It's hard though, because that means everyday is a new time. If I take it at 12PM, I take it at 12:45 AM, then the next morning it's taken at 1:30 PM, then this night is 2AM, but now I have to wake up at 3-4-5-6AM to take it which will suck. I will talk to my doctor about it when I meet him on the 8th.

I will show some pictures off my iPhone, they aren't that great, Idk, I've seen a lot of better before/after pictures on here, I guess I have to give it some time.
John

[JDM555]

Time release or extended release pills or tablets cant be cut...it changes the release & gives out all the medicine too fast...

hope you feel better soon
jess

Oops, didn't see your comment on the new page. You're right though, they can't be cut. I hate that, it's hard to wean off of these too, 20mg is a shitload of pain medication. My body is drugged up hardcore lol.

[titaniumed]

[QUOTE=JDM555;89707]Yeah, constipation definitely sucks. My stomach feels like it's going to explode but I can't fart or go to the bathroom. And when I sit on the bathroom, I swear it feels like a piece of wood is passing through lol, it hurts so bad!
John

OMG Piece of wood? Holy moly!

Watch out for the knots.

You might want to cool it with the trips to "In and out burger" I have not seen them mentioned on any of the health food sites online. LOL

One thing I noticed, when it happened to me, was the vomiting increased. When the plumbing gets plugged up and you eat, the stomach rejects the food.

Another thing, was the constipation pain forces you to take more opiates.

It would be a good idea to call your surgeon and tell him whats going on. You may very well be doing damage to your colon right now. I wouldnt wait.

Do you have your notes with all your medication intake, BM, sleep, and so forth?
He could do a medication switch. I had one around 10 days to Percoset 7.5/325 which can be cut in half.
Ed

[JenniferG]

John, just an idea. I came home from hospital on 40mg Oxycontin x 2 daily. My GP who was following my recovery, gave me prescriptions for 30mg, 20mg, 15mg, 10mg and 5mg so I was able to wean off slowly, and still take them every 12 hours, easier to remember. I got down to the 5mg and then stretched out the time. By then, I was a bit more clear headed. I still had withdrawals though, but I think that's fairly rare.

At one point, a visitor told me I had about $65,000 worth of blackmarket drugs in my house. My partner promptly returned all the unused meds to the pharmacy!

[JDM555]

[QUOTE=titaniumed;89711]

Yeah, constipation definitely sucks. My stomach feels like it's going to explode but I can't fart or go to the bathroom. And when I sit on the bathroom, I swear it feels like a piece of wood is passing through lol, it hurts so bad!
John

OMG Piece of wood? Holy moly!

Watch out for the knots.

You might want to cool it with the trips to "In and out burger" I have not seen them mentioned on any of the health food sites online. LOL

One thing I noticed, when it happened to me, was the vomiting increased. When the plumbing gets plugged up and you eat, the stomach rejects the food.

Another thing, was the constipation pain forces you to take more opiates.

It would be a good idea to call your surgeon and tell him whats going on. You may very well be doing damage to your colon right now. I wouldnt wait.

Do you have your notes with all your medication intake, BM, sleep, and so forth?
He could do a medication switch. I had one around 10 days to Percoset 7.5/325 which can be cut in half.
Ed

LOL @ your reaction to wood. It isn't extremely painful, but usually the first part of my BM it hurts, then it's fine. I haven't been vomiting or feeling sick to my stomach, but if my stomach rumbles, I go to the bathroom and usually have a BM. I am not taking any laxatives/stool softners/etc., so it is definitely going to be harder than taking those.

I will talk to my doctor about medication and if I could "wean" off of the oxycontin 20mg because that is a strong pain med. So far, the 13-14 hour instead of every 12 is doing fine. There is only 40 tablets, that means 20 days of this medicine. I think it's been almost a week now, so just another 1.5-2 weeks and i'll be off and probably won't need meds, maybe i'll be on advil or tylenol. I don't want to get my body used to these meds.
John

[JDM555]

John, just an idea. I came home from hospital on 40mg Oxycontin x 2 daily. My GP who was following my recovery, gave me prescriptions for 30mg, 20mg, 15mg, 10mg and 5mg so I was able to wean off slowly, and still take them every 12 hours, easier to remember. I got down to the 5mg and then stretched out the time. By then, I was a bit more clear headed. I still had withdrawals though, but I think that's fairly rare.

At one point, a visitor told me I had about $65,000 worth of blackmarket drugs in my house. My partner promptly returned all the unused meds to the pharmacy!

LOL $65,000 wow. Anyways, I didn't know Oxycontin came in all those different doses. I want to start weaning off the 20mg, maybe do 15mg every 10-12 hour. I will talk to my doctor. I don't want to get used to taking 20mg, it's a high dose and I know i'll have problems with weaning off too fast, so I don't want that. 40mg x 2, so you were doing double of what I'm doing, damn that's a lot. How long did it take you to get down to 5mg every 12 hours or so?
John

[jrnyc]

Hey, guys...dont know how it is in Australia, but in U.S., drugs cannot be returned to pharmacy..it is against the law for them to take them back...the best i could ever do was bring the unused drugs i didnt want to the doctor who prescribed them, so he could try to offer them to a patient who couldnt afford them...some had a huge co-pay even though they were covered by my prescription plan!

black market? you mean you feared someone might want to steal them? wow, i never thought of that...i take 30 mg oxycontin now..still have 20's & 40's i dont use...i have not had surgery.......yet........just the pain is so bad! also have alot of hydrocodone...i alternate...interesting..i just about never get constipation...but i guess i dont take as much of the stuff as you post surgery guys....i do eat alot of sugar (i know, it's not good for me) & a little bit of fake sugar...both are anti-constipating(such a word?)...the fake sugar can give one diahrrea(splg?), & i eat very little of that...

maybe tons of sugar is the way to cure constipation?
just kidding..dont think it would be too healthy!!

hope you feel better really soon, John
i agree with titaniumed...about calling your doctor..

jess

[JDM555]

Here are some pictures!

Before:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ohn148/7-7.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ohn148/6-7.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...hn148/4-10.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...hn148/3-10.jpg

After: (Yes, I have lost a lot of weight, I am a lot skinnier and my upper body got stretched out quite a bit, so I look very skinny, I lost 15-20lbs so far, and that is a lot)

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...148/0001-2.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...148/0005-2.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...hn148/0006.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...148/0011-1.jpg

[debbei]

Yeah, I guess you're right. I will talk to my doctor at the Post-Op meet on Feb. 8 about PT. I will start walking close to a mile a day now so I can get my body back in shape instead of laying down all day.
John


Thanks for the tips! I will keep all of them in mind. I will start drinking OJ in the morning to take my Iron pill. I'm trying to not take too many laxatives as they aren't good for me, but I'm dying with the constipation. I spent 1 hour on the toilet yesterday and I wanted to cry lol. I will try some Miralax, but damn the prune juice my dad got taste like....ASS...sorry but it's disgusting.

John

John,

Try Go Lean cerreal. It is very high in fiber and doesn't taste bad at all. Eat a good sized bowl every morning. That WILL help.

Did your doc tell you to walk every day? Mine did, from the day I got home from the hospital. Our 'guts' don't work as well without regular aerobic exercise. Walk, walk, walk!!!!

Lastly, does your Dr. still want you on the iron pill? They definitely cause constipation. I wasn't required to take iron pills after surgery. just before. Afterwards I just took my regular multiple vitamin with a normal sized dose of iron.

[jrnyc]

Wow...you look great! they didnt have to go down far into the lumbar..that is so wonderful for you!! your back looks so straight, your waist looks normal!! once you are all healed, you will be strong, healthy, straight, tall & ...unstoppable! and, at least from the back, you dont look "weird" skinny...& the weight will return!

congratulations, john...& congratulations to your surgeon!!

feel better
jess

[mbeckoff]

Wow, looks great John

Feel better soon
I just got my pre-op date
Now it is starting to feel real ; starting to get anxiety feeling again
can;t wait until next Wednesday when I see my GP

[JDM555]

John,

Try Go Lean cerreal. It is very high in fiber and doesn't taste bad at all. Eat a good sized bowl every morning. That WILL help.

Did your doc tell you to walk every day? Mine did, from the day I got home from the hospital. Our 'guts' don't work as well without regular aerobic exercise. Walk, walk, walk!!!!

Lastly, does your Dr. still want you on the iron pill? They definitely cause constipation. I wasn't required to take iron pills after surgery. just before. Afterwards I just took my regular multiple vitamin with a normal sized dose of iron.

Hmmm, I guess I'll stop taking the iron pill. The pill is 65mg and then the multi already has 18mg, that is a lot of iron for a day, maybe that is why I feel so constipated. I was able to have another BM last night, it wasn't too bad. No laxatives/stool softeners/etc., I'm doing it El Natural lol.
John

BTW, as far as my doctor wanting me on it, he didn't say to stay on/off, but they did give me daily iron pills at the hospital. And when I went to see a cardiologist for my high heart rate, he said my blood pressure when I was sitting/standing showed that I still had a very low blood count, and to keep taking iron pills to help out, so I started taking them at home. I'll just take multivitamins now, it has some iron in it, 18mg. Not as much as the hospital dosage of 50 or the 65mg tablet we have at home. But 18mg+65mg= A lot of constipation lol.

Wow...you look great! they didnt have to go down far into the lumbar..that is so wonderful for you!! your back looks so straight, your waist looks normal!! once you are all healed, you will be strong, healthy, straight, tall & ...unstoppable! and, at least from the back, you dont look "weird" skinny...& the weight will return!

congratulations, john...& congratulations to your surgeon!!

feel better
jess

Thanks. Yeah, I was surprised the first time I saw the pictures, I was like wow that looks cool. My waist looks straight/small now. Before it was all lopsided and my rib cage was twisted all over the place, everything is even and smooth now!
John

Wow, looks great John

Feel better soon
I just got my pre-op date
Now it is starting to feel real ; starting to get anxiety feeling again
can;t wait until next Wednesday when I see my GP

Thanks! Trust me, you wont regret the surgery, it is hard, but it is worth it. I'm on day 15 from my first surgery and I'm already happy to having it. Recovery is tough, but after a couple of weeks, it will be all good.
John

[JenniferG]

Terrific photos John!

"How long did it take you to get down to 5mg every 12 hours or so?"

I am a little vague on timelines (was going through withdrawals at the time) but I think it was around 4 weeks. I had dizziness for 6-7 weeks.

Regarding returning meds. In Australia you can't return them to the Dr., nor are you supposed to flush them down the toilet. But you can return them to the Pharmacy. They are not allowed to re-sell them. They are supposed to be sent back to the manufacturer who, I was told, donates them to third world countries.

[jrnyc]

That's interesting, that pharmacies in Australia take them back, but not in U.S.
actually, i dont know that doctors are supposed to take them back in the States, but one of mine does, for his patients who have no money for co pays & such...

john...i know how iron is for the stomach & system, ...lots of women have been put on iron pills at various times in their lives...we know how hard it is for the body to handle!
your waist looks terrific..mine looks like yours used to look, but i think mine is flip sided from yours, so my curves must be on opposite sides...i am so glad for you that they didnt have to go into your pelvis! maybe you will have a little more flexibility than expected!

take your time healing...you have a lifetime of good things waiting!

jess