the effect of Dilaudid...pain killer
You are driving on an expressway and all of a sudden your bowels are telling you it's time to evacuate. You're out in the boonies with just a minimum of exits and you remembered that you passed up a rest area a few miles back. Maybe you might have been able to cross a median and head back but there is a fence in the middle of the median. You're stuck going forward to the next rest area which is 24 miles ahead. The pressure is building up and your stress levels are increasing. The body needs to evacuate NOW and you try to hold on as you speed up trying to get there as quickly as possible. Your stress levels are getting mighty high and the pain sets in as you try to hold it. You manage to to make that 24 miles in a record time and quickly exit the expressway into the rest area parking lot. You waste no time parking your car and rush to get to the bathroom. You sit down and expect to explode with relief and nothing happens!
That's the feeling I've had now for a few days. I was hesitantly on a pain killer called Dilaudid and only took one 2mg tablet. That one pill caused me more problems than it's worth as it caused me some serious constipation. I've been trying to resolve my issue using stool softeners that always worked well for me in the past. You can imagine and perhaps even know what that's like if you've ever experienced that expressway scenario or something close to it.
My wife and I had to pick up something from my son yesterday who lives about 25 miles away. It wasn't something I was looking forwards in doing this morning but necessary. He was leaving on vacation in the morning and couldn't make the trip to my house. Doing a 50 mile round trip wasn't something I had done in almost a year so I didn't know how my body was going to react especially with constipation. The roads here are horrible with pot holes and bumps everywhere. There is no avoiding them. Every little bump on the road increased my stress level by at least 25%, the big ones by 100%. It was agonizing sitting there just trying to deal with the anxiety. We didn't spend a lot of time when we got to my son's. We said hi to the grand kids, daughter in law, wished them a good and safe trip and picked up the item and left. We were invited in but I was already in a lot of stress just sitting in my car let alone trying to climb out and walk several yards up a little hill to his home. It was better that we just picked up the item and left.
The ride back was even more grueling as the wife decided to take another route home thinking that the roads might be better. The roads were even worse and the stress levels rose to an all high for me. I could also see the change in me looking at my catheter and Foley bag as the urine came out darker and darker with a lot of sediment. All of those damn bumps in the road were really disturbing my insides and there wasn't anything I could do about it.
We made a quick stop at a Walgreens drug store to pick up some Magnesium Citrate, a saline laxative that was always a guarantee of relief for me in no time. I drank the entire 10oz bottle and waited for it to kick in. The bottle says for relief it should take anywhere from 1/2hr to 6 hrs. So....hat's where I was for the time being, hoping this stuff will kick in quickly.
I had an urge to go and headed to the bathroom in my wheelchair. When I got there I ended up vomiting twice. I thought I'd try to go but felt that it just wasn't happening. So I got up and got back on my wheelchair and went into the living room. I had the worst episode of shortness of breath ever and was gasping for air followed by throwing up some more. The shortness of breath isn't heart related but is a side effect of my cancer treatment meds. I get it from time to time but it seems like recently it's more often than not. It's more than likely caused by chemo since the increase started after my first round. I'll have to ask my Oncologist next time I see him or maybe ask the nurses on my next round which is next week.
I'm wondering if the Magnesium Citrate had a interaction with one of my other meds, making me vomit like that. I'm going to have to check that out once I get back home where I have internet. Where I'm at doesn't have internet. Yes I know, I should have checked before taking the stuff, but when all you can think of is getting relief, we all have a tendency to not think clearly.
It's been 8hrs since I took the laxative with no relief in sight. The feeling is always the same; feels like I'm ready to go but nothing happens. My Urologist and Oncologist both tell me not to strain because of the cancer which has spread to the groin areas can do me more harm if they are aggravated. I could start bleeding again. I don't know whether I'm going to get any relief tonight but only time will tell.
It was around 9 P.M., just as we were leaving my art studio to go home, I felt an urge and decided to hit the can. The pain was incredible and it seemed like I was shitting out a boulder. I sat there for a while taking care of business getting rid of whatever was plugging me up. Oh the relief! It was magnificent!
When we got home later I was undressed and ready for sleep, another wave hit me. I spent an hour sitting on the pot taking care of business. My legs were getting numb and began to hurt from sitting on the hard wooden seat. I didn't care because I was in la, la land just from the extra relief I got from unloading. I got one of the best sleeps I've had in weeks. The next morning I woke up as the sun came up and had my third wave. Whatever was left in my intestinal track is now gone and I could feel the hunger.
It's a memory I won't forget for a long time and will never take another Dilaudid if I can help it! The Magnesium Citrate is and has been my last resort in attacking constipation if my other two favorites don't work. I can always rely on it to do something in time. For me it took 9hrs to loosen the blockage I had rather than the 6 indicated on the bottle. I can remember last year while in a nursing home, I had similar experience with Dilaudid and ended up with constipation for 11 days. One evening a male nurse, a Viet Nam vet and medic, gave this special cocktail made with Milk of Magnesia and some other laxative I think was Pepto Bismol and had me drink what he put in an ounce pill cup. Within a half an hour I was taking care of business.
The problem with us metastatic prostate cancer victims is that there isn't a day there isn't some kind of b.s. issue. Most are serious!
That's the feeling I've had now for a few days. I was hesitantly on a pain killer called Dilaudid and only took one 2mg tablet. That one pill caused me more problems than it's worth as it caused me some serious constipation. I've been trying to resolve my issue using stool softeners that always worked well for me in the past. You can imagine and perhaps even know what that's like if you've ever experienced that expressway scenario or something close to it.
My wife and I had to pick up something from my son yesterday who lives about 25 miles away. It wasn't something I was looking forwards in doing this morning but necessary. He was leaving on vacation in the morning and couldn't make the trip to my house. Doing a 50 mile round trip wasn't something I had done in almost a year so I didn't know how my body was going to react especially with constipation. The roads here are horrible with pot holes and bumps everywhere. There is no avoiding them. Every little bump on the road increased my stress level by at least 25%, the big ones by 100%. It was agonizing sitting there just trying to deal with the anxiety. We didn't spend a lot of time when we got to my son's. We said hi to the grand kids, daughter in law, wished them a good and safe trip and picked up the item and left. We were invited in but I was already in a lot of stress just sitting in my car let alone trying to climb out and walk several yards up a little hill to his home. It was better that we just picked up the item and left.
The ride back was even more grueling as the wife decided to take another route home thinking that the roads might be better. The roads were even worse and the stress levels rose to an all high for me. I could also see the change in me looking at my catheter and Foley bag as the urine came out darker and darker with a lot of sediment. All of those damn bumps in the road were really disturbing my insides and there wasn't anything I could do about it.
We made a quick stop at a Walgreens drug store to pick up some Magnesium Citrate, a saline laxative that was always a guarantee of relief for me in no time. I drank the entire 10oz bottle and waited for it to kick in. The bottle says for relief it should take anywhere from 1/2hr to 6 hrs. So....hat's where I was for the time being, hoping this stuff will kick in quickly.
I had an urge to go and headed to the bathroom in my wheelchair. When I got there I ended up vomiting twice. I thought I'd try to go but felt that it just wasn't happening. So I got up and got back on my wheelchair and went into the living room. I had the worst episode of shortness of breath ever and was gasping for air followed by throwing up some more. The shortness of breath isn't heart related but is a side effect of my cancer treatment meds. I get it from time to time but it seems like recently it's more often than not. It's more than likely caused by chemo since the increase started after my first round. I'll have to ask my Oncologist next time I see him or maybe ask the nurses on my next round which is next week.
I'm wondering if the Magnesium Citrate had a interaction with one of my other meds, making me vomit like that. I'm going to have to check that out once I get back home where I have internet. Where I'm at doesn't have internet. Yes I know, I should have checked before taking the stuff, but when all you can think of is getting relief, we all have a tendency to not think clearly.
It's been 8hrs since I took the laxative with no relief in sight. The feeling is always the same; feels like I'm ready to go but nothing happens. My Urologist and Oncologist both tell me not to strain because of the cancer which has spread to the groin areas can do me more harm if they are aggravated. I could start bleeding again. I don't know whether I'm going to get any relief tonight but only time will tell.
It was around 9 P.M., just as we were leaving my art studio to go home, I felt an urge and decided to hit the can. The pain was incredible and it seemed like I was shitting out a boulder. I sat there for a while taking care of business getting rid of whatever was plugging me up. Oh the relief! It was magnificent!
When we got home later I was undressed and ready for sleep, another wave hit me. I spent an hour sitting on the pot taking care of business. My legs were getting numb and began to hurt from sitting on the hard wooden seat. I didn't care because I was in la, la land just from the extra relief I got from unloading. I got one of the best sleeps I've had in weeks. The next morning I woke up as the sun came up and had my third wave. Whatever was left in my intestinal track is now gone and I could feel the hunger.
It's a memory I won't forget for a long time and will never take another Dilaudid if I can help it! The Magnesium Citrate is and has been my last resort in attacking constipation if my other two favorites don't work. I can always rely on it to do something in time. For me it took 9hrs to loosen the blockage I had rather than the 6 indicated on the bottle. I can remember last year while in a nursing home, I had similar experience with Dilaudid and ended up with constipation for 11 days. One evening a male nurse, a Viet Nam vet and medic, gave this special cocktail made with Milk of Magnesia and some other laxative I think was Pepto Bismol and had me drink what he put in an ounce pill cup. Within a half an hour I was taking care of business.
The problem with us metastatic prostate cancer victims is that there isn't a day there isn't some kind of b.s. issue. Most are serious!
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| acrylic painting on a 11"x14" hard board panel |
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