i talked to my surgeon at the cleveland clinic and told her how im feeling 4 weeks post takedown. good days with easy bms and miserable nights from uneasy bms. she asked a bunch of questions including diet, fiber, hydration and more but she brought up the one thing i usually avoid. taking pain meds. she said you have to take them when youre in pain or youll tense up from the pain especially later in the evening after a day of eating and being more active and then have a harder time passing stool. she said slowly increase fiber, hydrate, walk, and take your pain meds when needed and experiment with imodium and if meds cause constipation consider a stool softener if fiber isnt enough. the great balancing act we all do early on im guessing. my pain med is dilauded because everything else ive tried either sucks or messes my gut up. what are your thoughts?
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You have to stick with what works for you. Dilaudid gave me hallucinations but other people find it works really well for them. Morphine works the best for me. Now I use oxycodone and valium when I have painful j-pouch spasms-perhaps twice a month. It really is important to take the pain killer when you need it. I was told that you heal faster when you are not in pain. Oxycodone slows down my bowels but I do not use any thickeners so it is not a problem.
So far bananas are the only thing that gives me constipation. I can have half of one and a few hours later the other half but if I try to eat a whole one in one sitting I have problems.
So far bananas are the only thing that gives me constipation. I can have half of one and a few hours later the other half but if I try to eat a whole one in one sitting I have problems.
I was on Vicodin for 3 months. If you hurt, take the pain meds. 
Since Dilaudid is one of those uber-good narcotics, you just have to be more "on top of it" than you would with just Vicodin. That just means that once or twice a day, you should be fine. But, if you are finding that you are taking it to avoid the feeling of not being on it (withdrawal), then you are heading into slippery slope territory. Some people say you cannot get addicted if you only take opiates for pain- very, very wrong....
That said, I have been taking daily small doses of Vicodin for years, but not for gut pain. This is for my arthritis, so it is easier to separate why I am taking it. Yes, I do realize there is the added bonus of slowed gut, but I don't apparently take enough to not still need my Imodium.
I think you are on the right track though, that we all need to find our own balance. The hard part is that we also need to be willing to change things up as time goes on, so you cannot just rest on your laurels and never reevaluate.
Jan
That said, I have been taking daily small doses of Vicodin for years, but not for gut pain. This is for my arthritis, so it is easier to separate why I am taking it. Yes, I do realize there is the added bonus of slowed gut, but I don't apparently take enough to not still need my Imodium.
I think you are on the right track though, that we all need to find our own balance. The hard part is that we also need to be willing to change things up as time goes on, so you cannot just rest on your laurels and never reevaluate.
Jan