occurs in the large bowel as a way of causing rehydration to the body. (Since you have an ileostomy, that concept is thus preposterous!) There is a
technical way to explain this, but essentially doesn't matter. Due to this absorption of fluids out of the bowel, moderate to severe constipation occurs and thus many uninformed or opinionated GI docs feel that your pain is related to narcotic caused constipation and not to adhesions. I suppose that might be the case for a very small minority of us with ARDs, but drug seeking behaviors and true pain which drives a person to seek help are two very different monsters. If you are not compromised when it comes to motility, regular use of a fiber or stool softener product over the counter (OTC) should fix that problem. If he really thought it was serious, he could
try Zelnorm, but most of us with adhesion related disorders end up with far worse obstructions because of Zelnorm. The literature recommends that it not
be used in patients with history of bowel obstruction. I personally was made
to try it with my old GI doc and ended up with profuse bloody diarrhea. I thought it was a fluke and got back on it after being in the hospital for several blood transfusions, but when I tried it again, the same thing happened. (You don't have to tell me twice......make that three times!) I strongly recommend that you stick with the pain management specialist for all pain control issues. As long as you have an ileostomy, nothing is going to get through far enough to become constipated anyway, so that point is moot. You might also think about trying a new GI doc.........if you really need one, that is. Reba
>----- Original Message -----
From: "IAS Admin (Tracy)" <tracy.joslin@adhesions.org>
To: "Multiple recipients of list ADHESIONS" <adhesions@dns.obgyn.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2007 5:14 PM
Subject: Adhesions and Narcotic Bowel
> Sender: daniel.kuntz@brescia.edu (Daniel J)
> Subject: Adhesions and Narcotic Bowel
>
> A recent appointment with a new GI specialist left me worried. For
> about four months I have been on various pain meds for my adhesion pain
> after a number of abdominal surgeries and an ileostomy. My pain
> management doctor finally put me on Methadone 20 mg/day in the liquid
> form because of my ileostomy and it has worked pretty well. But I can
> tell that without it, the pain seems to be getting worse. The new GI
> specialist told me that the Methadone was making my pain worse and that
> I should wean off the meds. He offered no alternative to the pain
> management, except to eliminate the Methadone and indicated that I was
> experiencing Narcotic Bowel Syndrome. I have never heard of this and
> wonder if this is legitimate. Even if it is legit, are there not ways
> to manage even this? Any advice would be very helpful!
>
> Thanks to all who keep this forum going!