CC & my dad
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Mom has constipation problems also. The Dr suggested 1 pain pill + 3 stool softeners and adjust from there. Each patient and each pain med is different so just add or subtract as needed on stool softeners. Just a helpful hint, I hope.
My husband is on furosemide for ascites supplemented with Potassium as a replacement. He takes an over the counter stool softener every other day. Both of these seem to help. Good luck! Blessings, Susan
My dad, too, has constipation issues. We just spent three days at Barnes with an official diagnosis of “full of shit”! They did a colon cleanse and it did nothing, so they have to do a high picc enema. I was spared the details, but it worked.
My dad now takes Colace and Senna and “clearlax”…17 grams of Miralax in gatorade. The combo works, as he has had senna trouble in the past. I think finding the right personal combination is the key…
good luck
Hi Milky,
Did your dads doctor discuss with you both the possibility of using a diuretic such as Furosemede to help with his ascites? My dad used this and also Lactulose for constipation issues and the Lactulose worked well for him, and he had prunes most days with his breakfast.
My best wishes to you and your dad,
Gavin
Hi there,movicol is good for constipation and mild on the gut.Has he been advised to limit fluids?it usually doesnt make that much difference to the ascites.
JanetDear Milky,
I can understand the catch 22 situation but if you limit fluid intake it may make it harder for your dad to pass his stools, adding to the constipation. Prune juice is also good or even prunes.
Hope you get this sorted soon
Take care
Thanks all for the suggestions – he won’t take anything with Senna in it as he says it gives him massive stomach cramps. I am trying to push the healthy options – he does eat fuit each day, will try to push the juice option more. But i believe that part of the problem is the battle to keep his fluid intake low and limit the fluid building up in his abdomen – catch 22.
Milky,
First I’d like to welcome you to our cc family. My Dad was diagnosed with inoperable cc in April after having jaundice for 2 months. This site has helped keep me sane and I don’t know what I would have done without the people on here.
My Dad had a stent fitted to control his jaundice and was told he could have chemo, he never got round to having any chemo because his bile level has never come down to a safe level, despite 3 stents and an external drain. We have now accepted Dad was never meant to have chemo.
He was told without chemo he would have 2-3 months, this was originally told to us in April, we were again told this in September. Dad is now very jaundiced and has less appetite BUT he is still pain free, still eating little and often, and still able to take care of himself, he doesn’t have any itching and his stools are normal colour. This is not what the doctors expected, so never give up hope.
I hope you get your Dads constipation sorted, if he won’t take any medication for it perhaps you could try amore natural remedy like fruit juice. My Dad had severe constipation after a course of Iv antibiotics and the movicol they prescribed made it worse for some reason. When we gave him orange juice and also peppermint water that helped. Someone on here also mentioned pear juice for constipation and peaches.
Sending best wishes your way.
Andrea
Milky…. Is it possible to contact your Dad’s physician re: the constipation? Possibly your Dad is more receptive to him/her. I often wonder why physicians don’t address the issues of constipation immediately when prescribing the medication. Then he/she could either, prescribe or, suggest appropriate counter effective medications.
Best wishes,
MarionDear Milky, I know things can be oh, so frustrating. I just tell Teddy that our goal is to keep him pain free and when he does listen he says I was right. As for the constipation from meds, what has really helped Teddy is 3 colasce in the morning and 2 Senna at night. One pushes stuff through while the other lubricates it! I am trying to be delicate here. Teddy takes 100mg of Morphine every 12 hours, it is timed released. Then he can take 30mg of break through every hour as needed. For the most part it has worked well. Stay strong its a tough road but you will be glad you were by your father’s side.
ok – so Dad has been in again to have his abdomen tapped and drained – 9L this time!!! They have told him the optimum is to wait 3 weeks (the longer he waits the less risk of infection) however my dad has taken this as gospel and won’t go in earlier – despite the fact that he is in pain and really uncomfortable.
The Palliative care nurses (like your McMillan nurses) have at least got him to agree to increase his dosage on his morphine patches – as he was self medicating in between with Panadeine (doesn’t like the effects of endone or oxycontin) but now he is also severely constipated! very frustrating, i am hoping that as he builds a rapport with the nurses he might trust them a bit more.
i hate seeing him in pain and wish that he would take whatever they suggested – but he is extremely strong willed and independent and gets fixated on one thing. For eg. he believes the endone was making him sleepy – he is still sleepy without the endone – but doesn’t see that this is all part of this stupid disease.
I’m getting frustrated!!!Dear Milky – Once again, I wish I had more to offer. My husband also has developed ascites and we are working on managing it. Another member posted that this is a roller coaster ride and we are having on for dear life. Good news, bad news, poor prognosis. Please know that we stand together and pray for one another to get this this difficult time. My prayers are with you.
my mother was just diangosed as well, stage 4 in august. she has opted to not have chemo at this time. she is happy with her decision, it is her life and her body, and she is doing well status post her whipple. we take one day at a time. keep me posted, sending many hugs, and best wishes.
roni dinkes (ronidinkes@yahoo.com)
(you can find me on facebook)Hi Milky,
Welcome to the site. I am sorry that you had to find us and I am sorry to hear about your dad, but I am glad that you have joined us all here. I know what you are going through right now with your dad as just last year I was walking in your shoes. My dad was diagnosed in 2008 with inoperable CC and I was his carer throughout his fight. He couldn;t have surgery due to the location of the tumour and he couldn’t have radiation either. He had the choice of PDT or chemo and he went with the PDT as he wanted to have a decent quality of life for the time that he had left. And he also had a stent inserted to relieve his jaundice, a metal stent.
I also think that your dad has made the right decision about stopping the chemo considering how sick it was making him. I hope now that he has stopped it that he will feel a bit better and try and make the most of this time. As Lainy says, this is indeed precious time and I hope that you can make some precious moments with your dad.
Towards the end of my dads fight, he went into hospice care and I have to say that the care that he got there was amazing. Nothing was too much trouble for the nurses and doctors and they kept my dad as comfortable as was humanly possible. Does your dad have nursing care or hospice care at home right now?
I do hope that you will keep coming back here as you will get a load of support and help from us all, and we know what you are going through right now and how you are feeling. And please, if you have any questions then ask away and we will all help you if we can.
My best wishes to you and your dad,
Gavin
Thanks Lainy – my heartfelt thoughts go out to you and your husband. My dad lives 350k’s away from me, however i have been trying to visit once a fortnight on my days off from work. His sister is his main caregiver at the moment – i don’t think he appreciates how lucky he is to have her around. I believe that he made the right decision in stopping the chemo considering the little benefit that the oncologist said that he would gain from it. And although i feel that i am being realistic and practical i know that it won’t be an easy road. But i feel that having an idea of what is coming next makes it easier for me to deal with. i have read some of the posts on ascites – and learned a lot. Thanks for your support.
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