Long-term digestive problems from hydro

[john75075]

I was addicted to hydrocodone for about 5 years and at my worst I was taking about 100mg a day. As anyone who has taken opiates knows, constipation is a major problem. Anyways, I quit about a year ago and as expected my constipation turned to diarrhea. However, the problem was that even after being off of them for 3 months I still had diarrhea. I eventually got hooked again because I was depressed by the fact that after being off so long I still had bad digestive problems and initially when I first started back on the meds they made my bowel movements normal. Of course, that soon turned to constipation again.


Anyways, I've quit them again and once again after about 1.5 months of being med free I still have diarrhea. This time its not quite as bad as before and I've made lots of major lifestyle changes (eating healthy, exercise alot,quit caffiene,meditate,etc) but still bad. I'm curious if anyone else has ever had this problem after quitting an opiate pain killer? I never had problems like this before I started taking them.


I'm convinced that for 5 years the hydrocodone "numbed" my digestive system and my brain tried to adapt my over-stimulating my digestive system in order to get it to move at all. Now that I'm off of the meds my brain is still over-stimulating my digestive system and hence the diarrhea. I think meditation/yoga is the way to retrain my brain and I've been doing that for about a month with some success. I'm convinced that it will take more time since I have 5 years of damage to repair. Anyways, I'm curious if anyone else has had this problem or has heard of this long-term withdrawal problem after quitting an opiate?


Thanks,
John

[buzzkilowatt]

Quitting opiates certainly sensitized my bowels but it usually resolved itself in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, eating kim chee, jalapanos, etc. just begged for trouble.



The GI system takes a long time to chill out once it's been irritated. It has neurons that react a lot like your CNS system does. Emotions show up in the gut , probably more than you're aware.



I find that taking a bulking agent such as Metamucil or some of the other brands tends to get everything regular again. Eat B.R.A.T. food, i.e. bananas, rice, apples, & toast as well.



There is certainly a possibility that you have some underlying bowel disfunction such as IBS, IBD, or functional GI distress (which is a problem that doesn't have an identifyable organic cause). I would certainly visit an internist or a G.I. doc if i were you and rule out any other problems.



There are pretty good meds available (e.g. Levbid) that work like atropine to reduce motility and spasms. Even stuff you can put under your tongue to stop an attack. Your doc can help.



If the GI distress is functional, therapy can help.



Good luck!



- Buzz

[KrazyKkookoo]

yeah i think i got hemmoroids or a fissure from prolonged crak/cocaine use...

[windysan]

Ooohhhh, a fissure !! Now that sounds nasty !