Trying to take the third nerve pain medication has been terribly arduous for me and I am crying "Uncle" at my GP appointment on Friday.
To be indelicate, I have not pooped since I started the 90 mg dose on the 16th of January. Monday, I messaged my GP and switched back to 60 mg. It is my hope that dropping back to the previous dose will help the constipation. My most fervent hope.
I found this constipation recipe from a pharmacist: 1 cup applesauce, 1 cup coarse, unprocessed bran, and 3/4 cup prune juice. Mix all the ingredients together. They will turn into a pasty, stiff glop about the consistency of peanut butter. After mixing, it should be kept refrigerated. Take one or two tablespoons daily and wash it down with a full eight ounces of water.
I made the glop tonight and took one tablespoon. ICK! I added a generous measure of honey before taking the second tablespoon. Better. I hope it helps. Fervently.
The reason I am crying "Uncle" is not just the constipation, but primarily because of the clenching (which I've learned is muscle spasms), which is, in turn, causing multiple Trigeminal Neuralgia flares every day. And the increased sicca. Life is brutal at the moment.
My therapist, who was a nurse for 20 years, believes the new medication is causing the increase in Sicca Syndrome (what causes the severe dryness that comes with having Sjögren's Syndrome). My eyes, throat, and sinuses are terrible, as if I am not taking any of the medications I am using currently. And my lips are cracking, too. I put in eye drops or gels every hour. I rotate nasal spray, nasal emollient, and nasal gel every two hours. I put lip balm on every two hours. And I take olive oil three times a day, trace minerals, three times a day, have more than doubled what I drink (now over 100 ounces), and have doubled the hyaluronic acid to try and address my desert dry throat. All this and I am taking my other medications eight times a day. It's exhausting just trying to make my daily existence manageable.
In the past few days, my eyes have gotten so bad that I am having trouble sleeping. They are as bad as they were before starting Restasis and all the other eye drops and gels. And my vision is so very blurry that I can no longer drive at night. Along with the other increased dryness, the medication side effects, and the normal symptoms I battle daily, my bodily misery has escalated beyond what I can endure. SIGH.
Uncle
The reason I am crying "Uncle" is not just the constipation, but primarily because of the clenching (which I've learned is muscle spasms), which is, in turn, causing multiple Trigeminal Neuralgia flares every day. And the increased sicca. Life is brutal at the moment.
My therapist, who was a nurse for 20 years, believes the new medication is causing the increase in Sicca Syndrome (what causes the severe dryness that comes with having Sjögren's Syndrome). My eyes, throat, and sinuses are terrible, as if I am not taking any of the medications I am using currently. And my lips are cracking, too. I put in eye drops or gels every hour. I rotate nasal spray, nasal emollient, and nasal gel every two hours. I put lip balm on every two hours. And I take olive oil three times a day, trace minerals, three times a day, have more than doubled what I drink (now over 100 ounces), and have doubled the hyaluronic acid to try and address my desert dry throat. All this and I am taking my other medications eight times a day. It's exhausting just trying to make my daily existence manageable.
In the past few days, my eyes have gotten so bad that I am having trouble sleeping. They are as bad as they were before starting Restasis and all the other eye drops and gels. And my vision is so very blurry that I can no longer drive at night. Along with the other increased dryness, the medication side effects, and the normal symptoms I battle daily, my bodily misery has escalated beyond what I can endure. SIGH.
Uncle
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