Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

HOLY MOLY!!!! PLEASE!!! PLEASE!!!

DO NOT FORGET THIS LITTLE PIECE OF ADVICE!!!

As you already know, many pain medications have side-effects that are not fun.

However, you may not know that Vicodin (a powerful pain pill given to heart surgery patients upon discharge) has a miserable side-effect specific to constipation after surgery.

I personally experienced severe constipation after my aortic valve replacement. I won’t go into the details of what happened to me on New Year’s Eve 2005… All I will say is that it’s a memory that will stick (pun intended) in my mind and Robyn’s mind for a very long time.

PERI COLACE AND COLACE - A REMEDY FOR CONSTIPATION AFTER SURGERY

You may be wondering, “What are the ways to relieve constipation after surgery?” or “Is there a trusted remedy for severe constipation after heart surgery?”

Luckily, there is an over-the-counter stool softener known a Peri-Colace. Peri Colace was developed by Purdue Pharma. There is also a prescription version of this stool softener known as Colace.

Needless to say, I would strongly encourage you to purchase some Peri Colace stool softener products BEFORE your hospital homecoming.

There are several, other treatments of constipation you can explore (including a high-fiber diet). However, you may need quick constipation relief following discharge. For that, Peri Colace and Colace stool softeners are critical, in my opinion.

I hope this helps you understand remedies for constipation after surgery.

Keep on tickin!

Adam Pick is a double heart valve replacement patient and author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery, a unique book which integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of an actual heart valve surgery patient. This special book was designed to help patients and caregivers better understand the realities of heart valve surgery (heart valve replacement and heart valve repair), to minimize patient stress and to enhance the patient’s recovery. To learn more about Adam’s heart valve surgery book, click here.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 at 2:25 pm and is filed under Post-Operative Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Print This Post | EMail This Post.