Living with opioid-induced constipation
This is Chris’ story
Hi, my name is Chris. I have severe pain problems in various parts of my body. I've got, apparently, arthritis in my spine, my lower spine, which affects my whole legs and feet. I've got problems with my shoulders, I've got a problem where pins and needles painfully go down to my elbow, my wrist and my fingers. I've been prescribed codeine to cope with the pain, but as a side effect, it's giving me really painful constipation
Do you recall being told about constipation as a potential side effect?
I wasn't told about any of the side effects. It was just a question of me reading up on the instructions inside the box. It took a while to realize that something was upsetting my system, and it was the tablets.
Chris feels she can’t make her feelings heard
There's no time in the surgery these days. You're in and you're out. You don't see the same doctor. You make an appointment three weeks ahead, or you can phone up early in the morning to make one for that day if you're lucky. I've given up going. I go every six months now to get my prescription renewed for six months. I don't bother.
Basically, these days, if I’ve got a problem with anything, I ask my pharmacist who's very helpful, who knows what it's all about and has, believe it or not, time to talk, which is great.
The pain of OIC isn’t just physical
I find it very distressing, because as I say, it's swapping one pain for another. I’ve got something I really don't want. To be made to feel like an old hypochondriac is not something I happily take on the chin.
It’s time we started talking about OIC
It's just not the way it should be. It should be helping me, not causing more problems with other parts of my body. I just want a miracle, basically. [chuckles] I don't think there are any around, but I'm trying.
THE MORE WE TALK, THE MORE WE CAN HELP PEOPLE WITH OIC