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How are you dealing with fatigue and constipation in PD?
Parkinson's Disease | Last Active: Feb 8 3:09pm | Replies (40)Comment receiving replies
My spouse has constipation. He uses Miralax daily along with Colce . He is very fatigued . He sleeps usually around around 7-8 hrs. a night. Getting up to go to the bathroom. He refuses protection from accidents. His usual naps are 1-2 a day. They usually are about an hour. I taught him how to get up out of a chair, the couch or his bed. He is pretty good with that. He uses a walker.
He has other health conditions that add to his fatigue. His Parkinson's has progressed quite a bit in the last year. It is frustrating to talk or actually have a conversation with an unreasonable person. Sometimes I think I have gone back in time and he is different. Reasonable and not arguing or getting angry for no reason. It is heartbreaking to watch him struggle and not be the man I married. Not ranting , just being realistic.
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I'd have to say, from my experience and my researching, that both fatigue and constipation are 2 of the most frequent complaints by PD patients. Granted, they may be common among a host of other disorders, but they are just about a given, with PD.
For fatigue, I sleep. Soundly. I used to take 4 or even 5-hour naps. Now, an hour or 2 suffices. Plus, I try to stop whatever I'm doing, even if its no more taxing than reading - These days, the news can create negativaty (=STRESS=fatigue) - when I feel myself getting swamped by PD-brain, as I call it, and spend some time relaxing or napping.
Constipation: My GI here in CT gave me the same advise as my previous GI in FL: when it gets really bad...stomach severely bloated and sensitive to touch, give yourself diarhhea. I ALWAYS take daily doses of stool softener, magnesium, and Linzess. For diarhhea, I need to clear at least three to five calendar days, because It. will. take.time! And you don't need to be at an appointment when diareahh attacks suddenly, or worse, incontinence.
For 3 days I add 10mg of bisocodyl to my morning meds. I wear disposable underwear with extra pads, as well. And I usually end up with a moderatelyshaped belly, not a huge protuberance, and I can rub my belly without pain. And hopefully, I'll have regular movements for a few weeks before I get back to incomplete ones (you go, but the belly keeps growing, too, so it's incomplete) Check out My Parkinson's Team on the web.