i'm sorry to hear about your dad's cancer but how lucky he is to have you to help him through this! it sounds like you've been doing a great job managing your dad's constipation. as you know opioid (narcotic) pain medications can cause constipation. the stool softeners were a good idea as was the miralax. if the miralax was working but then caused diarrhea you may need to keep playing with how much and how often to use it in order to achieve the desired result. if your dad is experiencing constipation you can give him the miralax even if it means you're "off schedule" with it. don't get stuck in a schedule if it's not working. because your dad has colon cancer specifically and he's now experiencing problems with bowel movements it would be a good idea to make an appointment to see his health care provider. this increase in constipation along with the cramping. could be related to the disease progression and should be evaluated by his primary care provider or oncologist. i wish you all the very best as you go through this journey. hang in there!
my dad has stage 4 colon cancer with mets to the liver. he stopped chemo 8 mo ago. now having severe constipation prob. he quit chemo because his body couldnt take it anymore. my dad was taking milk of mag for 2 years as well as 4 stool softners a day! . his major complaint is a constant "urge to have a bm" and severe cramping all the time! we have recently started on miralax. he was taking a capfull a night. then he got diareah. we backed off. we just started taking the miralax every 3rd day. we just started that last night. he is on a huge dose of pain meds but he has been on the same meds for 2 years. help!