curious if a patient can be on 5 or 6 laxatives at a one time period

[shelly_kaul]

I am a new nursing student, and haven't had clinicals in a actual hospital yet, but am curious if a patient can be on 5 or 6 laxatives at a one time period. Thanks!

[roser13, ASN, RN]

I'm curious as to why you ask?

[rn/writer, RN]

Can you elaborate?

[shelly_kaul]

Yes, I am curious because a cousin of mines told me once that when she was at the hopsital she used to receive a lot of laxatives about 4 or 5 of them at a one time period and I was just curious. Is it possible that a patient can receive 5 laxatives at 9:00 a.m. or anytime is scheduled/ordered. Thanks!

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

yes, i am curious because a cousin of mines told me once that when she was at the hopsital she used to receive a lot of laxatives about 4 or 5 of them at a one time period and i was just curious. is it possible that a patient can receive 5 laxatives at 9:00 a.m. or anytime is scheduled/ordered. thanks!

there is a lot missing from this post. i know you do not know what i mean since you are not a nurse yet so i am going to give you a little advice..... when someone tells you something medical that happened to them, don't worry about trying to figure out if it is true or not unless it directly affects you as their nurse. if you were her nurse, you could simply check her medical records to include lab results as well as medications administered to determine her needs. since you are not her nurse, let it go. she probably has not told you the entire story because she either chooses not to or she does not understand her medical condition (you will be surprised how many people are very sick and have no idea how close they were or are to being dead). gl!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I am a new nursing student, and haven't had clinicals in a actual hospital yet, but am curious if a patient can be on 5 or 6 laxatives at a one time period. Thanks!

I've spent most of my career in nursing homes, which are chock full of elderly residents who have issues with constipation. Since people in the elderly population tend to have slower GI motility than their younger counterparts, their bowels sometimes don't move as fast or as regularly.

Anyway, some of my nursing home residents are taking multiple laxatives at once, especially if the resident also takes scheduled opioid analgesic medication such as morphine, oxycodone, or hydrocodone. A common cocktail is Colace, Senna, and Milk of Magnesia. The Colace is usually given daily or twice a day, the M.O.M. is often given at bedtime, and the Senna is often given on a Mon-Wed-Fri schedule. In addition, some of these same people are on PRN laxatives such as Dulcolax suppositories or oral Magnesium Citrate.