Constipation Can Kill You
Josephine Certified Nutritionist
This article is written in memory of my dear friend John (not his real name), who died on Wednesday, August 21, 2019 at 10:41 pm in the "care" of St-Paul's Hospital, in Vancouver British Columbia, by way of a final morphine lethal shot.
The cause on the medical death certificate was bowel perforation and severe constipation - high fecal impact for 3 weeks. The doctor indicated only 1 day of bowel perforation, which is a lie, as you will read in the account below, since he had NO bowel perforation.
John would be 87 in a few weeks.
The cause on the medical death certificate was bowel perforation and severe constipation - high fecal impact for 3 weeks. The doctor indicated only 1 day of bowel perforation, which is a lie, as you will read in the account below, since he had NO bowel perforation.
John would be 87 in a few weeks.
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Constipation is a common condition that affects people of all ages. It can mean that you're not passing stools regularly or you're unable to completely empty your bowel. Constipation can also cause your stools to be hard, lumpy and dry, as well as unusually large or small.
The severity of constipation varies from person to person. Many people only experience constipation for a short time, but for others, constipation can be a long-term (chronic) condition that causes significant pain and discomfort and affects quality of life and in some cases, it can lead to death.
In the elderly, constipation can present not only with mechanical complications, such as perforation and obstruction, but with delirium and failure to thrive as well. Treatment must be very aggressive and swift and it should include measures to prevent recurrence, such as colonic irrigation for example and if it fails, a medical treatment should be sought and a doctor or nurse should perform a manual disimpaction, which is a procedure that uses a lubricated single finger or a hand to go get the fecal matter.
Worth mentioning that, constipation affects young and old and in between and it is not necessarily due to bad nutrition but often times constipation is from medication, whether over the counter or prescribed medication.
Medication associated with severe constipation, which can lead to death, include:
The severity of constipation varies from person to person. Many people only experience constipation for a short time, but for others, constipation can be a long-term (chronic) condition that causes significant pain and discomfort and affects quality of life and in some cases, it can lead to death.
In the elderly, constipation can present not only with mechanical complications, such as perforation and obstruction, but with delirium and failure to thrive as well. Treatment must be very aggressive and swift and it should include measures to prevent recurrence, such as colonic irrigation for example and if it fails, a medical treatment should be sought and a doctor or nurse should perform a manual disimpaction, which is a procedure that uses a lubricated single finger or a hand to go get the fecal matter.
Worth mentioning that, constipation affects young and old and in between and it is not necessarily due to bad nutrition but often times constipation is from medication, whether over the counter or prescribed medication.
Medication associated with severe constipation, which can lead to death, include:
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Unbeknown to people, many patients, at the end of their lives, who receive palliative care are chronically constipated, leading any reasonable person to believe that cancer patients die of toxicity from constipation and not necessarily from cancer.
Following are symptoms of chronic constipation, which are almost identical to someone going through cancer chemotherapy:
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THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR JOHN
On August 5, (one-day before my 60th birthday) John had not pee for several hours and this was unusual for him to not urinate so I called The Nurse Next-Door, a service that supposedly provides service for elders. I wanted a registered nurse to come and take a look at John's and I was prepared to pay but the nurse I spoke with said it was best to call 911.
Before calling 911, I gave Harold a glass of water, but still he was unable to pee and massaged his abdomen and still no peeing. His belly was hard from not being able to urinate, and it was obvious his bladder was full. I did not have much choice in calling 911. The paramedics came to pick up Harold and my sister and I took a ride with them to the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH).
Immediately the nurse inserted a catheter into Harold's bladder. He was diagnosed with a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), caused by three-days of constipation. His three-day constipation was due to antibiotics prescribed by his general practitioner, due to an infection under his earlobe.
To treat John's UTI, the hospital administered intravenous (IV) antibiotics, which compounded the problem with his constipation. The hospital doctor said that John's constipation was irrelevant and it was the least of her worries, all the while both my sister and I kept telling the doctor and nurses to either administer a water enema or perform a manual disimpaction.
We knew of this procedure, since our dad, one year older than John, had it done a few years ago at an hospital in Quebec. The cause of my dad’s constipation was also due to medication, which also caused him a UTI. The manual disimpaction worked for my dad and we did not see why it would not have worked for John - it did not take a PhD or a rocket scientist to figure this one out.
VGH wilfully ignored our cry, knowing that constipation is a serious medical issue that could lead to John's death.
Instead, the only solution was to give laxatives, suppositories and a form of matamucil called Polyethylene glycol (PEG), which is a osmotic laxative that draws water into the bowel to soften the contents.
Furthermore, PEG is not preferred when the person is already severely constipated. Suffice to say that ALL procedures administered for John's constipation failed however, the hospital doctor and nurses insisted repeating the same procedures over and over again.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
As each hour and day went by, John's constipation got worse, so did his pain, which led to more morphine, causing more constipation. John was in a vortex and we were powerless in stopping the malpractice.
Topping it all off, the first night at VGH, John was given a sedative drug, which kept him drowsy for the most part of the following day and making his plight even more troublesome.
On the second night, John dared to ask a nurse to help him out, and rather than getting help, he got physically restrained to his bed and the nurse administered an anti-psychotic drug, (Loxapine) used primarily in the treatment of schizophrenia, which was another medication that causes severe constipation. The staff had been warned by both my sister and myself that John was hard of hearing, but since the hospital are short staffed (no excuse), they acted callously towards him.
With all the anti-psychotic drugs administered to John by the nurses, he was lucid enough to tell me and my sister that he wanted out of the hospital asap. He told us that the nurses had roughed him up in the middle of the night, for no valid reasons.
John forearms were all bruised from being tied up and roughed up, as evidence shows on the picture below.
Topping it all off, the first night at VGH, John was given a sedative drug, which kept him drowsy for the most part of the following day and making his plight even more troublesome.
On the second night, John dared to ask a nurse to help him out, and rather than getting help, he got physically restrained to his bed and the nurse administered an anti-psychotic drug, (Loxapine) used primarily in the treatment of schizophrenia, which was another medication that causes severe constipation. The staff had been warned by both my sister and myself that John was hard of hearing, but since the hospital are short staffed (no excuse), they acted callously towards him.
With all the anti-psychotic drugs administered to John by the nurses, he was lucid enough to tell me and my sister that he wanted out of the hospital asap. He told us that the nurses had roughed him up in the middle of the night, for no valid reasons.
John forearms were all bruised from being tied up and roughed up, as evidence shows on the picture below.
My sister and I witnessed this practice of tying up patients and drugging them regularly at VGH. It looked more like a prison ward and the Cuckoo's nest than a "health" facility.
I wanted to bring John home but the hospital doctor wanted to keep him until his UTI was cleared. Our concern was mainly John's constipation because I knew once he would get unblocked the UTI would go away immediately, as it did with my dad. My sister pleaded and tried to reason with the doctor and nurses regarding John's constipation but to no avail.
We also pleaded with the doctor to STOP administering all anti-psychotic drugs, and to STOP tying John to the bed, as it was a way to harass the patient and contribute further to his constipation.
What was jaw dropping, is the doctor's response, "If you don't want the staff to give John any anti-psychotic drugs, you have to sleep at the hospital. Split the shifts between both of you - that is one during the day and the other one at night time."
Dr. Chow could not guarantee that John would not be tied to the bed and administered psychotic drugs because evidently all other patients on John's floor were all comatose. In short administered meds, as a babysitter for nurses.
Due to Dr. Chow's response, and since both my sister and myself were getting sick with diarrhea, we asked for John's discharge and the hospital doctor agreed. Dr. Chow had left on vacation for 2 weeks, the day after advising me and my sister to sleep at the hospital.
In the process of discharging John, a CT scan was done and the scan showed no obstruction of the colon, thus going in with a finger or a hand would have been feasible but the doctor and nurses refused to perform what every other hospitals in Canada and worldwide perform when a patient is constipated.
The discharged papers did not mention the most pressing matter - John's constipation. By omitting that important fact from the discharged papers, showed how grossly neglectful the hospital staff were in not treating the most important issue.
Unfortunately when John came home, he was not the same. He was having nightmares every night and I would stay up with him, holding his hand, until he would fall asleep. He was suffering from PTSD.
I made an appointment for a colonic irrigation but it was not meant to be. A few days later, John started to vomit dark brown toxic (see picture below). He also stopped peeing even with the catheter. We tried to get some private nurses to come to the apartment again other than the ones assigned by the BC healthcare, but apparently there were no nurses dealing with catheters in a home situation. Basically, no matter how much money you have, you are at the mercy of the system.
I called 9-1-1 on August 17 and this time the paramedics brought John to St-Paul's Hospital. After some test, the ER doctor said John only had 24 hours to live because the doctor claimed he had an emboli.
We also pleaded with the doctor to STOP administering all anti-psychotic drugs, and to STOP tying John to the bed, as it was a way to harass the patient and contribute further to his constipation.
What was jaw dropping, is the doctor's response, "If you don't want the staff to give John any anti-psychotic drugs, you have to sleep at the hospital. Split the shifts between both of you - that is one during the day and the other one at night time."
Dr. Chow could not guarantee that John would not be tied to the bed and administered psychotic drugs because evidently all other patients on John's floor were all comatose. In short administered meds, as a babysitter for nurses.
Due to Dr. Chow's response, and since both my sister and myself were getting sick with diarrhea, we asked for John's discharge and the hospital doctor agreed. Dr. Chow had left on vacation for 2 weeks, the day after advising me and my sister to sleep at the hospital.
In the process of discharging John, a CT scan was done and the scan showed no obstruction of the colon, thus going in with a finger or a hand would have been feasible but the doctor and nurses refused to perform what every other hospitals in Canada and worldwide perform when a patient is constipated.
The discharged papers did not mention the most pressing matter - John's constipation. By omitting that important fact from the discharged papers, showed how grossly neglectful the hospital staff were in not treating the most important issue.
Unfortunately when John came home, he was not the same. He was having nightmares every night and I would stay up with him, holding his hand, until he would fall asleep. He was suffering from PTSD.
I made an appointment for a colonic irrigation but it was not meant to be. A few days later, John started to vomit dark brown toxic (see picture below). He also stopped peeing even with the catheter. We tried to get some private nurses to come to the apartment again other than the ones assigned by the BC healthcare, but apparently there were no nurses dealing with catheters in a home situation. Basically, no matter how much money you have, you are at the mercy of the system.
I called 9-1-1 on August 17 and this time the paramedics brought John to St-Paul's Hospital. After some test, the ER doctor said John only had 24 hours to live because the doctor claimed he had an emboli.
Looking back, it would appear that the fix was in since there was no mention of an emboli as the cause of death. The cause of death however is listed as severe constipation.
Evidently, St-Paul's Hospital also had no solution for John's constipation other than give him more antibiotics, making John weaker and sicker.
Since John did not die within 24 hours, the doctor sent in a registered dietitian with her diet cocktail of grains, breads, apple sauce and fruit juices and hardly no cooked vegetables, thus contributing further to his constipation.
On the late evening the 20th of August, a gastroenterologist from the University of British Columbia took some tests of John's abdomen and he confirmed that John had no obstruction and no bowel perforation. He also performed a physical exam and he assured us that everything was good. The doctor had a plan of action to induce the poop naturally but no one followed through.
On the morning of the 21st of August, the plan of action proposed by the gastroenterologist was ignored. Instead the hospital doctors and nurses wanted a conference call with my sister and myself to offer the following two choices for John:
The staff, acting frantically, came up with another proposition, within an hour, which was to move John in a private room across the hall, so we could play and sing his favorite musical tune. Their proposal sounded so egregious, after we started to repeat what they said to us back to them, word to word, that they then changed their mind again, as their hypocrisy and evilness was palpable.They tried to cover up their misdeeds by making themselves look very compassionate when it was further from the truth.
We learned later that the nurses had already started to increase the morphine the night before, without our knowledge or consent.
Since John did not die within 24 hours, the doctor sent in a registered dietitian with her diet cocktail of grains, breads, apple sauce and fruit juices and hardly no cooked vegetables, thus contributing further to his constipation.
On the late evening the 20th of August, a gastroenterologist from the University of British Columbia took some tests of John's abdomen and he confirmed that John had no obstruction and no bowel perforation. He also performed a physical exam and he assured us that everything was good. The doctor had a plan of action to induce the poop naturally but no one followed through.
On the morning of the 21st of August, the plan of action proposed by the gastroenterologist was ignored. Instead the hospital doctors and nurses wanted a conference call with my sister and myself to offer the following two choices for John:
- surgery which would entail to open up John's abdomen to remove the poop; do a colostomy bag and put him on a ventilator. We were advised that the first choice came with a 100 % mortality.
- Bring John to palliative care and ease his pain - which meant in short, euthanizing him. (John did not have terminal cancer but he was treated as if he did.)
The staff, acting frantically, came up with another proposition, within an hour, which was to move John in a private room across the hall, so we could play and sing his favorite musical tune. Their proposal sounded so egregious, after we started to repeat what they said to us back to them, word to word, that they then changed their mind again, as their hypocrisy and evilness was palpable.They tried to cover up their misdeeds by making themselves look very compassionate when it was further from the truth.
We learned later that the nurses had already started to increase the morphine the night before, without our knowledge or consent.
Satan predominately works night shifts - The devil is in the detail
John continued to vomit poop (see picture below) from his mouth and doctors and nurses treated John like a guinea pig - experimenting on him. It was like witnessing a Frankenstein movie.
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Nurses and Doctors experimenting on John
In the afternoon, John signalled me to his bedside. He looked at me and said in a groggy voice, "what are they doing to me Josephine? What are they doing"?
Within minutes the nurse was by John’s bedside as if the nurse didn't want him to resist what was planned for him by the hospital doctors. She gave him a final lethal shot of hydromorphone and before we knew it, within minutes he appeared to go into a semi-coma. He was no longer urinating and unbeknown to us, the process of John's death had already begun. I went in the hallway to speak with a nurse and asked her whether John was in a coma, and she said she did not know what I meant. I asked another nurse, and I received the same response.
Just before John’s last breath, we both saw him gasp for air, as his mouth opened and closed twice. The nurse came by his bedside with her stethoscope to listen to his chest. He was pronounced death at 10:41 pm. We were praying by John's bedside with a Filipino woman who was visiting her ill mother and although the nurses were trying to hurry us up, we continued to pray.
When the nurses returned to clean John’s body, they turned him over on his right side and all the liquid poop came out of his mouth. We wanted to take a picture but the nurses stopped us. As soon as they finished washing John and put on new diapers they placed John in a plastic bag to send him to the hospital morgue. His body temperature cooled down but when he was placed in the plastic bag, his body was warm.
We somehow maintained our sanity in the insanity of what we were witnessing - an execution done legally. It was by the grace of God that neither one lost our minds.
It took about 6 hours for John to pass away.
We were by John's bedside, until his last breath. We saw John's inhale and exhale with his mouth opening twice and the end.
When John passed on, within minutes the nurses were in the room. We were praying by John's bedside with another woman whose mother was in the room, and thus although their eyes, we continued to pray and they left the room.
We somehow maintained our sanity in the insanity of what we were witnessing. It was by the grace of God that neither one lost our minds.
When the nurses returned to clean the death body, they turned him on his right side and all the liquid poop came out of his mouth. We wanted to take a picture but the nurses stopped us.
As soon as they finished washing John and put on new diapers, and the body was still hot, they John in a plastic bag to send him to the hospital morgue.
s everything and we all know that science cannot be mixed with God because science think of itself as God. Science is so advanced that doctors and nurses cannot even deal with constipation. Taking a life is okay for scientists when they can't find a solution.
They had complete disrespect for the body. As soon as they finished washing John and put on new diapers, and the body was still hot, they John in a plastic bag to send him to the hospital morgue.
Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34
When John passed on, within minutes the nurses were in the room. We were praying by John's bedside with another woman whose mother was in the room, and thus although their eyes, we continued to pray and they left the room.
When the nurses returned to clean the death body, they turned him on his right side and all the liquid poop came out of his mouth. We wanted to take a picture but the nurses stopped us.
efore putting John out with a strong lethal shot of morphine, he called me over to his bed and said "what are they doing me Josephine? What are they doing". I had no idea what the staff was up to, up to that moment. It was after the last lethal shot that the nurses came to us and gave us grieving pamphlets - on how to deal with the death of a loved one. We were in shock and we are still is shock of the magnitude of the evilness that is around us.
The hospitals play God and have so for decades, certainly more so, since the Catholic Church no longer is involved in healthcare but men in suits have taken over healthcare.
the most excrutiating time for me and my sister.
My sister and I feel like we have failed Harold.
IN RETROSPECT OF JOHN'S FINAL HOURS
The nurses gave John a lethal injection.
John was treated as if he had terminal cancer and killed him. His symptoms were the same as a cancer patient, but he
John said to me >> before being put out by a strong shot of morphine, "what are they doing >> to >> me Josephine?" >> >> My sister and I feel like we have failed Harold. We were caught between >> a >> rock and a hard place. Had Harold died in our care, the authorities >> would >> have charged us with murder. However terminating Harold's life in a >> hospital is called compassionate. We watched him take his last breath. >> It was horrible and sad.
I am still in shock and it may take sometime before I recuperate from what I have witnessed in both major hospitals in Vancouver. I learned after John's death that there are many people, young and old that die from constipation due to many doctors and nurses, who may look professional with their stethoscopes around their neck, but in reality the healthcare system in British Columbia is very very poor and the system is broken. Most doctors and nurses do not know how to treat many and most ailments without the use of meds and this is can be said generally of the healthcare system in Canada. Medical staff are unable to think outside the box, and as a result making the system a dangerous place for any of us, who value life.
John mattered to me a lot for many reasons. We knew him for 17 years and I cohabited with John for over 10 years and cared for him.
I loved John in the same way as a daughter loves her father. I loved him in the same way as a sister loves her brother. I loved Harold for who he was - a great human being! His spirit lives in me!
Josephine, your certified nutritionist
Within minutes the nurse was by John’s bedside as if the nurse didn't want him to resist what was planned for him by the hospital doctors. She gave him a final lethal shot of hydromorphone and before we knew it, within minutes he appeared to go into a semi-coma. He was no longer urinating and unbeknown to us, the process of John's death had already begun. I went in the hallway to speak with a nurse and asked her whether John was in a coma, and she said she did not know what I meant. I asked another nurse, and I received the same response.
Just before John’s last breath, we both saw him gasp for air, as his mouth opened and closed twice. The nurse came by his bedside with her stethoscope to listen to his chest. He was pronounced death at 10:41 pm. We were praying by John's bedside with a Filipino woman who was visiting her ill mother and although the nurses were trying to hurry us up, we continued to pray.
When the nurses returned to clean John’s body, they turned him over on his right side and all the liquid poop came out of his mouth. We wanted to take a picture but the nurses stopped us. As soon as they finished washing John and put on new diapers they placed John in a plastic bag to send him to the hospital morgue. His body temperature cooled down but when he was placed in the plastic bag, his body was warm.
We somehow maintained our sanity in the insanity of what we were witnessing - an execution done legally. It was by the grace of God that neither one lost our minds.
It took about 6 hours for John to pass away.
We were by John's bedside, until his last breath. We saw John's inhale and exhale with his mouth opening twice and the end.
When John passed on, within minutes the nurses were in the room. We were praying by John's bedside with another woman whose mother was in the room, and thus although their eyes, we continued to pray and they left the room.
We somehow maintained our sanity in the insanity of what we were witnessing. It was by the grace of God that neither one lost our minds.
When the nurses returned to clean the death body, they turned him on his right side and all the liquid poop came out of his mouth. We wanted to take a picture but the nurses stopped us.
As soon as they finished washing John and put on new diapers, and the body was still hot, they John in a plastic bag to send him to the hospital morgue.
s everything and we all know that science cannot be mixed with God because science think of itself as God. Science is so advanced that doctors and nurses cannot even deal with constipation. Taking a life is okay for scientists when they can't find a solution.
They had complete disrespect for the body. As soon as they finished washing John and put on new diapers, and the body was still hot, they John in a plastic bag to send him to the hospital morgue.
Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34
When John passed on, within minutes the nurses were in the room. We were praying by John's bedside with another woman whose mother was in the room, and thus although their eyes, we continued to pray and they left the room.
When the nurses returned to clean the death body, they turned him on his right side and all the liquid poop came out of his mouth. We wanted to take a picture but the nurses stopped us.
efore putting John out with a strong lethal shot of morphine, he called me over to his bed and said "what are they doing me Josephine? What are they doing". I had no idea what the staff was up to, up to that moment. It was after the last lethal shot that the nurses came to us and gave us grieving pamphlets - on how to deal with the death of a loved one. We were in shock and we are still is shock of the magnitude of the evilness that is around us.
The hospitals play God and have so for decades, certainly more so, since the Catholic Church no longer is involved in healthcare but men in suits have taken over healthcare.
the most excrutiating time for me and my sister.
My sister and I feel like we have failed Harold.
IN RETROSPECT OF JOHN'S FINAL HOURS
The nurses gave John a lethal injection.
John was treated as if he had terminal cancer and killed him. His symptoms were the same as a cancer patient, but he
John said to me >> before being put out by a strong shot of morphine, "what are they doing >> to >> me Josephine?" >> >> My sister and I feel like we have failed Harold. We were caught between >> a >> rock and a hard place. Had Harold died in our care, the authorities >> would >> have charged us with murder. However terminating Harold's life in a >> hospital is called compassionate. We watched him take his last breath. >> It was horrible and sad.
I am still in shock and it may take sometime before I recuperate from what I have witnessed in both major hospitals in Vancouver. I learned after John's death that there are many people, young and old that die from constipation due to many doctors and nurses, who may look professional with their stethoscopes around their neck, but in reality the healthcare system in British Columbia is very very poor and the system is broken. Most doctors and nurses do not know how to treat many and most ailments without the use of meds and this is can be said generally of the healthcare system in Canada. Medical staff are unable to think outside the box, and as a result making the system a dangerous place for any of us, who value life.
John mattered to me a lot for many reasons. We knew him for 17 years and I cohabited with John for over 10 years and cared for him.
I loved John in the same way as a daughter loves her father. I loved him in the same way as a sister loves her brother. I loved Harold for who he was - a great human being! His spirit lives in me!
Josephine, your certified nutritionist