Side effects - How to cope with the long term effects of Opiod/Opiate Use?

[Panic_Upset]

Hi there,
I know there is probably a thread somewhere out there in regards to this but I wasn't able to find one that dealt with this directly. Jupiter, my dog, has been hopelessly in love with this horrible mistress for many years and has found her to be a wonderful lover but a terrible companion. Jupiter is mostly wheelchair bound now because when he was 15 he found out that he had rapid degeneration of the tissues in his spine. Now up there in the years, he has played with pretty much every opiate known to man, eah... I mean " Know to Dogkind". Anyways, he suffers from chronic constipation and occasional urinary retention due to the amount of daily intake. Jupiter, actually will not admit to how much he intakes because quite frankly is embarrassed to say. It is an amount that would put an opiate tolerant individual into a coma. He does have legit reasons for use (maybe not in the amount he is taking but..), because he suffers from chronic excruciating pain. To put it plainly, his spine is breaking down (or is it already broke down). Further More, He would like to hear how others deal with the long term side effects induced by long term opiate therapy. He has gone to many extremes including having to insert his own foley catheter to help beat the occasional urinary retention . Also, he uses laxatives, enemas, etc... to combat the chronic constipation. Please share how SWIY copes with their own long term side effects. I am desperate for suggestions, so please contribute your ideas to help this ol' dog out! Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my long winded post and taking the time to reply! As always, If you think twice before you do something you might not want to do it all...

- Jupiter Out