Declare variable in constructor

[eluser]stef25[/eluser]
How can I declare a variable in the constructor of a controller so that this variable is available in the dozens of functions in this controller? I'm not interested in passing it through to a view or model.

Code:

//constructor
    function __construct()
    {
        parent::__construct();
        $this->load->helper('form');
        $this->load->helper('html');
        
                //none of the following work
        $global['uid'] = $this->session->userdata('id');
        $this->load->vars($global);

                $this->uid = $this->session->userdata('id');
  
                $uid = $this->session->userdata('id');
    }

Thanks.