primitives discuss chronic constipation

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1147223

Oh my.

One gets the idea the primitives don't dine on a whole lot of fiber.

Nay (4,815 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

Anyone else have chronic constipation? What have your doctors said? Has anyone ever had it go away?
I've had chronic constipation for 6 or 7 years. It has been getting worse slowly. I have a gastroenterologist who's done all the required poking and prodding and testing. Several colonoscopies show I have a perfectly pink and healthy bowel with no obstructions, polyps, etc. An endoscopy showed that my esophagus had healed up fine from its reflux (I take Nexium). I was diagnosed with a "slow bowel," which is hereditary, it seems. As I age, it is assumed that my bowel gets slower and slower.

For a year I have taken Miralax as prescribed and it worked perfectly (3-4 nice soft BMs per day) until the day I had some sort of intestinal or stomach bug or food poisoning that gave me diarrhea. From that day on, the Miralax did nothing. What the hell?? I called the doc, who told me to keep taking the Miralax and also use senna tea twice a week to jumpstart everything. He said that if I started to need senna more than twice a week, I should come back in for an exam. So far the senna and/or the Miralax is working somewhat, but not as perfectly as the Miralax alone before the intestinal bug.

I'm interested in other people's experiences and what their doctors have suggested, especially any prescription meds that I may ask my doc about. I know about Amitriza -- they've told me about that one.

As a Type 2 diabetic, I know that I am more prone to constipation, although the constipation predated the diabetes.

libodem (7,344 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

1. Nobody jumped in here I noticed

Sorry for your very personal misery. I've been a nurse in a nursing home. Actually I've done tons of institutional care giving. Bowel care is a big deal. You know that old joke about the "asshole" being boss of the body, despite the brain and heart having superior qualifications.

If you can't go it takes over any other functions.

You know already the basics I'm sure. Exercise, moving your legs to walk stimulates everything. Extra fiber and plenty of water.

Has your doctor given permission for you to try ducolax suppositories in an emergency? One will usually blast you clear in 15 minutes to an hour.

"blast you clear"--now, that's funny.

Nay (4,815 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

2. Thanks. Yes, I do the exercise, water, etc. The senna is the 'emergency' stuff. Had any of your patients been on Amitriza? I hate to go on a med, but I have to say I'm really tired of having my days ruled by my "asshole"!

Peregrine Took (3,750 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

3. Try taking chelated magnesium tablets.

I take one every night and a cal mag in the morning. Those plus a small cup of coffee in the morning work for me.

A big bowl of oat bran is excellent, too and throw in some raisins! That should definitely do the trick along with the water and exercise.

Oh, so that's why the fecund grasswire primitive takes magnesium.

CountAllVotes (10,629 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

4. I recently discoverd an old remedy

It is called "Uncle Sam" cereal. One bowl of this = 10 grams of fiber and it is considered to be a natural laxative.

Being I have severe adhesions from several abdominal surgeries (and also a medical condition that makes it all that much worse), I have lots of digestive problems. Losing 3 feet of my intestinal tract in 2009/2010 from more surgeries has left me a real mess inside.

You might try Uncle Sam cereal. It was invented a long long time ago and contains flax seeds and whole grain wheat berries. Not bad stuff if you dress it up a bit.

Re: Miralax - can be ok for awhile and then it sort of stops working I've noted as well.

tpsbmam (3,352 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

5. I do thanks to MS. A visiting nurse recently gave me this recipe after I'd had abdominal surgery, which, of course, made the constipation even worse. Simply mix equal parts prune juice, applesauce & fiber/bran cereal and drink it down! That sounded a little funky so I looked it up online and this is what I found -- more appealing IMO:

Power Pudding

2 cups pitted prunes
1 cup applesauce
1 cup Bran Cereal
enough prune juice to make pudding consistency

Blend it in a blender and eat 1 cup in the morning and 1 in the evening for a couple of days, or until it works. It's food so you can't over dose, but I don't recommend you go out the first day or so you start eating it. 

I haven't needed it yet, but she swears it works first time, every time! I bet it does given the ingredients!

Nay (4,815 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

8. Prunes, prune juice, cereal, applesauce, etc., are all problematic because to eat them in the dose needed would almost always send my blood sugar into unwanted highs. (I eat fairly low-carb because I'm diabetic.) But thanks, everyone, for the advice and the recipe. I will keep it in reserve.

MedicalAdmin (4,024 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

6. You might want to consider "gut permiability" or if you a have a healthy ratio of "good" gut flora, either of which can really lead to these problems. As well you might have an IgG allergy to certain foods. IgG reactions are slower than the better known IgA reactions and can take up to 3 days to manifest (although 12 o 24 is a more normal reaction time). There is testing for these problems.

I hope this helps.

For non specific and non pathological digestive issues we tend to refer to a local naturopathic and functional medicine doctor. Try this link and see if you can get a free phone consult. http://www.naturopathic.org/AF_MemberDirectory.asp?version=1

Good luck.

The other suggestions seem good too, but it also seems as if you are aware of them and already doing some of them.

Nay (4,815 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

9. I have taken Align to repopulate my good gut bacteria after the bout of diarrhea, just on

general principles, but it didn't seem to do anything about the constipation. I looked at your link and saw several practitioners near me, so maybe I'll try one of them.

MedicalAdmin (4,024 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

10. We consider Align a very low strength probiotic in terms of recolonization.

We usually start at doses 50 times that and work our way up for serious cases. 50 billion would be a minimal daily dose for most patients. We also have a few prescription products that are in the 250 billion to 1 trillion per dose range.

Align is a low dose maintenance product with some fillers that are not the best (like titanium) that can block the recolonization or at least slow the process down.

Glad to help while I can. Good luck.

And there is also a procedure called heal drops which I will leave to your doctor to discuss with you (if they are aware of it) because it is a treatment that is specific to only certain conditions.

Irishonly (2,757 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

7. I drink lots of water and walk a lot

I am on several medications that constipation so I eat lots of fiber, drink the water and walk. I am in pain management and almost everything I have been given is a culprit.

Vinca (21,644 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

11. Here's something to try - pea soup.

Whenever I'm constipated I make up a batch of split pea soup and it never fails me.

I'll bet the notorious re-seller the vindictive primitive sups on a lot of pea soup.

cyberpj (8,969 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

12. I've had good luck with Culturelle Probiotics -

whenever following bouts of diarrhea or a round of antibiotics.

I take it at night before bed and it's working well to move things along by morning.

http://www.culturelle.com/?utm_campaign=MSN+Search&utm_source=msn&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=

Another product I use that moves things along and makes them softer as well is Wobenzym.
It's primarily a great natural way to fight inflammation anywhere in the body but people report lots of other good effects from the product. For me, that includes better digestion and easier bowel movements.

http://www.gardenoflife.com/ProductsforLife/SUPPLEMENTS/ImmunitySupport/WobenzymN/tabid/1900/Default

I always associated bowel problems with mental problems of varying degrees.

[Rebel]

THESE.PEOPLE.WILL.POST.ABOUT.ANYTHING! 

[JohnnyReb]

Use a handgrenade as a suppository....problem solved in 5 seconds or less.

[Skul]

Endless lists of remedies, and no one suggests a corkscrew.  

[franksolich]

Endless lists of remedies, and no one suggests a corkscrew.  

Actually, I've been interested in this subject, or something similar, ever since I was a little lad, and noticed certain people had the mincing "haemorrhoid walk" and other people didn't.  The former tended to be uptight local Democrats, such as they were in our small town.

And then as an adult working at the Nebraska Department of Health, I noticed bureaucrats who tended to be Democrats seemed to have more bowel problems than bureaucrats who tended to be Republicans.

And then much later, I noticed that discussion of bowel problems is much more prevalent on Democrat message boards than on Republican message boards.

I think "attitude" and behavior has a great deal to do with intestinal distress.

[BadCat]

Actually, I've been interested in this subject, or something similar, ever since I was a little lad, and noticed certain people had the mincing "haemorrhoid walk" and other people didn't.  The former tended to be uptight local Democrats, such as they were in our small town.

And then as an adult working at the Nebraska Department of Health, I noticed bureaucrats who tended to be Democrats seemed to have more bowel problems than bureaucrats who tended to be Republicans.

And then much later, I noticed that discussion of bowel problems is much more prevalent on Democrat message boards than on Republican message boards.

I think "attitude" and behavior has a great deal to do with intestinal distress.

Well, also because Cheetos don't have a lot of fibre.

[DumbAss Tanker]

It would explain why you're so full of shit that you're posting on DU, DUmmie Nay.

[Gina]

What a shitty topic.  his post is disgusting and to talk about that shit?  3-4 soft bowels a day?     OMG they have no shame.

[franksolich]

What a shitty topic.  his post is disgusting and to talk about that shit?  3-4 soft bowels a day?     OMG they have no shame.

You haven't met the Las Vegas Leviathan yet, apparently.

[Chris_]

Stick a finger up there and get it over with already.

[AprilRazz]

Reminds me of an episode of 2 1/2 men.
The kid was acting like a little shit. The dad took him to a therapist to try to figure out what was wrong with him. All the time Berta had a simple solution.
The next day the kid was a right as rain.
Berta had given him some prune juice.

[Gina]

Stick a finger up there and get it over with already.

Packing fudge?

[franksolich]

Reminds me of an episode of 2 1/2 men.
The kid was acting like a little shit. The dad took him to a therapist to try to figure out what was wrong with him. All the time Berta had a simple solution.
The next day the kid was a right as rain.
Berta had given him some prune juice.

Prune juice isn't some pharmaceutical the primitives can charge to the taxpayers, though.

The primitives want those chemical drugs because they want to impoverish the rest of us paying for them.

[Chris_]

Packing fudge?

I was reminded of a story I read about an enormously fat woman who called 911 complaining of stomach pains.  Turns out she was just constipated.  They found out after one of the EMTs stuck a finger up her backside to check for a "blockage". 

They spent a long time cleaning up that ambulance.

[Karin]

Chris_


If I had a physical ailment, I'd join an internet forum devoted to the subject.  You might even get a doc in the house.  Why post this on a political forum?  It's because at some other place, like Icantshit.org, you might get advice from someone who VOTES THE WRONG WAY. 

[FiddyBeowulf]

Someone ought to tell the DUmmie not being able to take a crap will not get him on disability. That should cure him.

[Gina]

I was reminded of a story I read about an enormously fat woman who called 911 complaining of stomach pains.  Turns out she was just constipated.  They found out after one of the EMTs stuck a finger up her backside to check for a "blockage". 

They spent a long time cleaning up that ambulance.

chunky flowing chocolate river....... 

[Skul]

Packing fudge?

Turd burglar, maybe? 

[GOBUCKS]

I'm hoping nutcase nadin will weigh in on this thread, with a progress report on her assistant nutcase husband.

You'll recall not long ago she mentioned that she needed to increase his dietary fiber.

I suppose that resulted from observations she made while taking him on his morning walk.

Which reminds me. The nutcase has been posting like mad on Facebook - all incredibly boring stuff - but she's disappeared from the DUmp.

I wonder if she's had a run-in with the new Gestapo system at the pay-to-play DU3, that we missed.

Previously, absences like the current one have always been preceded by a nutcase meltdown.

[DumbAss Tanker]

I was reminded of a story I read about an enormously fat woman who called 911 complaining of stomach pains.  Turns out she was just constipated.  They found out after one of the EMTs stuck a finger up her backside to check for a "blockage". 

They spent a long time cleaning up that ambulance.

"...and the last thing I remember seeing was that poor little trained monkey, desperately trying to put the cork back in Jumbo's ass..."