I am a 31 year old girl who has had problems with Constipation most of my life. But for the last 3-4 years I have relied solely on laxatives. I am unable to pass anything on my own. Plus I have hemmoroids so bad. I have been to several doctors, had a colonoscopy, berium enema and a sitzmarker test. According to the doctors, everything was normal. The only result I was told, was that I have a lazy colon. It took 5 days for some rings I swallowed, to reach the end of my colon, where as the average person it takes 24 hours. I am so tired of dealing with this. It affects my life daily. I have tried everything. It exhausts me. I get tired and feel so sick. I've taken several kinds of fiber (with lots of water) and found it made things worse and made me extremely full of gas. I've tried exercise daily, fruits, veggies, coffee, stool softeners, etc. My stomach aches constantly and it's always bloated. I'm 5'4" and weigh 115 lbs. So, the bloating looks very noticeable. I've been told (by doctors) that I'll be on laxatives my whole life, but then I've read that my life will be shortened because of the use of laxatives. I'm so tired of planning my life around laxatives. If I know I have plans on Saturday night, I'll take a laxative on Friday night, so I don't feel as sick on Saturday night. I also have to remember to take the laxatives the day before starting my period, or I'll have worse cramps. I also take laxatives the night before I plan on being intimate with my boyfriend....because it hurts to be intimate if I haven't gone in a few days. I know I've been very personal, but I don't know what to do and have thought several times about the value of my life... I'm just so tired of this I sometimes feel like I can't live with it anymore.
I have the same issue, but I don't use laxatives. I hate the cramps! I actually use suppositories when it gets really REALLY bad. Sometimes I go two or more weeks before I realize I have not have a BM in a while, and that is certainly a bad habit. Recently I have been drinking a raspberry hibiscus tea daily , and I have had some relief. It is "Raspberry Zinger" by Celestial Seasonings, and you can get that at most any grocery store. I have tried all of the things you listed as well, and I agree most remedies just don't work.
It is a miserable condition. I have had some episodes over the years that I thought were appendicitis, but xrays at the ER revealed a lot of stool backed up- that is so humiliating. I have passed out before, from the pressure of it. I will not go to the doctor for abdominal pain any more. I'm afraid one of these days I will mistake real appendicitis or internal injury for constipation and die because I didn't go to the Dr.
I hope someone has more information soon because I would like to know what I can do, as well.
I too had severe constipation most of my life. I know your misery.
When I had a colonoscopy a year ago the doctor told me to take Miralax as directed on the bottle. I take it in the morning and it has been wonderful.
This is not the usual laxative. Usually will have a BM after meals, not hard stools, no straining, no haste to make it to the bathroom, etc. back to what I think being normal should be like.
Wish I had known about this years ago.
You do need to drink plenty of water in order for it to work. If you are clogged now, it may take a few days to get things moving good.
hi I too had severe constipation like you do, with the bloating and so on. I still take cascara sagrada made by herbal factors a naturalextract for the constipation. But maybe you should get your doctor to check you out for sugar intolerances. A lot of my problems stemmed from sorbitol intolerance (natural sugars found in a lot of fruit) and put in many store bought foods, including gum. whenever I eat anything that has sorbitol in it, I'm bloated for days, feel unwell and I'm constipated for 3 to 4 days afterward. Hope this helps you, good luck.
Angel, I'm like you also. I was born with the problem, had a really bad episode after a surgery. Had that surgery in the spring, had a bleed inside and and couldn't pee, then found I was compacted. (lovely!) After my fourth enema of rock they figured the bleed was from the compaction and straining to go.
That fall I ended up with really bad back pain, burning all the time, couldn't sleep. Went to the doctor and they found that my bladder no longer was contracting. In the end after wearing a cath bad for two weeks, they discovered my problems stem from constipation and a very low amount of nerves working in my colon. I tried everything under the sun, it all would eventually quit working for me.
What finally did work and continues to work for me is a tea that is specifically designed to help eliminate and move waste. The stuff you can get in the stores is called: Smooth Move, I'm sure you could find something similar.
I also bought an enema bag. I make my own enemas with 1 1/2 quarts of water and 1/4 cup of lemon juice. This works well if you know your BM is in the lower part of your colon, if it's not you may have to use some tea.
I bet this is your problem too. Low amount of working nerves to signal the colon to move it along.
I took fiber for quite some time, if it gives you a lot of gas you are not alone. It does get better the longer you are on it. It doesn't move the waste, it just makes the movements softer. Still need something that will flush you out along with the fiber. Hope this answers some questions for you. Diana
The following user gives a hug of support to drs: Todd74 (05-30-2011)
I use Dulcolax (laxatives), they don't give me cramps like the other laxatives would. If I'm really full, I use 3 pills, but if I haven't gone for 2-3 days, I'll only use 2 pills.
I do use the Miralax about every 2-3 days and it does work very well at keeping things soft and it keeps me from having the painful pressure of the hard stool. Maybe I'll try using it every day and see what happens. Maybe I'll also try it in the morning. I've learned not to use the Miralax right before bed.
I've also thought about trying to drink some tea (but I really hate tea, so I've been putting it off). So, maybe I'll try and work some of that in my diet.
I welcome the ideas and thoughts. Thank you so much!!
Here's what I did when I first started on the tea. I didn't like it either. I bought a can of frozen cranberry juice that has another fruit in it. Like cran/apple, or cran/ raspberry. After I made the tea and steeped it, I then added a teaspoon of the concentrated juice, straight from the freezer. It helps a lot on the taste of anything that is hard to drink. Might work well with the taste of your miralax too. Just a suggestion. Good luck, I know what your going through. Diana
Thanks Diana! I'll try that for the tea. As for the Miralax, I buy those small Sunny Delight Orange Juices, dump about a 1/4 of the juice out, pour in the Miralax, shake it up and drink. I can't taste the Miralax at all.
I too have had chronic constipation since I was very young. I started taking Strattera and am having a terrible time "going". I was interested if the tea had caffeen and if you had to drink it to "go"? I take about a 1/2 cup of benefiber a day just to be regular! Now I'm taking it twice a day and still can't go. I also drink about 40 oz of water per day. Any words of wisdom?
Last edited by moderator2; 04-06-2010 at 05:07 AM.
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Definitely take Miralax in the morning right after breakfast. Drink at least 8 oz. water. I take it with water and there is no taste.
I also take 1 stool softener in the morning and again at night.
Drinking pleny of water during the day helps the Miralax work wonders. If not enough water, then, constipation again.
You will find taking Miralax every morning will solve your problem.
Prior to taking Miralax the only way I could go was the enema route. That is not good for us, but, when you can't go any other way we do what we have to do. Miralax rescued me from the enema way of life.
Hello ladies,
I know the problem for all my life too. My colon maybe not as lazy as to move things for 5 days but it will take at least two. I think I had it b/c of the dysentery when I was very little.
When I exercise a lot it is better but it's always an issue. Now that I am not able to do much due to my tmj problem I had to look for new ways.
I drink fresh beet juice, with a piece of an aloe vera leaf. I add a grapefruit , ginger and lemon-- it's yummy and it works well!! You can juice greens instead, like spinach with a cucumber, aloe, and whatever you want to add for taste. Spinach works good too! I drink at least two glasses in the morning, sometimes during the day if I can.
Drink plenty of liquids during the day, at least 2 liters, better 3.
Well, I am a vegan which helps as well. Protein, especially animal protein will stop any movement for several days at least! This was always the case for me. But it is easy to eat well without animal products if you don't want to have the tummies bloated.
Hope it will help.
I am another chronic constipation sufferer. I have tried so many things over the years, healthy diet, exercise, etc. What has worked the best for me recently is to use a herbal laxative (cascara sagrada, senna extract, etc.) about every 3rd day or so. I know I probably shouldn't wait that long, but it's such a pain to have to "schedule" my bm on a day when I'm home for a few hours in the morning. Maybe I should just try it on a lesser dosage every day, I don't know. And it has definitely gotten worse as I'm aging, just turned 60. I've tried Miralax, but it didn't work, maybe because I didn't use it daily, but just when I needed a bm. Yes, this is such a nuisance. My husband has never had this problem. He goes at least once daily. How lucky!
Water drinker, I find this tea in health foods store or the grocery store sometimes. like I said earlier, a teaspoon of concentrated cranberry juice in it after steeping works good if the flavor doesn't agree with you. Smooth Move tea has two flavors, plain or chocolate, I drink the plain.
I steep it in the evening with my meal, if your really plugged steep it for the full time it says on the box.
Any time you have trouble with going, drink plenty of water. Especially if your drinking this tea. It helps flush out the colon and the liver.
There is no Caffeine in it. And it should work by morning.
Note: some high blood pressure medication will react with fleet enema's, it can permanently damage kidneys, this is one reason I make my own.
My mother recently had an obstruction, I couldn't talk her into going to the doctor. Hope I'm not that stubborn when I get to be her age. So I brought my homemade enema kit to her house, we did three of the lemon juice enema's, it barely worked at all, her problem was it was stuck very high up in her colon. Very painful, she thought it was worse than labor pains.
She had some miralax and drank some that first night, about 15min. after I left she threw it up. I went back the next day and brought her a box of the tea. Did three enemas on her again. A bit more came out than the night before, she said the pains were a bit better. I made her some tea and she drank it, and had some yogurt, by that evening she still hadn't gone, so she did another dose of the tea. It worked big time by 2am. I told her if she ends up doing two doses of tea in one day, her stools would be loose for a couple of days, and not to take anything for the diarrhea. Let it run it's course, if it gets to be 3 days of it then she could have a little kaopectate.
She has used the tea on three different occasions since this happened, it was about a month ago. She is on pain management med's and can't walk more than a few steps, I think the pain med's are drying out her colon.
She is very happy to have her tea to prevent a huge clog like the one she had that night.
Hope this answers some questions for you Waterdrinker. Let me know if I can answer anything else. Diana
Well, I went to GNC and bought the "Smooth Move Tea" and tried it last night. I got two sips down and couldn't drink anymore. I then burped it up for the next half hour. I really tried... I just do not like tea at all. So, I also bought some "Swiss Kiss Herbal Laxative" at the store that I'll try. Today is my 3rd day of drinking Miralax straight. I still don't see any results, but hopefully I will with time.
Get some of that concentrated juice I was telling you about, mix a teaspoon of it undiluted into the tea. You can refrigerate any tea you make in advance also. I saved the used tea bags till I had a couple of them and then used two used ones for one cup. Works faster than miralax.
Good luck, keep trying, Diana
I have had chronic constipation for many years, I'm at the point where I get so sick to my stomach I can't sleep and I can hardly eat (no appetite) gravol doesn't work. Has anyone ever experienced this? I would appreciate any information anyone can give me, I'm at my witts end.
I suffered for 35 years and then started eating a bowl of 40% bran flakes and nothing else for breakfast. I first started with 100% bran flakes but tha was too much help so I went to 40& and it has worked great for the past 45 years. Had no problems what ever.
I have the same problem "Jerusilum Artichoke" is the only thing that makes my tummy feel better. It is a powder that you can mix with juice or put it in your food. I mix it with grapefruit juice it doesn't taste all that great but it sure does make me feel better.
I have had the constipation problem my whole life, too. I found out I have Celiac Disease. The bloating and gas is horrendous. I look pregnant if the acid builds up in my stomach--even without eating gluten! There is nothing they can do for me at the E.R. because the gas is 'intestinal'. I bought Source Naturals enzymes and take those to help with the bloating. Fruits and veggies make me worse. Apples may as well be gluten for me. I have been strictly gluten-free for nine years!! I thought I was going to starve to death. I was 30 when it started (after having my child) and felt as though someone took my intestines out and cut them with a knife, put them back in my body and said, "Okay, have a nice day!" Have you ruled Celiac out? You would have to go to a Gastroenterologist and be tested...but, it does contribute if you have it; it is a possibility. Maybe you could check out some Celiac websites and see if your symptoms seem to mimic ours. I, too, was 5' 6'' and got down to 98 lbs. I had hemorrhoids so badly. I had hemorrhoid surgery when I had my child (ugh). Also, I had my gallbladder removed. Do you happen to have gallbladder problems by any chance? They all seem to be interrelated. I hope things get better for you. I do actually feel better when I eat raw almonds (as far as the constipation goes). I don't know how your body would digest them, though. Hang in there...your life is worth living if mine is!!!
Last edited by Just dance; 02-26-2010 at 06:07 PM.
Chronic Constipation for years 
Diana
