For the past ten months I have been PLAGUED with horrendous constipation. Constipation, constipation, constipation, constipation. That disgusting word has never been far from my mind. I want to emphasise this right off the bat. I. Can. Be. Stuffed! I mean, absolutely full to bursting, and I will still need to spend 20-30 minutes sitting on the pot straining to see any chance of movement.
And oh, how I strain! I strain, I grunt, I squeeze, and sweat, and swear. I roar at myself. But to little avail. It always takes at least twenty minutes.
This is with laxatives, by the way. Without laxatives,I can easily go a fortnight without a movement. I bloat and I fart and I ache and I cry (genuinely. Sometimes, I've despaired past the point of tears) but I don't defecate. And when I finally do, it's always a negligible amount. Laxatives have given me some semblance of a normal life these past ten months. Anyway, I take lactulose syrup and I take it in sufficient quantities that I can usually manage a bowel movement once every two or three days.
Unfortunately, it seems that recently the lactulose has become ineffective.
This Thursday just gone was a turning point. After six unlucky days I had decided to take the gloves off. I'd doubled my lactulose consumption and upped my fiber intake from around 40-50 grams per day (important note: I always make sure I eat plenty of fiber - not that it does me very much good!) to 60g. That same night I went for a Christmas dinner with some workmates and had a large meal.
That night, easily the most flatulent of my life (don't laugh! I was so frustrated. Easily.), I spent three hours wrestling with my constipation before I could finally go. When I went, admittedly, it was (TMI - Sorry) enormous. Thicker than my wrist. But that's not the point. The point is that I almost carted myself off to the hospital to ask them to check for a fecal impaction. If it had gone on another hour I would have done exactly that.
That was two days ago and I've not been since. Today, I've gone to war with my constipation. I have consumed:
1) 50g fiber so far.
2) 4 tablespoons (60ml approx) of lactulose syrup.
3) 2 Ex-Lax (never tried these before).
4) 3 tablespoons (45ml) syrup of figs.
5) 2 teaspoons of Epsom Salts (a.k.a. magnesium sulphate)
So far, I feel nothing. In a minute, I'm going to go downstairs and consume a whole can of prunes. Nothing to lose, right?
I'm going to use this thread to vent about constipation, and the absolute misery it has made of my life, ask for advice.
Here's an interesting little question to kick-start the conversation. Is there anyone here who is more constipated than I am? I would be genuinely shocked if there was.
P.S. - This may just be a little idiosyncracy of mine, but does anyone else find the word 'Constipation' an absolutely gallingly awful one to actually say? It literally makes my skin crawl. I think it might be the strong plosive 'P' sound that does it. Oh well...
Last edited by Administrator; 12-22-2012 at 07:30 PM.
A colonic session or two may help you with this problem. It will clean your colon out of all the built up material that is giving you the problem. Also take probiotics daily, these are the good bacteria in the colon that aid digestion. Me, I have gotten a colonic twice a year for the last eight years and I swear by them. There are some that say colonics are useless but I doubt they have been in your shoes. Take care......LenVegas
No, I don't find the word constipation so disgusting to say, but that's probably because of your associations with it.
Just some thoughts....
Are you drinking enough water?
Are you getting enough excercise to get everything moving?
I have suffered from constipation from being on proton pump inhibitors. I found that taking DGL licorice helped the constipation - thats not why I took it, but I found it had this beneficial effect. Also eating panda licorice sweets helps - its the molasses in it, so you could try molasses.
Also try abdominal massage in a clockwise direction, every day.
Glycerin suppositories are very good at getting everything moving down there very quickly. You will be amazed at what they can do for you. Watermelon is awesome for those who suffer from constipation. It will clean your stomach, colon, and will expulse anything that is still hanging in there. I doubt that you can go two days without a bowel movement eating watermelon.
You may also want to try unpasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar (the brown kind with stuff floating in it). It will balance your stomach's pH levels and relieve some of the constipation. Add one tablespoon to a glass of water and add some honey or sugar to sweeten it. Drink it with a straw as it can sensitize your teeth.
For the past ten months I have been PLAGUED with horrendous constipation. Constipation, constipation, constipation, constipation. That disgusting word has never been far from my mind. I want to emphasise this right off the bat. I. Can. Be. Stuffed! I mean, absolutely full to bursting, and I will still need to spend 20-30 minutes sitting on the pot straining to see any chance of movement.
And oh, how I strain! I strain, I grunt, I squeeze, and sweat, and swear. I roar at myself. But to little avail. It always takes at least twenty minutes.
This is with laxatives, by the way. Without laxatives,I can easily go a fortnight without a movement. I bloat and I fart and I ache and I cry (genuinely. Sometimes, I've despaired past the point of tears) but I don't defecate. And when I finally do, it's always a negligible amount. Laxatives have given me some semblance of a normal life these past ten months. Anyway, I take lactulose syrup and I take it in sufficient quantities that I can usually manage a bowel movement once every two or three days.
Unfortunately, it seems that recently the lactulose has become ineffective.
This Thursday just gone was a turning point. After six unlucky days I had decided to take the gloves off. I'd doubled my lactulose consumption and upped my fiber intake from around 40-50 grams per day (important note: I always make sure I eat plenty of fiber - not that it does me very much good!) to 60g. That same night I went for a Christmas dinner with some workmates and had a large meal.
That night, easily the most flatulent of my life (don't laugh! I was so frustrated. Easily.), I spent three hours wrestling with my constipation before I could finally go. When I went, admittedly, it was (TMI - Sorry) enormous. Thicker than my wrist. But that's not the point. The point is that I almost carted myself off to the hospital to ask them to check for a fecal impaction. If it had gone on another hour I would have done exactly that.
That was two days ago and I've not been since. Today, I've gone to war with my constipation. I have consumed:
1) 50g fiber so far.
2) 4 tablespoons (60ml approx) of lactulose syrup.
3) 2 Ex-Lax (never tried these before).
4) 3 tablespoons (45ml) syrup of figs.
5) 2 teaspoons of Epsom Salts (a.k.a. magnesium sulphate)
So far, I feel nothing. In a minute, I'm going to go downstairs and consume a whole can of prunes. Nothing to lose, right?
I'm going to use this thread to vent about constipation, and the absolute misery it has made of my life, ask for advice.
Here's an interesting little question to kick-start the conversation. Is there anyone here who is more constipated than I am? I would be genuinely shocked if there was.
P.S. - This may just be a little idiosyncracy of mine, but does anyone else find the word 'Constipation' an absolutely gallingly awful one to actually say? It literally makes my skin crawl. I think it might be the strong plosive 'P' sound that does it. Oh well...
I know this is a gross and very hard way to make your bowels move when you're this constipated but have you tried putting a glove on and putting lots of vaseline on your index finger and inseting it into your rectum and making circular motion with your finger for up to 5-10 minutes or more . It's called digital stimulation and they do this for paraplegics and quadriplegics for their bowel program and followed up by inserting a glycerin suppository. This way they can move their bowels once a day at a certain time so they aren't incontinent. This could help you to get your bowels use to moving on a daily basis at a certain time of day. It's certainly not the easiest and most pleasant way to getting your bowels to move. Maybe if you do this for up to a month and then your body will establish a regular daily routine of moving your bowels.
You can help your body making it easier to pass a bm if you drink at least 64 oz. a day,eating a high fiber diet at least 30 grams a day. taking either Citrucel or Metamucil 3 times a day,making it priority every day at the same time of sitting on the toilet using the digital stimulation and suppository if needed to move your bowels.
I have had lifelong chronic constipation problems since my very early childhood and i am now 51. I understand the pain and anguish of straining and forcing yourself to produce a bowel movement after not going for more than 4-7 days. It feels like your insides are being cut up with a steak knife and the stool is so large,so hard and so wide that it gets stuck halfway in and halfway out that you have to push as hard as possibly can to make it come out. I have had tears streaming down my face and my face is beet red and hot just trying make myself pass it. I can't tell you how many times in my life I have had been this situation even with a suppository,enema,prunes and prune juice the the night before and that morning before the enema. It's now an absolute priority every morning to sit on the toilet for up to 30 minutes to move my bowels. I sure can tell the difference when I don't eat and drink enough the day before because I spend a lot longer time on the toilet trying to go and it hurts so much more because my bm's are very dry and hard and sometimes have to use the suppository to go at all. I hope you get some real relief very soon! I hope some of my suggestions will help you to be able to go without so much pain and effort !
