Ulcerative colitis and badly constipated. Advice anybody?

Hi esther, best advice i can give you is, to drink as much water as you can. Once the stool becomes hard, it is difficult to pass and you will just pass leakage, the more moist the stool is the more it will break ip and pass. Took me years to realise thiz

Hi Esther.. I'm sorry to hear you are suffering with constipation.  It's one of my nemises even with the 'trots.'  While I was in the hospital I was prescribed two laxidos a day that did nothing (5 days worth) except produce mush, loads of blood and clots... I was still bleeding even with the pred.  It was only after pixolax that it cleared not only the constipation but the bleeding also stopped. (I was given two doses over two days of it) I do occasionally find myself getting bunged up now and will start taking the laxido the moment something isn't quite right and it has seemed to stop some of it though I have had to have another go of the picolax a few months after the first batch (in between a colonoscopy).  Yes..laxatives do cause cramping and bloating but it does work and laxido is much slower than picolax but it was the picolax that managed to clear me... (I had pain and tightness too under the ribs and across the chest for the first incident and I will get pain in the left upper rib area when I'm starting to block up again.)  I do drink a lot of water too.  I have severe distal colitis and am on aza.  I hope this helps just a little bit  and hope that the laxatives clear you out!

Hi,

For me, for a bad stomach I find probiotic drinks very good also for constipation I prefer fesh oange juice rather than prescribed laxatives.

Hope your'e feeling bete soon.

Regards

Susan

 

Hi esther77657 - sooty to hear of your predicament. I suffered Distal Colitis for 4 years. Often symptoms of this can be constipation rather than diarrea because the bowel is inflamed and doesn't allow the stool to pass. Hope things improve for you soon.

Hi esther, whenever I am severely constipated I tend to drink as much water as possible, have lots of peppermint teas or even take some peppermint oil capsules. It is definitely an uncomfortable and horrible experience, I hope it subsides for you soon!

Hi Esther

I too suffered with constipation now I am in remission. My consultant thinks it's due to the medication I'm on which is azathioprine for colitis and also amyltriptaline for back pain. I now take 1 laxido a day to prevent constipation, which works well for me. However I am unable to cope without it now and I worry that I'll forever have to take laxido to manage. What I was told by my consultant is that constipation is bad for you if you suffer from colitis as it damages the lining of the bowell to try and pass hard stools, which I guess makes sense. I wish you luck in getting things sorted. Ask your dr for Laxido, it's more paletable than the other medications and more gentle on the tummy. It can take a few days to work though so stick with it!

Best of luck x

Thank you for all your comments.  I ended up in hospital for 10 days with Crohn's flare. I was teetering on the edge of having my colon removed and an ileostomy.  However, steroids and humira have controlled it for now and hopefully surgery can be performed later on in a 'planned' way.  I received a diagnosis of pancolitis only a year ago but suspect I have had it for many years.  I have had rheumatoid arthritis since I was 20...nicely controlled on Cimzia in recent years.  This recent hospital stay has made me much more aware of what I am dealing with and I am now endeavouring to preserve things at least until I am off the steroids.  It was scary being faced with possible surgery, and I feel very lucky...I think!! I may be on here seeking advice!