Posted , 5 users are following.
Hi , I have had crohns now for over 20 yrs and over the last 2 have bee suffering from bouts of chronic constipation. My doctors have me taking x3 movicol morning and night. I have porridge for breakfast with prunes, kiwi and bananas and drink water like a fish. But nothing seems to help or things get better for a 4 weeks and then go back again.
Help as I think I am going nuts!!!!
0 likes, 6 replies
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Ivan1234 mark74657
Posted
Everyone send msg similar. I feel all you guys believe that God will receive your msg.
You look like don't think that other peoples maybe have more difficult health condition.
Don't concentrate on yourself. Learn how to be happy. Ask your doctor about help.
And say buy to your fear eventually!
Linda_Mac mark74657
Posted
Mark--I feel your pain. I have ulcerative colitis, and even before that diagnosis, I had chronic constipation alternating with more normal frequent bowel movements. In those days they called it irritable bowel, but now it's diagnosed as IBS. I only recently was told by my primary that I have both UC and IBS. And yes, I still suffer from constipation despite taking fiber daily. I found that drinking two large glasses of water at room temp as soon as I get up in the morning (at the same time ) helps to have a first small bm. Then I eat breakfast and try to chew each bit real well to hopefully stimulate bowel motility. Then I take my fiber dose (I use metamucil and it does make a difference which form I use!) Then I have to pay close attention to how my gut feels, because often I have no urge to move my bowels, especially if I sit at my computer. It's usually 30-60 minutes after the fiber dose and I keep drinking water, but I sometimes don't notice any indication, so I just try sitting on the toilet and relax. Sometimes I move my bowels and sometimes I don't. If I don't, I'm hopeful that If I eat a normal lunch and a normal dinner, I may be able to go later in the day or early the next morning. Once I leave home, it's unlikely I will be successful, so I'm fortunate that I work from home - otherwise I'd have to get up in the morning very early to take care of my bowel. Eating salads with romaine lettuce help a lot, as do prunes in the morning. I also try to walk at least 3 miles per day, as this really helps me. I was my most regular when I was jogging about 10 miles per week, but I haven't been able to do that for over 18 months due to the constipation symptoms.
mark74657 Linda_Mac
Posted
Thanks Linda Mac , I have been doing a lot of what you are , apart from the Metamucil. Walking , watch my diet etc but nothing seems to help in the long term. And I also hate the term 'IBS' as I think its just a cop out from the medical people who don't know whats wrong.
Thanks again
Linda_Mac mark74657
Posted
I also believe medical people often don't know or care about the cause of problems. In my case, I'm pretty sure I have a bowel function problem. There are doctors in the UK who look at your rectum and pelvic floor muscles while you are evacuating. They do this with a barium enema. This is not generally done in the US despite some training conferences done by UK doctor that I saw on the web. Once they can see what's going on they can treat it with pelvic physical therapy or surgery. Even though the inflammation from my UC has probably contributed a lot to my constipation problem, I do think there might be help in my case through further analysis of what is occurring during a bowel movement. Unfortunately this visual test is not a standard of practice here in the U.S.
RVF Linda_Mac
Posted
not sure if you are in uk or us.
i have diagnosed with iodiopathic gut motility...but uk consultant will not do transit tests as no drugs here to deal with it now(2 yrs ago metroclopride and domperidone withdrawn!) I am trying constella and 1 dulcease which mean i do have bms every other day...do get terrible pain with wind some nights though.
take care x
SuperSop mark74657
Posted
I'm sorry but I don't know much about crohn's disease other than the fact that some in my family do suffer from the illness. I will however share with you the words that I post in almost every thread on this discussion forum.
Depending on how your bowels actually function, meaning not everyone functions the same in the process of extracting fluids from the bowels. Iritation and inflammation obviously can make things far worse. I bring this point up because sometimes adding fiber to your diet can actually make things far worse. This is especially true if you are taking too much fiber or if your kidneys have the inability to process the fiber normally.
My remedy that works is very simple
1. If I become constipated and it remains that way for more than 72 hours I perform a fleets enema. While this may be slightly painful it certainly does the job of assisting with lubrication and evacuation of my bowel.
2. Take a minimum of 1 and up to 3 doses of MiraLAX daily. This sounds expensive to some people but if you are a member of Sam's club you can buy a 3 pack of generic bottles for the same price as one bottle of brand name miralax. Start with 3 doses daily until your bowel movements become too loose. Then reduce the dosage each day until you have the consistency of soft serve ice cream.
This will virtually eliminate the pain and anxiety most people feel when they suffer from chronic constipation because you will now have regular bowel movements at a consistency that is not destructive, painful or worrisome. There is absolutely no flavor or texture abnormalities when adding this to your morning coffee or even a bottle of water. You also will not suffer any type of burning sensations like you might with something like dulcolax.
The Sam's club brand of Members Mark sells this product under the name clearLAX. It has the exact same ingrediants and dosage as MiraLAX. I'm not familiar with Costco but if you are looking for their version of the product.....look for the scientific name of Polyethylene glycol 3350 osmotic laxative.
The reason I suggest this route along with my doctor and my surgeon is very simple. It works. Also it does not contain any drugs that are designed to stimulate the muscles of the colon or intestines. For people with IBS or Chrohn's, I would imagine that those types of stimulants would only make the situation worse.
I hope this helps and best of luck.