So constipated...is there any hope?
#192815 - 07/07/05 12:09 PM
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Cyndy
Reged: 03/05/05
Posts: 1301
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I cannot tolerate any SFS. Is there any possibility I will ever have some relief from this horrid pain and constipation, gas, and bloat without being able to take an SFS?
What can I do besides take magnesium (which I already do), zelnorm, and try to eat IF as much as I can without it hurting too much ?
I am at the end of my rope and so frightened that since I cannot take any SFS I will never find relief from this...never have any improved quality of life...I can't live like this any longer. It hurts too much. 
I cry from pain and pray to God to let me die. That's the only place I think I will be free of this horrible state.
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Why can't you take any SFSs? Have you tried Slippery Elm instead? HAve you tried Miralax?
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I've tried about 5 different SFS and they all cause me worse pain and back me up even more the higher up in dosage I take, even with drinking lots. 
I do take 1 tsp of Slippery Elm in hot water a day but it doesn't do anything. I have been taking it for 4 months now. I think it may be more helpful for D 
Miralax didn't help either...made me bloated, crampy, and horrible feeling. It didn't do much for me.
Is it possible to help the C and pain without taking a SFS?
Thanks for your response, Linz. I'm so tired of hurting, and see no end to the pain. And yes, I'm on an AD, but an AD is no challenge for these symptoms!
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How long did you try the miralax? Did you take it on an epmty tummy, first thing in the am and be sure to drink lots of water through out the day?
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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Hi there. I suggest drinking lots of water and doing at least some light exercise, if you're not already doing both. I used to suffer from really bad constipation too. It wasn't until I drank water regularly, a lot of it, that I improved. I got rid of the C now by being more active, and drinking water only. It's the only liquid I drink. I am a die-hard coffee lover, but gave that up, too. So hydrate..  If I did it, so can you.
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I also do not tolerate SFS. So this is what I do- Milk of Magnesia, tons of water, hot tea, lots of SF and very little IF, and then only if it is cooked very well and pureed. Every doctor and surgeon I went to said more fiber -well that just caused me more bloating and pain so I just stopped it. I know that this course of very little to no IF is controversial. I take Zelnorm, use acacia powder, but I think it is the Milk of Magnesia that does the trick for me, a perscritpion for potassium and no raw or lightly cooked IF. My intestines just can't hack it. I have been relatively pain free for 4 months. ( I also follow Heather's diet in relation to dairy and fat).
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Milk of Magnesium, I thought was not safe to use daily, or even every other day!
Also, if you are taking Acacia, then that is a SFS, so do you tolerate that one? How much of it are you taking?
Does the potassium help you "go"? Or is it for something besides the BMs?
Yes, I know IF is "pushed" for us C folks, but I wonder if it isn't causing more pain for me. Little IF for C goes against what I though was recommended.
How long have you been taking the zelnorm and the MOM? Have you built up a tolerance to them? How much MOM do you take? Have you needed to increase the dose over time in order to keep it working?
Sorry so many questions. But, I'm so desperate.
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Is that enough exercise? I try to have a cup of tea with me at all times, but probably drink about 70 oz a day. I thought that tea was just as effective as water for the C. And yes, I have given up coffee for over 3 or 4 years now. Bout killed me! I loved coffee.
You didn't say if you take an SFS. Thanks for your reply.
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Miralax
#193150 - 07/08/05 06:52 AM
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Cyndy
Reged: 03/05/05
Posts: 1301
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Yep, took it on an empty tummy first thing in morning. Tried it for about 2 or 3 weeks. It was awful! And didn't do to much for the C either.
How much do you take, Michele? Did you get bloated and gassy and cramps from it?
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Heather just addressed this in the last couple of newsletters. You might want to read them and try sfs again. If you stopped your laxitives at the same time you started the sfs, you would definitely get more constipated. You have to gradually lower the laxative dose as you up the sfs dose. Plus, you mentioned that the higher you went up, the worse it got. You have to go up very very gradually and gently, because your body is not used to that much fiber. If I were you, I'd read over the past 2 newsletters and give sfs another try. Good luck.
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Amanda
I live in the Big Apple, but I don't eat the skin
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Hi Cyndy. I try to drink at least half my body weight in oz. It's helped me tremendously, and I walk about 40-45 minutes during the work week, but on weekends when I have all the time, I usually go for 1.5 hr-2 hr walks. I love walking, it's become my daily habit. Do you do other forms of exercise? I don't take any SFS. Just watch my diet, exercise, and drink water. I really hope you feel better. I know how awful it can be.
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Try doing some more vigorous exercise as well as the walking. And half your body weight (in pounds) is a guide to the MINIMUM recommended amount of water...Heather suggests C's in particular try to drink more.
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My GI and my regular doc both maintain that MOM is fine for daily use. All it is, is magnesium, which your body doesn't absorb well, which is why it comes out through your stool and makes a great stool softener. So, like fiber, it just passes through your system unused.
I haven't built up a tolerance to MOM. I switched to taking miralax, since it tastes better, but I use MOM if I'm out or on a trip or something. In fact, I had gotten pretty C (from my own carelessness) but I took some MOM last night and had a great big BM this morning. It's not a stimulant, it just softens the stools to let you go.
BTW, I've been taking MOM off and on for 1 1/2 years and haven't built up any tolerance to it.
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Elizabeth
all those years it wasn't IBS - it was celiac!
send me an email: liz@dopple.net
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Milk of Magnesium, I thought was not safe to use daily, or even every other day!
answer: Well my surgeon, GI and famly doctor know about it and all say if that is what works do it. None of them have cautioned me about the use on a daily basis. Actually my surgeon is the one who recommended it and he has been much more on target for any of my problems than the other two. He is the one who suggested the sitz marker test which showed the colonic inertia. Some say that fits under IBS, some so no.
Also, if you are taking Acacia, then that is a SFS, so do you tolerate that one? How much of it are you taking?
answer: that is the only SFS I take, just started in Mid may and I am only up to 1 1/2 teaspoons.
Does the potassium help you "go"? Or is it for something besides the BMs?
answer: as for the postassium, again it was the surgeon who noticed my potassium levels were low everytime I came to the emergency room so he said your "gut" needs potassium to work and gave me a perscritption. I ran out of pills and didn't call him to get it renewed and noticed a difference (I was back to C even though I was on the Zelnorm and MOM).
Yes, I know IF is "pushed" for us C folks, but I wonder if it isn't causing more pain for me. Little IF for C goes against what I though was recommended.
answer: it was definitely causing more pain and C for me. The more citrucel/benefiber/shredded wheat I ate etc the more C I had, so that is why I cut it out and only eat it smashed/pureed etc. and only after SF.
How long have you been taking the zelnorm and the MOM? Have you built up a tolerance to them? How much MOM do you take? Have you needed to increase the dose over time in order to keep it working?
answer I have been on the Zelnorm since December (same dosage) and started the three tablespoons of MOM in February. I have not had to change those dosages at all. I tried cutting back on the MOM but I didn't go as much, bloating and gas were worse so I went back to three tbl./night (yuck!)
Sorry so many questions. But, I'm so desperate.
response: Hey, I understand your questions and you are smart to question everything. I have come to the conclusion that what works is very perosonal. It was after my 4th hospital stay after three surgeries ( all related to C) that I started basically taking things into my own hands and doing what I thought was best and worked for me. Don't get me wrong, my dr's are all aware of what I am doing, the GI even said "if it is working do it!"
So IMHO one just keeps working at finding what works. I have been pretty much pain free, the bloating and gas are not anywhere near as bad as they once were, sure I get flare-ups but can usually (not always) attribute them to something (food, stress, change in schedule)rather than the feeling I have no clue what causes it.
I think I forgot to add that I go to Curves (woman's gym)4-5 times a week for 30 munites of resistance exercise and stretching. I've been doing that since mid April)
Hope this clarifies things for you.
Jamie
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How's the Acacia going for you? Is it easier than all the others you have tried?
Interesting about the potassium. My blood work always comes up normal, so suppose this wouldn't help me.
I currently take zelnorm twice a day...but I don't know that it does much. I've also tried mineral oil, which works but scares me to take it very often. I wonder if MOM would be safer. I take it you are planning to stay on all these?
You are lucky the zelnorm is still working for you. Many find that it wears off after 6 weeks...and I think that's all it actually promises too!
Thanks again for your help!
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Any suggestions? 
Yeah, if I drank half my body weight in water/tea, I'd only be getting 50-55 oz. I already drink more than that I think.
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Cyndy...
#193417 - 07/08/05 04:17 PM
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_Willow
Reged: 04/06/05
Posts: 2090
Loc: Canada.
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I forget if this was discussed with you, but have you had a sitz marker test for STC? I wonder if nothing is working, if maybe you just don't move very fast. Are you eating enough, too? I've heard the less you eat, the less you poop.
just curious. I know you're just miserable, and that's heartbreaking.
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Keep on keepin' on...
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No, I haven't had one done. Isn't it just the same thing as Constipation? Would the treatment be to increase your fiber (either IF or SF or both)?
Would STC mean that a SFS would be bad?
I don't know if I eat enough, but probably not. It seems like I'm eating all the time, but I get full so quickly. I probably eat about 1200-1300 cals a day.
How is STC and IBS different? How are the treatments different? My doctor has never mentioned this STC or a sitz marker test.
Is there anyone who is stable and NOT taking an SFS? Is this possible?
Thanks for any help.
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I totally know what your going through.
My IBS it's horrible.
So sorry you are so sick.
I pray so much .
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I upped my dose of antidepressants in October and my IBS has pretty much disappeared! I don't even need to take soluble fiber supplements unless I know I am about to eat a meal.
It might be worth a try.
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Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Re: P.S.
#240477 - 01/21/06 04:29 PM
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amo616
Reged: 08/16/04
Posts: 236
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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Whoops I see you say you are on ADs. What about a higher dose? I can't believe the difference in me with a higher dose.
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Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Doing yoga for an hour to 90min can help.
"Meat's No treat For Those You eat."
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