Chronic Constipation Challenge
#319915 - 12/02/07 06:45 PM
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ertily
Reged: 12/02/07
Posts: 1
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I feel tempted to offer a large cash award to anyone who could offer a suggestion that remedies my ever worsening constipation. This is truly alarming me.
I am 45 but have had steadily worsening constipation since 2000. There has been no accident, incident or thing I can think of to bring it on. It used to be, in the 90s, that I could get a definite BM urge while having my morning coffee. Since then it has got worse and worse. I will probably overlook something here, but I have tried everything. I had a colonoscopy a couple years back and nothing abnormal was noticed. I complain to my doctor about it to no avail. I drink ample water, eat whole grains, veggies and fruits, have tried every probiotic and supplement imaginable. Some may work briefly but then my body seems to get used to it and it stops being effective. In 2003 Miralax worked fantastic. Now when I try it, I have to take megadoses only to get weak diarhea. I know this is not dinner conversation, but not sure how else to say it.
Anyway, I have had hydrotherapy in 2005 and the therapist said I was the toughest patient she had to achieve results.
In late September I started visiting a alternative treatment doctor who is licensed in acupuncture, Chiropractic and herbal medicine. He did a series of acupuncture treatments and recommended a series of supplements (Triphela, Psyllium, eat lots of fruits, etc). This is in addition to taking 1000mg of magnesium and lots of vitamin c daily. For a few weeks I was going pretty good and thinking maybe I found a solution. However then things returned to constipation and those things do not work. I have recently purchased most of the supplements of the HOPE formula advertised on TV, but so far no results.
I do not exercise regularly but do walk the dog and am not an invalid. I do not smoke or use alcohol but I do use chewing tobacco. I thought maybe that was dehydrating me but I drink plenty of water to compensate. I have gradually cut back my coffee consumption to about half of what it was in the 90s.
In sum, I am 45, not 95. I cannot understand what is wrong and how to correct this short of easting nails and putting a garden hose down my throat. I have done everything!
I am serious - anybody who can offer a solution that works longterm can get a spot in my will.
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I think I would like to offer the same challenge for someone to cure my constipation. I have been constipated since the fall of 2005 when I first started college. I think there may have been 2 weeks total out of this entire time where I felt like I "relieved" myself. Miralax used to work really well for me and I started to ween myself off of it and didn't need it for about a month. I wasn't going very much but was so sick of that stupid powder. I took zelnorm for about a month before it was taken off the market. That was the miracle drug for me. Too bad it was found to cause heart problems. I was back on the miralax for this whole year and a month ago it stopped working. I tried stool softener as well and that didn't make any difference whatsoever. I tried Milk of Magnesia once and the result was disasterous. I had the worst IBS attack of my life that night. Not sure if it was totally from the MOM but I won't ever try it again. My massage therapist suggested this herbal tea (you might try this) called Smooth Move. It has sena leaf in it and is a stimulat laxative. It tastes like licorice becuase of the fennel. Didn't have a good experience with that either...lots of cramps. But hey, it may work for you. Now I am trying Heather's Tummy Fiber. Tomorrow I increase my dose so we'll see how it goes. No BM's so far. Sorry if this is all to much information but hey, you gotta be able to talk to someone about it, and I think this is as good a place as any  Let me know what you think about the things I've tried, and maybe give them a whirl yourself.
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Leah-----
IBS-C predominant, gas, cramps, bloating, uncomfortable... oh and some colitis to top it all off
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Two things: colon hydrotherapy and senna-based laxatives will aggravate your IBS and are NOT recommended as treatments. With IBS your colon is sensitive and spasming, which can cause D or slow things down and cause C -- using senna and hydrotherapy can stimulate and irritate your bowels.
I would like to know if you both have read through Heather's The First Year: IBS? You mentioned eating whole grains and lots of fruits and vegetables --- this is good, but too much insoluble fiber foods can be considered "unsafe" if it is eaten on an empty stomach or without a good soluble fiber base.
Anyway, Heather's book guides you day-by-day in learning how to manage your IBS. You will learn about common IBS triggers, how to combine insoluble and soluble fiber, and you will learn a lot more about IBS in general. If you don't want to buy your book, you might be able to find it at your local library and large selections of it are posted on this site, under IBS Diet & Recipes (link to the left).
Basically, Heather recommends eating in a way that soothes your gut rather than aggravate/stimulate it. She also discusses various medications (OTC and prescription), herbal treatments, and lifestyle changes that can help. You might want to check out the Yoga moves for constipation, and consider trying hypnosis for IBS.
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Hi. I saw all of your posts, and I think all of you should look at my post about food combing. I posted it a few minutes ago. I also had C, and immediately after I started the food combining, my bloating went away, and I am no longer C, only occasionally, but I think that I may have made some mistakes. But, if you are like me, I think that this could help you a lot. Let me know if you try it, and if it helps.
Edited by FLK (12/03/07 11:35 AM)
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you mentionned that food combining helped w/ your constipation- what kind of combining of foods are you referring to?? I would be really interested
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I posted this thread http://www.helpforibs.com/messageboards/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=diet&Number=319949&page=1&view=expanded&sb=5&o=&fpart= a few days ago. I hope that works, but basically it is not eating fruits with anything, and not combining proteins and starches at the same meal. There also has to be at least 3 hours in between meals, so your stomach can empty. Also, if you eat desserts/sweets, those have to be eaten on an empty stomach because if you eat them after other food, they will sit on top of the other food, and basically rot. YOu can research this online, or the hay diet or fit for life also explain some of this. Another one is the undiet or suzanne sommers somersize. You can print out charts about what you can eat together. I hope this helps!
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The benefits of food combining as recommended by the Hays diet are unsubstantiated with research. The digestive system is made to handle a variety of nutrients at the same time. There is no proof that food is digested better when carbohydrate and protein are presented separately. Your stomach juices are very acidic with a ph between 2 and 3. Very little that you eat will change the acidity of your stomach.
More importantly, it is nearly impossible to separate carbohydrates and proteins. For example, bread, is listed as 'carbohydrate' in the Hay's diet yet it has a significant protein content. And beans are listed as 'protein', yet they contain up to three times as much carbohydrate. The Hay's diet is a nonsense diet!
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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
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