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Does anyone have chronic constipation?

Posted by anna17X0X @anna17xox, Apr 11 5:30pm

I don't know what's going on with my digestion ,I have been chronically constipated since December so it's been 4 months. I am always gassy and the smell has been very foul so I've been scared and embarrassed to be around people lately because of how bad it smells, when I've tried to poop only gas comes out most of the time, sometimes my stomach feels stiff and I start to feel lethargic. And I've tried almost everything digestive drinks like meta Mucil, eating more fiber i live an active lifestyle and I drink plenty of fluids and water. I recently had an appointment with my pediatrician about this she made me do colon cleansing for a day . And take Miralax for a minimum of 3 weeks. My stools were watery during the cleansing but after a couple days it feels like my stool is going back to being hard and stubborn. I still don't poop completely sometimes and I'm still gassy but it's not smelly like it was before. She said I can stop taking Miralax when i feel like my stools are going back to normal after a few days or weeks and it's been a week or two and a few days. I know I still need to wait one more week but my follow-up appointment is next Wednesday. The Miralax seems like a temporary fix, I feel like it'' never go away the worst part is I cant figure out what the cause is. I don't think it's IBS because I heard IBS involves bloody stools and stomach cramps I don't have bloody stools and I don't think I get stomach cramps . It just feels like have some other serious digestive problem or something I don't really know. I don't want to be constipated for the rest of my life I feel miserable, my pediatrician said if the Miralax doesn't work as intended I may have to see a gastroenterologists.

Has anyone or is anyone dealing with chronic constipation ?,does it or did it ever go away ? and has anyone been experiencing the same symptoms as me ?.Do you have any recommendations on how they treat their constipation ?

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h8bigbiz | @h8bigbiz | Apr 21 3:14pm
In reply to @jp9 "Did this happen to be a herbalist or microdosing advertising? If so, I'm very sorry as..." + (show)
@jp9

Did this happen to be a herbalist or microdosing advertising?
If so, I'm very sorry as these are scams advertising with promises of curing everything. Then very expensive "cures" with micrososing and once into it, you end up spending a lot of $$$$ for nothing helpful.

I belong to a very large FB online group that is free. I was surprised the large number of people with chronic constipation especially.

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No it was a nurse practitioner who works for a gastroenterologist; I heard from both her and somewhere else (don't remember where, sorry) that the medication works for 95 percent of patients. So of course, I fell into that 5 percent.

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h8bigbiz | @h8bigbiz | Apr 21 3:21pm
In reply to @celia16 "Which 2 tests did you have? And, how did they figure out it was pekvic floor..." + (show)
@celia16

Which 2 tests did you have? And, how did they figure out it was pekvic floor dysfunction?

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I'd like to know that also.

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celia16 | @celia16 | Apr 21 5:22pm

I have tried several things for constipation. I have never taken Milk of Magnesia that it didn’t work well by the next morning. The only reason I avoid it is because my doctors aren’t big fans of it. They say Metamucil and Miralax are best. They work for me too, but make me mushy, which Milk of Magnesia does not. One Ducalax would work too.

I have tried squash, prunes, pears, etc. , but with serious constipation, they aren’t enough to get me going.

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jp9 | @jp9 | Apr 21 10:30pm
In reply to @susanjane77 "Happy to hear you had some success with Miralax. It makes me so bloated. Linzess make..." + (show)
@susanjane77

Happy to hear you had some success with Miralax. It makes me so bloated. Linzess make it worse. I tried Milk of Magnesia and got do nauseous. So, any suggestions what to try next?

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I can no longer take Miralax, Milk of Magnesia. Linzess and Amitraz (sp) as they do not help.
I can only give you my experience.
Recently I tried senna for the first time and after two days x 2 per day it worked. Not enough to clean me out and I have asked my gastro dept for a prep. For a colonoscopy, I have do not think I will ever clear out for it this July. Due to precancerous polyps , I was supposed to have a colonoscopy after 3 yrs. It's not been 4 and I can't put it off any longer

So I can only suggest Senna at this point. The chronic constipation group I follow, have many suggestions what has worked for them.

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researchmaven | @researchmaven | Apr 22 7:05am
In reply to @anna17xox "I asked because I regularly eat a lot of peanut butter and usually have it with..." + (show)
@anna17xox

I asked because I regularly eat a lot of peanut butter and usually have it with fruits like apples,banana's oatmeal,wheat bread etc.But even before I started having chronic constipation i still ate peanut butter like I normally do and never had any digestive issues.So maybe it's not a direct cause ,i'm currently foregoing peanut butter like you suggeste so i'll see how it goes.

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Good luck! I mention this from time to time and may have already said it here: If it is not the peanut butter (and remember, if it is the peanut butter, it may be just too much of a good thing and you can still eat it in smaller quantities) try eating a kiwi after dinner and before bed. I can't believe it works (better than any OTC I have tried). There is something in it that makes the gut's elimination muscles perk up and work. There was a study done - stubborn constipation --most of the patients experienced some level of relief. I can't believe how well it works for me. I didn't use the psyillium fiber (I cannot tolerate it).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9572406/
I use just one kiwi and a green one.

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1 reply
anna17X0X | @anna17xox | Apr 22 3:20pm
In reply to @skim3737 "I'm not surprised by this. SIBO is not something that a pediatrician would likely know anything..." + (show)
@skim3737

I'm not surprised by this. SIBO is not something that a pediatrician would likely know anything about. When I was first diagnosed with it in 2018 it was at Mayo Clinic. I had been seeing a GI doctor for years and they never mentioned it. 6 years later much more is known and more doctors know about it but I doubt you'll be able to rule it out without seeing a GI. I also take Colace three times a day for many years and it helps some. But if you don't improve, I would press for a referral to GI. I brought up SIBO because you said that your symptoms came on suddenly and were something new for you. That's what happened to me in 2014, seemingly out of nowhere. I hope you can get some answers.

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How long did it take for the Colace to relieve your constipation ?,because I started taking it yesterday and had one this morning and I have not experienced relief yet? Also I was advised to take it in the morning and evening, But i don't know if I should be taking it the exact time everyday the doctors prescriptions did not Specify. For example I took it at 9 am on Sunday in the morning and another in the evening at 6 pm .But this morning I took one at around 6 am because I left to go to school around 7 am. I have a fixed time for when to take it in the evening (6pm) but for the morning I just take it when I can. From your experience do you take it the exact time every or does it not matter ?

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1 reply
anna17X0X | @anna17xox | Apr 22 3:23pm
In reply to @researchmaven "Good luck! I mention this from time to time and may have already said it here:..." + (show)
@researchmaven

Good luck! I mention this from time to time and may have already said it here: If it is not the peanut butter (and remember, if it is the peanut butter, it may be just too much of a good thing and you can still eat it in smaller quantities) try eating a kiwi after dinner and before bed. I can't believe it works (better than any OTC I have tried). There is something in it that makes the gut's elimination muscles perk up and work. There was a study done - stubborn constipation --most of the patients experienced some level of relief. I can't believe how well it works for me. I didn't use the psyillium fiber (I cannot tolerate it).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9572406/
I use just one kiwi and a green one.

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I'm sorry im a bit confused isn't after dinner and before bed the same thing, or do you just eat dinner really early and eat the kiwi right before you go to sleep at night ?.

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1 reply
skim3737 | @skim3737 | Apr 22 4:47pm
In reply to @anna17xox "How long did it take for the Colace to relieve your constipation ?,because I started taking..." + (show)
@anna17xox

How long did it take for the Colace to relieve your constipation ?,because I started taking it yesterday and had one this morning and I have not experienced relief yet? Also I was advised to take it in the morning and evening, But i don't know if I should be taking it the exact time everyday the doctors prescriptions did not Specify. For example I took it at 9 am on Sunday in the morning and another in the evening at 6 pm .But this morning I took one at around 6 am because I left to go to school around 7 am. I have a fixed time for when to take it in the evening (6pm) but for the morning I just take it when I can. From your experience do you take it the exact time every or does it not matter ?

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I have many underlying gut problems in addition to SIBO, as I had 6 weeks of pelvic and abdominal radiation treatment 25 years ago and I also have a ton of scar tissue in my guts from several surgeries to reverse bowel obstructions but I don't think it matters if you take it the exact same time every day. It's not a laxative, just a softener so it's more mild. I take my 3 doses 3-4 hours apart from each other and I also take prescription Motegrity and an herbal prokinetic motility supplement called Iberogast. I think you could experiment with different times of the day to see what works best for you. For me, I notice that my constipation gets worse the later in the day, after I've started eating so I'll take more towards the end of the day since I generally wake up with a flat stomach and easier bowel movements after fasting overnight.

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skim3737 | @skim3737 | Apr 22 4:52pm
In reply to @susanjane77 "Regarding peanut butter…I saw a nutritionist because I have IBS. Tried the FODMAP diet ( very..." + (show)
@susanjane77

Regarding peanut butter…I saw a nutritionist because I have IBS. Tried the FODMAP diet ( very hard) and learned the trigger foods which I avoid now. She told me that peanut butter was a good protein. I put it on rice cakes. But, there are days when I do feel constituted and wonder if the peanut butter is the cause. Someone mentioned that they weren’t diagnosed with IBS because they did not have bloody stools. Get another opinion because I never had bloody stools. My gastro has given me several Rx to try and all have given me terrible cramps, bloating and major diarrhea (can’t leave the house). I have been constipated for 3 days now and I do not want to take a laxative. Anyone else with this problem and found a solution? Thanks in advance.

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It might be that peanut butter increases your constipation because it's high in protein and protein is more difficult for your body to break down and process.

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2 replies
anna17X0X | @anna17xox | Apr 22 5:26pm
In reply to @skim3737 "It might be that peanut butter increases your constipation because it's high in protein and protein..." + (show)
@skim3737

It might be that peanut butter increases your constipation because it's high in protein and protein is more difficult for your body to break down and process.

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Oh, I now that I think about it, It makes sense thanks, I'm considering avoiding it for a while to see if there's any changes.

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