Problem with Chronic constipation

Posted by bb03 @bb03, Feb 1, 2021

I have a history of hypothyroidism, severe endometriosis/treatment was a hysterectomy 17 years ago.I also have a hx of IBS. My thyroid hormone levels are stable. I eat like a rabbit(I poop like one too, LOL!!!!!!). I eat a large amount of fiber and drink almost every hour(nonalcholic).ONly prescription drugs I take are armour thyroid and my estrogen/prosterone troche. I make a coconut bread and I add psyllium husks,flax seed and chia seed to it. I eat it practically every am. I also eat a spinach salad for lunch daily with nuts and yogurt and eat a lean meat and veggie and more coconut bread at night. I do one cheat meal with a cheat dessert once per week. I am relatively active for my age of 60. I've been to a gastroenterologist and we have tried Linzess which didn't help at all. I take miralax, and a Super Cleanse tab one per day which has herbs to soften the stool and to stimulate the bowel and It barely works. I am at a loss. I have not tried Montegrity yet. I don't know if it will be helpful and the side effects scare me. I had a CT of my abdomen and it was ok, no obstructions. The gastroenterologist that I go to practically accused me of abusing laxatives. I would be impacted if I didnt use the miralax and the Super Cleanse. Diet/water and activity do not help. I had diarrhea from my late teens to the age of 36 when my intestines out of the blue just shut down completely. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, I was put on Synthroid but the constipation didn't go away. So if there is any gastroenterologist out there that can help me, please let me know.I feel defeated and worry about my health.

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tadueo | @tadueo | Aug 22 7:40am

I never took it. Sorry.
tadueo

emily | @emilystewart30 | Aug 22 9:00pm

In reply to @hopeful33250 "Hello @emilystewart30 I am so glad to hear that you have a doctor's appointment next month...." + (show)

Hi, thank you for responding. I want to think I’m eating healthy, I haven’t really been eating junk food or fast food, and I drink water but probably get around 32-64 oz daily. I’ve been trying to go for walks and I go maybe half the days or not more in a week. I’ve been doing about the same, but I should see a doctor because I’m concerned about what’s been going on. I’ve felt off like something isn’t right, and part of it is stress but I think a big part of it is that I’ve had symptoms and haven’t done anything to deal with it

emily | @emilystewart30 | Aug 22 9:02pm

In reply to @emilystewart30 "I’ve been feeling constipated since around fall 2020. Around that time, I would get the urge..." + (show)

@emilystewart30

I’ve been feeling constipated since around fall 2020. Around that time, I would get the urge to go to the bathroom but I didn’t go and pushed it off, and that habit led to things getting worse. I’m going to the bathroom probably most days, but when I go I feel like I’m not getting everything out. There’s been several times when I’ve tried to go to the bathroom and might’ve gone a little, but then I feel like I need to go more and either nothing comes out, or it’s lose/liquid like. Other times I’ve felt like I needed to go and nothings coming out, but it feels like there’s something there to come out but it’s either too hard or it would hurt too much to push to get out.

Either in Summer or October of last year, there was blood in my stool. It was on/in my stool, but it wasn’t on the toilet paper when I wiped. It lasted for maybe a few days to a couple weeks, went away, and then came back for a few days later in the month. I think maybe in March of this year, I noticed blood in my stool again. Since then I haven’t really noticed it like before, but there were times maybe around May when it looked like there was red in my stool but I couldn’t tell if it was blood.

Around last summer I started having a feeling of pressure and fullness right below my chest. Sometimes it felt like chest pain. When I felt it, sometimes it would radiate to my back too and it was like it was at the same place on my front side as well as my back. Since then I’ve had kind of a pinching feeling maybe in my stomach or near my sternum, and it comes and goes. Every now and then I’ve felt like there’s times when I feel kind of like a pain or uncomfortable feeling either where my stomach would be or maybe near my sternum. It seems like I get the pain/uncomfortable feeling and it lasts for a few days, and then it seems like I don’t notice it as much.

For a few months now, at times I’ve had what feels like weird twitches on different parts of my body. One time I felt it near my back pant pocket, and sometimes I’ve felt it in my arm, and it almost feels like my arm has a heartbeat when it happens. I feel like I’m scared to let myself and my body relax because I’m worried if I'm relaxed that I’ll feel the symptoms more. I want to think I’m feeling somewhat better than last fall, but I don’t know if I am, or if I’m telling myself that and trying to tell myself I’m fine to avoid feeling bad. I’ve also felt scared to relax because I’m worried if something is really wrong, and like something bad would happen if I’m relaxed. Sometimes I’ve had a feeling of impending doom and a feeling like something bad is gonna happen. At times I’ve thought it’s maybe from stress from situations in life, but other times it almost feels like a fact of something bad happening. I’ve had this feeling off and on for close to a year now, and don't know if it’s serious.

Sometimes I’ve also felt like my nose is stuffed and have sinus pressure, but I don’t feel sick and I feel it often. Sometimes I feel kind of full in my stomach too, and I wonder if there’s pressure built up that’s putting pressure on my sinuses.

I’ve been stressed by what’s going on physically, and I’ve felt like I have a gut feeling like something isn’t right and I think I know something isn’t right. I feel like I’m stressed and tense a lot because I’ve been having these symptoms and haven’t dealt with it, and I’m worried something is actually wrong. I’ve felt like I’m not sleeping well at night, and when I dream I feel like it’s just me thinking and like I’m scared to let myself relax. I’m sleeping most of the night I want to think, but it seems like when I enter rem sleep and start dreaming, that’s when I feel like I’m dreaming but I’m aware and thinking at the same time. This started happening may/June last year, and at the time I didn’t think I was worried that much about how I was feeling physically. I could’ve been stressed by other things in life. It seems like there’s been a handful of times between now and May/June last year when I’ve felt like I’ve actually felt good in the morning and like my dreams weren’t just me thinking. Sometimes I think the problem is I’m constantly thinking, and like I’m trying to keep myself thinking because I don’t want to feel the symptoms and feel like something is wrong.

For maybe the past few months, during the morning while still in bed and sleeping off and on, it’s sounded like my bowels are making noises. This has seemed like a new symptom within the last maybe 3-6 months.

I don’t know if some of this could be stress related and maybe worrying is causing this to feel worse, but I feel off and like something isn’t right. I think some symptoms I’m stressed about, and stressing about it makes me feel them more or feel more like something is wrong. At the same time something isn’t right.

Does anyone have advice about this, or what could be going on? I have a doctors appointment next month.

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I just realized I think I posted this under someone else’s post. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that

Beejenigma | @beejenigma | Aug 23 8:47am

I took one motegrity and got seratonin syndrome which was like the worst hangover I have ever had. It took days for it to go away. I have since been diagnosed with fructose intolerance so I eat just enough of it to cause me to have a bowel reaction which means I have to be near a toilet. It's my only answer. All that fiber in all those ways that I did for years does not work anymore...

gigi4 | @gigi4 | Aug 23 10:51am

I have dealt with Hypothyroidism for years and also experienced digestive issues. Being hypo can be the cause. If you have any digestive issues such as acid reflux, have you been tested for SIBO - small intestinal bacteria overgrowth, or possibly a yeast infection, fungal infection or parasites?
I was tested for all of those due to symptoms related to my gi tract. I also experienced constipation along the way but in my journey to find answers, I started seeing a functional medicine doctor. She tested me for all the above and then last year, I experienced constipation and she prescribed Colon Rx from a company called "designs for health". It is taken at bedtime with a full glass of water. And that worked well. At one point I also got extremely dehydrated even though I thought I was drinking enough water. I was tested and found that my sodium levels were extremely low.
Also stress is very disruptive to our gut and if you have not found some tools to reduce your stress, I highly suggest you do so. I worked with someone who suggested meditation and learning some helpful breathing techniques when I am feeling stressed. Sometimes we do not even realized we are stressed, so it is also learning to be aware of our bodies that give us signals we are stressed - a clenched jaw, tensed shoulders, waking at night and not being able to get back to sleep?
Perhaps some of the above may be part of the cause for your constipation. You seem to do well with eating fiber and drinking water (if you sweat more, drink more), and exercising.
I truly wish you the best. It's not easy sometimes finding answers and it can become a journey. But do not give up, there is an answer to the cause of your constipation. We all deserve to feel our best and live as best we can to do what we love.

noelles | @noelles | Aug 23 12:22pm

have you ever tried Triphala (made from fruits and available online and at Health Food Stores), along with Magnesium Oxide 250 mg. at bedtime?

phxbarb | @phxbarb | Aug 23 2:00pm

In reply to @noelles "have you ever tried Triphala (made from fruits and available online and at Health Food Stores),..." + (show)

YES and if you want to purchase the combination together in a capsule, ColonRx is the one. It's online.

luhn | @luhn | Aug 23 10:10pm

I have hypothyroidism too, and had a total hysterectomy 14 years ago with tubes and ovaries removed too as ovaries are very very large cysts. My bowel worked great with water, fiber and exercise until about 2 yrs ago...started to have very strong urges to go and better be by a bathroom! Almost like a "dumping syndrome" with
BMs for a good 8 to 10 months. Now I have gone the other way...no urges to go unless I take something. About 2 weeks ago I quit all fiber supplements and stool softeners, etc, and did low fiber diet. That helped a lot for 2 weeks. But now back to no urges to go. I'm sorry we share this plight! I'm having colonoscopy in a couple of weeks to see what is going on. But right now not sure what is happening, like you.

patsz | @patsz | Aug 24 10:59am

I've tried Smooth Moves tea and it really helps me. They have capsules too.

phxbarb | @phxbarb | Aug 24 1:21pm

In reply to @luhn "I have hypothyroidism too, and had a total hysterectomy 14 years ago with tubes and ovaries..." + (show)

It's so hard to understand how and why things move or don't move. You have to analyze every little thing you might have done differently to recognize why the constipation comes and then goes. For several weeks, I thought the thyroid was the factor; now I don't think so. I have tried everything to soften the stool, yet it remains in hard lumps. What the heck? I was under stress because I lost my old doggie, but during that time, I was actually regular ! Now I am not. I cannot let this take over my life. I have other more enjoyable things to do !

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