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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as per the above, this is a number of things that I did, to help my chronic constipation, and perhaps SIBO, or diverticulitis/osis, and/or "chrones" disease, pain and such, after long term PPI usage after a nissen fundo, after what looked like vagus nerve stuff, after a hole in my tummy wall that my small bowel poked out, but didn't show up on CT scan, cause I'm laying flat on the table, and what, like five surgeons, five GI docs, 15 ED/ER docs, all deny, six CT scans, one small bowel follow through, one gastric empty study, three endoscopies, one colonscopie, two different ultrasounds, and they all say "CT scan doesn't show it, it doesn't exist, till I find one surgeon "I want to see the images, maybe they don't know what they are looking for," so I get them to her, and then I go thorugh them, and what do I see, what looks like a hole, a breach a break in my tummy, same spot, and she says "an eventraion of a laproscopoic trocar portsite incision.., you blew a stich" and that's what I told all them the origional nissen fundo surgeon, ER/ED docs, it's even in the notes, and if I can see it, WTF can't they? that I don't know, other than the medical scholarly peer reviewed journals, talk about how small ventral hernias are missed all the time, patient laying on his back, hard table, reduces, sucks in, and radiologists, in a little dark room a state away, reading, not knowing what the patient is in for, signs and symptoms and a radiologist even told me this, and "roll the patient over onto his tummy" or "stand him up and rescan" anyway after all this, probiotics and not just that but freeze dried breast milk, human, I would have gotten fresh but couldnt' find any, kinda understandable, but https://naturallyinspirational.biz/ Sara Whitman naturally inspirational, clean, disease free, no cannabis, no nicotine, nuttin...and by god, that alone did more than anything, first gooey, yellow green almost, and now I get regular BMs every day, it's a miracle drug. Add papaya enzyme at first, cause the food needs something to digest it, break it down, there's like 400 different probiotics in breast milk, read up on the UK studies. Goat breast milk, second best, maybe camel, cows last, but RAW, not pasteurized, fresh, also hard to get, maybe a health coop or farmers market is where i found raw goats milk and gotta get there early before it's sold out. Okay, papaya enzymes, helped I think. Electrolytes, also. vitamins, thiamine b complex A C and especially D3 vital for them neurons to get them tummy muscles the signals moving along little doggies. Look up vitamin D and Bs for neural activity and GI, and best of luck, a year later, I basically don't do any of this, except the vitamins and occasional probiotics, no more linzess, no more duralax, no more soft gel caps, well maybe once a month, no more enemas, my life changed a helluva lot better, almost normal...and maybe someday, that surgeon that figured it out will go in and try to fix it, also probablly adhesions, but in the meantime, if I start to get "stuck" I suck my tummy in, right there, or push on it, maybe kinda arch my back, upper left, think of "bow pose" in yoga, or cobra, good for adhesions cause it lengthens the tummy where the adhesions are pulling and pinching the bowels, and it hasn't poked out in a long time, my small bowel, and the surgeon she says possibly that the hole is healing itself slowly, and we may never go back in, just let it be, and I can deal with my new life, just as it is...

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I'm sorry. What do you use for your diabetes? My daughter is taking a medicine that causes "stomach paralysis" or slow digestion. It's a side effect and a condition all in its own. I hope you get some relief soon. Ozembric or something like that. I'm finding that pancreatic problems are not fun. Take care.

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@celia16

I do eat 1/4 avocado a day plus some fat in my chicken, and olive oil. I guess I need more.

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It is certainly something to try 🙂

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@msmelnik

Fat can sometimes be the issue. Especially if your stools are greasy. This means you're not able to digest the fat. I'd start by asking your doctor about your pancreas. If you do add fat and it is your pancreas you will notice it. You will have more gas and stools that are hard to clean up as they get all over you and are very shiny and hard to clean off. I needed multiple wipes each time. That's the grease or fat you can't digest. I didn't know what was happening for 5 months until a CT scan. Now I do I have to eat different. I'm on a enzyme that helps me digest fat and stopped the smelly gas but my digestion is still slow. I found that instead of adding a bunch of fiber I needed to do less fiber because it's hard to digest. It's a game of trying and seeing what works for you. I'd really recommend a CT scan. It's the only way to see the pancreas. I also had problems with my gallbladder. After finding out they did two procedures in two weeks. Lots of biopsies and a gallbladder procedure to clean the sludge and stones. Good luck. It's never normal not to have regular digestive health.

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Yes, that definitely could be it, but I do not think it is in my case as I don't have any of the pancreas symptoms. For me, it seems to simply be an intolerance. Certain fats seemingly trigger IBS bathroom runs and others, in modest quantities, do not.

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@dragonfly123

as per the above, this is a number of things that I did, to help my chronic constipation, and perhaps SIBO, or diverticulitis/osis, and/or "chrones" disease, pain and such, after long term PPI usage after a nissen fundo, after what looked like vagus nerve stuff, after a hole in my tummy wall that my small bowel poked out, but didn't show up on CT scan, cause I'm laying flat on the table, and what, like five surgeons, five GI docs, 15 ED/ER docs, all deny, six CT scans, one small bowel follow through, one gastric empty study, three endoscopies, one colonscopie, two different ultrasounds, and they all say "CT scan doesn't show it, it doesn't exist, till I find one surgeon "I want to see the images, maybe they don't know what they are looking for," so I get them to her, and then I go thorugh them, and what do I see, what looks like a hole, a breach a break in my tummy, same spot, and she says "an eventraion of a laproscopoic trocar portsite incision.., you blew a stich" and that's what I told all them the origional nissen fundo surgeon, ER/ED docs, it's even in the notes, and if I can see it, WTF can't they? that I don't know, other than the medical scholarly peer reviewed journals, talk about how small ventral hernias are missed all the time, patient laying on his back, hard table, reduces, sucks in, and radiologists, in a little dark room a state away, reading, not knowing what the patient is in for, signs and symptoms and a radiologist even told me this, and "roll the patient over onto his tummy" or "stand him up and rescan" anyway after all this, probiotics and not just that but freeze dried breast milk, human, I would have gotten fresh but couldnt' find any, kinda understandable, but https://naturallyinspirational.biz/ Sara Whitman naturally inspirational, clean, disease free, no cannabis, no nicotine, nuttin...and by god, that alone did more than anything, first gooey, yellow green almost, and now I get regular BMs every day, it's a miracle drug. Add papaya enzyme at first, cause the food needs something to digest it, break it down, there's like 400 different probiotics in breast milk, read up on the UK studies. Goat breast milk, second best, maybe camel, cows last, but RAW, not pasteurized, fresh, also hard to get, maybe a health coop or farmers market is where i found raw goats milk and gotta get there early before it's sold out. Okay, papaya enzymes, helped I think. Electrolytes, also. vitamins, thiamine b complex A C and especially D3 vital for them neurons to get them tummy muscles the signals moving along little doggies. Look up vitamin D and Bs for neural activity and GI, and best of luck, a year later, I basically don't do any of this, except the vitamins and occasional probiotics, no more linzess, no more duralax, no more soft gel caps, well maybe once a month, no more enemas, my life changed a helluva lot better, almost normal...and maybe someday, that surgeon that figured it out will go in and try to fix it, also probablly adhesions, but in the meantime, if I start to get "stuck" I suck my tummy in, right there, or push on it, maybe kinda arch my back, upper left, think of "bow pose" in yoga, or cobra, good for adhesions cause it lengthens the tummy where the adhesions are pulling and pinching the bowels, and it hasn't poked out in a long time, my small bowel, and the surgeon she says possibly that the hole is healing itself slowly, and we may never go back in, just let it be, and I can deal with my new life, just as it is...

Jump to this post

I had the nisson fundoplication too. I'm waiting to hear back from my doctor as they found there's mesh protruding into my chest cavity. It's always something. I had to quit cannabis too. I was taking a edible but it's better without. I can't have cravings for sweets anymore. I enjoy my fat free orange sherbert, lol. Just eating easily digestible fruit is good. Take care. I'm looking forward to normal.

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I had chronic constipation for 3 years. I read about bad gut biome in longcovid people. I ordered a GI Map test (stool sample at home and send back)
My results showed sepsis! Candida and various other bacteria in my gut. Had to take Doxycycline to heal the sepsis and probiotics (similase, berberine and Akkermansia) That regulated my gut and alleviated my constipation!

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@smilebarb

I had chronic constipation for 3 years. I read about bad gut biome in longcovid people. I ordered a GI Map test (stool sample at home and send back)
My results showed sepsis! Candida and various other bacteria in my gut. Had to take Doxycycline to heal the sepsis and probiotics (similase, berberine and Akkermansia) That regulated my gut and alleviated my constipation!

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Yikes, with sepsis a bit of constipation would be the least of your problems. Just glad you caught it and treated it. All the best.

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@msmelnik

I'm on Creon. Yes, I do have a prescription.

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Thanks much for the info. I see non-prescription lipase can be purchased but I bet it's not as good as the prescription-only.

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@msmelnik

I'm sorry. What do you use for your diabetes? My daughter is taking a medicine that causes "stomach paralysis" or slow digestion. It's a side effect and a condition all in its own. I hope you get some relief soon. Ozembric or something like that. I'm finding that pancreatic problems are not fun. Take care.

Jump to this post

I wasn’t sure who you were addressing the question to about diabetes, but I’m type I, so insulin is required to survive. I use an insulin pump (Medtronic 780g, which I highly recommend. ) Some people with Type II also use pumps, but most take medications like pills of injectables like Ozempic. The injectables, like Ozempic are not approved for Type I diabetes, but I’ve read some take it off label. It has certain risks though. My endocrinologist prescribed me Wegovy, before I started my weight loss journey, but I never got it filled, because my insurance didn’t cover it. Just as well, since I couldn’t handle any additional slow down of my digestion. And, I’ve lost 80 pounds on my own anyway.

One of my friends, who has type II, takes Ozempic. She’s doing great with her diabetes management, but has to take gummy fiber supplements daily. That seems to work for her.

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Hi Anna,
Best of luck, with some observations and trials you can likely work out a deal with your body! My Naturopath helped me with ideas but it his words, "I know you can figure out something that works for you," that really set me in motion to do just that.
Disclaimer: This is only my experience. I choose going natural. I have used organic, integrative, functional, holistic Naturopathic doctor's advice along with my MD’s since the early 1980's.
Good luck. I have tried laxatives and they are not consistent and have side effects like bloating, etc. And all say for occasional use. They disrupt the system if take continuously. I liked a response from a co-redundant colon person: “It’s physical” so regular constipation suggestions may not work.
Last Dec the doc had me do non sedated colonoscopy. He could get through the colon as I watched on TV. I had had a baby years ago (natural and could stand the pain) so figured I could stand it – it was no big deal. Most people in world don't get put out. Very interesting and it helped allow the scope to get through because I relaxed.
Look up Osmotic gradients and Migrating motor complex and consider your electrolyte balance. OptiMag and K2+ Potassium are great supps and be sure to include prunes, squash, sweet potatoes, rhubarb etc in your diet. I like to soak ground 2T chia and 2 T flax seeds in prune juice overnight, then take half in the morning and half at night. Throw sugar out, processed and refined foods and drink lot of water starting with a quart of hot water in the morning - boys scouts. Coffee and Smooth Move are my back ups to get things moving under stress. I don't like coffee but it usually works. Thankfully I only need coffee a few times a month. It took me 60 days to figure out my solution and wow is it great. The best thing is I don't have the mental anguish that I so often experienced dealing with constipation nearly my whole life. I'm soon to be 72 years old. @farmersmith

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