# Not sure what to do



## oregongirl (Jul 24, 2009)

I am new to this forum. I actually stumbled on it while I was looking for information on Amitiza.I have had constipation issues since I was a child. I have tried everything: I stopped eating meat, dairy, and bread. (Currently I will eat dairy on occasion and the only bread I eat is high fiber). I eat about 45-50 grams of fiber a day, drink plenty of fluids and walk as much as I can. Right now I am taking Amatiza and sometimes I take Miralax. Today will be day 6 of not "going". I feel like I try so many different things and I have completely changed my lifestyle, only to still feel: bloated, fat, and gassy. I am so young that I start to feel hopeless of having a "normal" life, and fear that as I get older my problems are only going to worsen. My current doctor is the only doctor that I have seen that has taken the time to try many different things with me. My problem is everything works for a little while...then STOPS.Does anyone have any suggestions, or anyone else feel this way? It would be nice to know that I am not the only one and that maybe there is some light at the end of the tunnel.


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## Mary5 (Apr 17, 2006)

Six years into this for me too after a couple of weeks whatever I was doing/taking stops working. For now I have to say that some of us are stuck in that cycle so just take whatever works for you and keep trying because it is the only way to every find something that might be what will work for you.Unfortunately for now I would have to say for you to keep doing what you are doing, also make sure also that you continue to see a gastro who listens to you, and do not lose hope that there will be some sort of relief somewhere out there.


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## oregongirl (Jul 24, 2009)

Thank you Mary! Your nice words have helped. It is amazing how some of the hopelessness can drift away when you start reading that you are not the only one that has to resort to such strange methods to live a "normal" life.


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## Mary5 (Apr 17, 2006)

I tried Amitiza also and it only worked a couple of weeks.Went back to otc laxatives (mainly senna) and more experimenting because I want to get off these kinds of laxatives, was feeling sick all the time and in pain. Have you tried taking Miralax daily ? This works for a lot of people. Some take the minimum dose at night and it works for them overnight. The majority seem to need at least 2 doses. Several people take divided doses, for ex., a dose at 7pm and another at 9pm. Others take 1 dose at night, or 2, and then one more in the morning. Combinations like that seem to work for a lot of people. Also is not "addicting", it is an osmotic meaning it draws water into the colon to soften the stool.If you can find the right dose, and organize your food and your bathroom routine, it can be a great solution.I never did well consistenly with Miralax so my gastro suggested Lactulose (Kristalose, in powder form). After much experimentation I am finding that I need a double dose at night to produce relatively normal results the next morning. But again this has taken me years! I am hoping this will work for me in the long term.So my suggestion to you is to start with the Miralax, it is totally tasteless, you can put it in coffee, tea, soda, juice etcetera. Follow with a glass of water. Try different doses and times. Hopefully you will find a good balance that will work for you.Good luck, let us know how it goes.


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## oregongirl (Jul 24, 2009)

I have had a prescription for Miralax for about a year now. The first couple of months were great...then like everything else it stopped working. About a week ago I started pouring 2 doses in a 32oz gatorade and sipping on that all day. It has been doing an okay job. I am not sure if it is the Miralax or the double dose of Amatiza I take at night. My doctor keeps telling me that I need to get a colonoscopy, but I am doubting that they will find anything that I dont already know.


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## MollyB (May 3, 2009)

Please take your doctor's advice and get the colonoscopy.


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## oregongirl (Jul 24, 2009)

Really? I just feel so skeptical. I have been this way since a child and I feel like if there was something wrong with me they would have found it by now. In another thread I asked about colonoscpies but no one responded. I am curious about what has happened for the people who have been diagnosed with IBS and then gotten one. Do they find anything that can help or do they just confirm the diagnosis? I know that part of the reason I dont want to go is out of fear (I am worried it is going to be painful). Thanks for your input Molly! Have you ever had one? I would love to know what you thought of it!


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## Kes1 (Jun 17, 2009)

Hi, you said you eat quite a lot of fibre - up to 50g per day - can that be contributing to your problems? I eat very, very healthily too. But awful pains from IBS attacks and bloating was doubling me over on so many occasions my life felt an awful place to be. I still eat very well now, but some high fibre foods had to be reduced or eliminated.I am trying a new exclusion diet now where I am starting from scratch and reintroducing things back in one at a time. Am still off dairy and wheat at the moment. When I removed things like apples, cabbage, broccoli from my diet I immediately stopped being so terribly gassy. For instance, apples on an empty stomach was the worst and I used to eat them in the morning quite often. Now I poach apples and pears instead and it does not give me gas. Broccoli and anything cabbage-related, beans and lentils was quite bad too. That's just an example of how things can be aleviated bit by bit, although of course this might not work for you quite so well. Am still searching for other IBS triggers now. Have you tried eating 5 meals a day instead of 3 large ones? Or eating carbs and proteins separately, not in one meal? Check out the "Sherry Brescia pain free trial diet for 4 days" off her website. These things seem to help some people and I think I am experiencing some relief now, too.


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## MollyB (May 3, 2009)

I've had two, and there is no pain at all because they give you light sedation. The worst part of the whole thing is drinking the laxative over a several hour period which is required to clean out your system. It tastes icky! If you work, my advice would be to schedule the procedure for a Monday morning, so you can drink the laxative the day before. You will need to stay near the toilet. Honestly, the procedure is over before you know it. I've had constipation all my life, too, and they have found polyps with both procedures. Fortunately, they were benign, but if I had not had them removed, who knows what could have developed over time.


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## Mary5 (Apr 17, 2006)

The colonoscopy itself is totally painless, they will put you to sleep and when you wake up it is all over, it does not hurt at all.The cleaning out or prep the day before is annoying and unpleasant but is perfectly bearable. You should do it. They will see if there are polys, and remove them if so. They can also check for signs of cancer and the health of the colon in general.


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## Mary5 (Apr 17, 2006)

Sometimes too much fibre is the culprit.


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## oregongirl (Jul 24, 2009)

How does too much fiber cause constipation? I guess since fiber is supposed to give you a BM I never thought that you could have too much. Also, thanks for the info Molly...I would have never thought. I guess I will be scheduling my colonoscopy.


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## cortex_toom (May 31, 2009)

hi as i said before, i only pass stools when i take lactulose some say it's not a laxative some say it is, however i think that now has started not to work.... if i don't take any meds i won't pass any stool., does any of you have that condition? doctors all told me i have ibs... i had a colonoscopy and various blood tests/and ultrasounds all are clear. so i don't think there is an obstruction also because as i said before i pass gass just no stool. (although with laxatives i tend to have also diharrea but i'm tired of laxativesi 'm trying not to take them and see what happens but i'm sure i will end up like last time, 3 months without passing anything so i want some advice because my parents don't want me to go to hospital i will have problems with them they say all is in my head!!, i don't want to spend money if all is in my head also, although i don't have any problem with spending....i have a job and am not poor either so i can go to any hospital just my parents don't want me to go to hospital.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Lactulose is an osmotic laxative.It is not a stimulatory laxative so it may not count as a laxative for some people.Osmotics just pull water into the stool so it is easy to pass. They don't make you move stuff along like a stimulatory laxative.Fiber helps hold water in the stool, but there are situations where excess fiber doesn't help. If you don't go for 3 months and pass no stool at all having 20-40 grams a day of fiber X 90 days worth is likely to be a problem. It can dehydrate too much and cause more problems than it helps.Generally if you go 2-3 times a week fiber tends to be more likely to help as you never have more than a few days worth in there at any time.If you go weeks without any BM of any kind you usually are told to reduce fiber as more than a few days worth of normal fiber consumption starts to get uncomfortable.Normal people tend to get discomfort if they eat more than 50 grams of fiber a day. They usually do not get constipated from it, but it makes the colon so full it starts to be uncomfortable.


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## cortex_toom (May 31, 2009)

in reply to katleen, I correct myself i passed just rabbit like stool during that period but for me is like i am not passing anything, maybe people will think if you pass rabbit like stool, it is not a problem, since it is still a stool, and might think i am not eating or something similar, during that period i wasn't eating also, so it might not be true constipation because when a person is stressed the person won't eat but before the rabbit stuff and less apetite, i used to go to mcdonalds everyday, i did a prep which finally relieved my three months of rabbit issues, each day rabbits is like not doing anything but only in my openion...., anyway my doctor told me to diet and exercise which i'm doing, i used lactulose before two months ago, and now i can do without it, i am regular with occasion rabbits, like once a week or twice a week rabbit, at times i have diharrea but it is like once every month or forthnight, i don't take laxatives, I think fatty foods causes too much problems in my digestive tract and i feel it has slowed down at the time i was eating junk staff like mc donalds chikking, etc...now i feel like ibs rarely bothers me accept the spasms i get after eating. I bought an antispasmic medince colofac today and because i bought it i didn't use it , the pains were not severe, the pharmacist, a young woman but really helpful when i asked her about ibs and medicine, told me to take the pill (capsule) before eating to avoid pain (in case of pain)... but when i exercise it looks like the pain is only felt in the back, due to the spasms, but not too much, only when i sit or stand up, i have no blood in poo, i was tested for ovarian malignancy , clear and also had smears and scans , which were negative, i might have a slight case of hamohorrids since i used to strain inthe beginning of ibs. i got an abdominal scan twice and also pelvic scan twice at the usual hospital, my hospital bill was very expensive over 2000 euro, but thank God i feel less stressed than before...my problem was long indulgence in high fat food!! as now i have little or no straining and the urge comes alone....eating less make you go once a day...i think this is normal when you eat only turnips and mushrooms fish or small pieces of grilled. chicken breasts.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Passing something (even small amounts of stool) is different from passing nothing at all.Not that saying if you pass a few pellets you are normal or you will feel great. Rabbit pellet stool isn't normal, and you can be pretty miserable from being that constipated, but when you pass nothing at all (and typically often also stop passing gas) that can be a complete obstruction and that can be a medical emergency, and usually long before you got to three months of no stool of any kind coming out at all you would likely have started vomiting feces (which I assume anyone would see as a really bad thing and wouldn't wait through a couple of months of that before doing something) as they will eventually come back up if it can't get out any other way.


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## cortex_toom (May 31, 2009)

hi thanks, and yes i noted the doctor of this that's when i also went for a medical emergency even though i was having rabbits, but i still thought something was really wrong....thank God all i had was problems due to high fat intake, which slowed my motility, not everyone is the same, some people overeat, with no problems like constipation, others if they overeat, overtime they get bloated and also constipated, before i got constipated, i had diharrea, which is classical symptoms of ibs i read on the net...but still i wanted to be tested first since i was a person that rarely do screening; all family (my parents) don't do any screeing, and without even any kind of ultrasound or scopes, you don't know what's happening or going on inside your body!! ultrasound scan is done first in the hospital i go, if they find unusual measurements in the organs (like larger organs) or unusual cysts they refer for a biopsy.... i done breast checkup only twice from the time i was getting this strange ibs symptoms, i never used to worry about getting this sort of screening, while talking with most women they tell you (Even younger than my age like 32) they worry much and they get it checked annually, clinical examination by a doctor / gyn (i used to think they are too obsessed, that time i had no symptoms of ibs or were so mild)...but after this happened i go like every 6 months to check all my gyne system. the same was for the smear, it is painful but better have little pain rather than going to the same trauma 'Jade goody' went through~ i don't know if you know about her but she was a 'c' victim, she used to ignore warnings of abnormal smear because she was afraid that when they burn her abnormal cells she will have to endure the pain..but i prefer to do a little incision than succumb to a deadly desease that goes ignored. anyway i think i'm talking too much now..but i now realize screening is very important even it was a false alarm! i have many nurses and doctors i know, and i get immediately service, it is expensive but i can afford it... government hospital is always a mess in my country, there is like 1 year delay to do even an ultrasound or a cat scan even when it is urgent...my cousin had to wait 1 year , he feared ms, his doctor made him an appointmet that was always being delayed, but when his mri was performed, they todl him it is stress...now he is normal again, stress can kill you with worries if tests are not done to ease the mind of the person in question too!! anyway it's been great talking to you... i hope you have msn it would be nice for a good chat. well updates about me , that i'm doing much better, although last week i had bad bouts of rabbits because i heard that one of my collegues (ex collegues) succumbed to malignancy..better put it that way.., i have bouts of fibro and am constipated always when i get my nail technician appointments , again the same situation of tht collegue..ibs really hurts when periods of stress and fear are acting up!! well it's night here, take care write back hope you are all well here!


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