# IBS-C -- What Helps?



## Stephers (Jan 24, 2014)

Hi everyone, I'm new and trying to get a feel of how not-alone I am with this stupid disorder. I've been struggling with this for about 4 years, and in the beginning it was mostly a minor annoyance. But, ever since my c-section 1 and a half years ago, it has been horrible: I experienced mild constipation followed by episodes of severe right-sided abdominal pain which only seemed to be gradually relieved with multiple painful BMs and sometimes accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The episodes in their entirety lasted 2-3 days, and this got to where it was happening weekly.

I went to the Dr, he slapped an IBS diagnoses on it after a CT showed no IBD, and he gave me bentyl. That didn't do anything for me. So I've spent months altering my diet, and at this point I've cut out all grains, beans, soy, dairy, sugar, potatoes and other starchy stuff, super fiberous veggies (broccoli, cabbage, etc) nuts, certain fruits... Not sure how much more trim it can get, and I still experience these episodes, so I've concluded that food itself is the culprit..?

Anyway, when diet didn't seem to be the answer, I went to a Gastro Dr and they gave me the low FODMAPs diet, which was a HORRIBLE idea as it brought on the worst episode yet. I told them that after 1week on the diet everything got way worse, and they said they couldn't do anything til I'd given the diet 6 weeks. So my lovely mother got on the phone with them and yelled at them, and then they were all ears. They next gave me Amitiza, which has done nothing but seem to make me MORE constipated. I called Dr back after 1 week of it and they said that Amitiza was in no way responsible for my worsening constipation. (Feeling like I need a new Dr at this point as they never seem to want to listen to me)

Anyway, I took Amitiza for 2 weeks with no results. Had to use suppositories and Milk of Magnesia to get anything to move, so I stopped taking Amitiza. Since then my constipation is so bad that I took Milk of Magnesia this morning and have gotten no results. I'm also taking a fiber supplement, a probiotic, coconut milk, eating healthily (when I can, not much appetite) and even with all of this, no movement.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks for listening


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

so sorry for all your problems. yes chronic constipation is really miserable.

have you tried linzess (linaclotide)? it's a failrly new medication for constipation--been out for about a year now. it comes in two strengths--145 mcg and 290 mcg. ask your gastro doc for samples to try. it has helped some people. and according to studies and personal reports it also helps with pain.

do stimulant laxatives like dulcolax or exlax help you at all? or enemas?

sometimes--especially if you have slow transit constipation--taking fiber supplements,eating fibrous foods-- especially those with insoluable fiber--only makes things worse. i have slow transit and i've found that eating a diet low in fiber--soft, "squishy" foods--helps a lot. lots of fiber causes pain and just plugs me up all the more.

have you had any tests to diagnose the cause of your constipation? a sitz marker test (colonic transit study) will show if you have slow transit constipation. a defecatory proctogram will show if you have outlet problems like a rectocele, etc, vaginal prolaspe, rectal prolapse or pelvic floor dysfunction (where the pelvic floor muscles don't coordinate properly to allow easy passage of stool.

because you've had a hysterectomy and especially since your problems seem to have started after that, i'm wondering if scar tissue--adhesions--could be a cause or a contributing cause of your constipation. it can do that.

you could also try going to a motility specialist. often they are allifiated with teaching hospitals---university hospitals...they usually have a lot of proactive, out-of-the-box ideas for dealing with constipation.

good luck. hope you can find some relief.


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## norah (Jan 17, 2014)

Stephers

I pretty much have gone thru all that you have. It seems that the more I think I know about this horrible condition the less I know. However, thought I would share my experience with amitiza. My GI gave me amitiza 145mcg along with miralax. It took about five days for it to work and when it did I had horrible incontinent diahrrea. It would not come out when I went to the toilet, only when I was up and moved around. I had to take like five showers a day, if you get the idea. After several days of this I called the Dr. office and the nurse was of little or no help. I finally had to go on BRAT diet to just get some relief from the D as I had company coming for the holidays and couldn't function this way. Next Dr. visit I relayed all to him and he had no empathy whatsoever and actually got upset that I had quit the amitiza.

Now he has me on cytotec 100 mcg along with miralax. Not much better so far although no D yet.

Seems as though these "new meds" do not work on their own w/o the help of miralax. Hope this helps some.

Oh yes, he had me try the linzees before (with miralax) and that gave me explosive diahrrea w/o full evacuation.

Dr. said "I" had to have a plan. Feel like I am on my own except for the support from this site.


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## Sunshine2u (Jan 24, 2014)

Magnesium helps a lot with IBS-C if you take it everyday and you avoid white bread and anything else made with white flour and you avoid anything made with HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) which is made with corn starch and artificial chemicals like artificial enzymes and the bad kind of fructose which does not come from natural fruit but a laboratory. Corn starch constipated the body and bloats the body and the artificial fructose gives us leaky gut syndrome or gas with liquid discharge because it is an ingredient which by itself would cause diarrhea but combined with corn starch causes gas with liquid discharge thus giving you and me a wet anus. Don't take magnesium without calcium and vitamin d3. They are all important for the body and if you are lactose-intolerant like me then you definitely need a calcium and vitamin d3 supplement. I still get IBS-C because I am not trying my best at avoiding white flour. I eat pizza without the cheese or with soy cheese. I must have vegetable toppings on it. The vegetables are fine but if I eat Papa John's or Pizza Hut pizza then I am eating white flour and possibly high fructose corn syrup in the sauce. I want to try quinoa.


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## Stephers (Jan 24, 2014)

Thanks for your shared experiences, guys, I feel better (psychologically) already knowing I'm not alone! I'm currently trying a magnesium supplement. I started it yesterday and it hasn't kicked in yet, hoping it will soon. Dietary changes had helped me before, it's been months since I've eaten any white or refined foods, but the relief was temporary unfortunately. I'm reluctant to go back to the dr because I know they will just dismiss me with a different pill. I have an appointment next week with a natural-based nutrition doctor that I'm excited about, I'll be sure to share any enlightenment I get out of that.

Honestly I don't see the point in the new drug prescriptions if they have to be paired with over the counter laxatives. I feel like the more drugs I try the more out of whack my system will be thrown, so I'm determined to find a natural way to relieve it all.


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## un800 (Aug 29, 2010)

Interested in how you're doing, Stephers? Did the Magnesium help you? Did the natural nutritionist help you?


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## denisefl (Sep 20, 2013)

This reply is basically for stephers. I have been the route you describe. I switched gastros to one who knows what he is doing. I have a very simple regimen and the constipation is virtually gone most of the month. I might have a few bad days. What he had me do is quit the amitizia, stool softeners, fiber pills and all laxatives. I am on 10 mg amitriptyline daily (I have to take it in the a.m. since it does not help me sleep). I eat a generic version of Fiber One cereal daily (3/4 cup). I eat one apple between lunch and dinner. I try to have 2 servings of veggies - "real ones" not corn or carrots, with dinner (he wanted me to do it every day but I hate veggies). I have never had my IBS and the constipation (I used to also alternate with episodes of diarrhea) so under control. I wish you much luck and success in your quest for the right combination which works for you.


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## trudyj (Apr 5, 2014)

denisefl, Does the amitriptyline help with the constipation or is it for the emotional distress? Unfortunately it s a med I can't take. Thanks.


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## Smiletime82 (Apr 9, 2014)

My 11 year old daughter has been suffering with Chronic constipation for about 2 years now. She went from Pediatrician to Gastro Specialist and neither really helped her at all. She is constantly missing school. The Gastro put her on daily Miralax and Omaprazole and she took that for about a year. It helped a little bit at first but then the Mirilax made her horrible gassy and crampy. I finally took her back to the Pediatrician and she suggested I go to the local health food store down the street and see what they could do for her. She had me stop the Miralax and Omaprazole and she started taking a magnesium drink every day and well as a probiotic. She also rubs orange oil on her stomach and on her feet daily and upped her intake of fresh fruit. She has been doing this for about a week now and I have never seen her go to the bathroom so much in her life. One day, she totally FILLED the toilet 3 times. I have no idea how she had been holding that much in her body. No wonder she was in such pain. I know it sounds crazy, but it worked for us. Like I said, it has only been a week, so I don't know how long the positive effects will last, but she hasn't complained at all and she went to school every day this week without a problem.


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## Nojokeibs (Apr 14, 2014)

I second the adhesions idea. Ask a nice gyno or gi doc to laparoscopically look for adhesions in your abdomen and lyse (cut) them. My IBS-C got way better after my gynecologist did that (by accident, she was looking for something else, but noticed adhesions and too the opportunity to free me from them - I'll be forever grateful).

The low-FODMAP diet is supposed to change your intestinal flora, so side effects are common. If it doesn't work for you, that's fine. There are a lot of other options, but they are way more restrictive. Some people do famously well on Ketogenic, Atkins, SCD, GAPS, or Paleo. However, warning, if you pick Atkins, do not buy the packaged foods, they have FOS in them and inulin which causes bloating. I can't say which diet will work for you, your body is unique. But in my case, what I call my "ancestral diet" worked well. I find that potatoes don't hurt me in small amounts, that generally Paleo and Ketogenic diets work fine for me, and that if I want bread, I'd better use an SCD recipe for it (almond flour based, though I think my ancestors would've used walnut or chestnut). Think back to what your grandmother would've eaten, or back further and see if that helps you find your way to non painful foods.

Your body can also probably still make use of DHEA, even if you've had a Hysterectomy, so if it's available OTC where you are, try it, or if not, then ask the doctor if you might try it. If you can't get it, then I guess you have to eat cholesterol every day, as it's the next closest food.

If things get backed up too much for me, I use magnesium citrate (it's a liquid that causes diarrhea in normal people, for me it just causes a day of running to the bathroom to have normal bm's). If you decide to try it, take it as early in the morning as possible and skip breakfast that day. The effects can last for more than 12 hours.


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