# Abdominal Pain and Constipation - Help!



## ekenny89 (Feb 29, 2016)

I am at my wits end, i literally don't know what to do anymore.

I started getting constipated a couple of years ago which was strange as I was always able to go to the toilet frequently with no problems.

I usually don't go to the toilet for over a week. Today it got so bad, i had really bad stomach pain which made me feel faint and sick. I could hardly stand up due to the pain.

I have tried all types of laxative including Dulcolax, Fybogel, Lactulose, Senokot, a pink charcoal type tablet. Dulcolax work but are becoming less helpful due to my body getting used to them.

I have also tried food exclusion diets which don't help, low fibre and high fibre diets neither of which helped. I exercise 3-4 times a week and work in hospitality so constantly on my feet. I am not taking any medication except the contraceptive pill. I am sick of people telling me to try things "have you tried prune juice, do you drink enough water'.. seriously this is a problem, not just a lack of fibre or water etc.

I also get bloating and flatulence. I had an extended glucose test where the Dr said food passes from my gut to my intestines quickly which can cause a drop in blood sugar sometimes.I also had a full bowel transit, the doctor said there were no problems with food moving through my body but when it got to the end it just stopped. I have also had a test where they put a balloon up your rectum and blow it up and get you to push it out to test the muscles. The Dr thinks perhaps my muscles had got lazy. Sometimes i feel like my body plays tricks on me, i tried to go today by putting my feet up and just sitting on the toilet but there is no movement whatsoever despite my bowels being extremely hard and full. I don't even have the feeling that i need to go.

Please can someone recommend anything to help or suggest what the problem may be?

I am so fed up!

Thanks

Emma


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

so sorry for all your problems. living with chronic constipation can be miserable.

you mentioned your doc said after that test--the anal manometry-- that maybe your muscles had gotten lazy. did he/she expand that further by discussing pelvic floor dysfunction with you? with pfd, the pelvic floor muscles don't coordinate and/or relax properly to allow easy passage of stool. ineffective pelvic floor muscle coordination results in inadequate relaxation of the pelvic floor while attempting to have a BM. the puborectalis muscle tightens and contracts when it is supposed to relax to allow passage of stool. this can also prevent the feeling of getting the urge.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases_conditions/hic_pelvic_floor_dysfunction

biofeedback and physical therapy can be effective in correcting pfd.

instead of sitting on the toilet, have you tried elevating your feet? elevating your feet on something like a footstool, shoebox etc while sitting on a toilet can help straighten out the anorectal angle and allow for a more complete evacuation. so can using a squatty potty.

this u tube video is helpful in explaining how to empty your bowels without straining:






you mentioned hardened stool. have you tried miralax (movicol) to help soften up hardened stool. or perhaps a stool softener.

i was diagnosed with pelvic floor dysfunction as well as rectal hyposensitivity and mega rectum. i had several courses or biofeedback which did help somehwhat . i also took dulcolax and an osmotic laxative--mild of magnesia or sometimes miralax. i found that the combination of both the stimulant and the osmostic laxative helped me go better. and i used a squatty potty. just a note about the dulcolax/milk of mag combo--don't take these two at the same time because that causes cramping. take them at least an hour apart.

good luck to you. hope you can find some relief . take good care.


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## Henrie (Mar 5, 2016)

I'm new here and am not sure I'm doing this properly. I just wanted to say thank you Annie 7 for the great informations about Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. I will be evaluated for that soon as my gastro suggested that PFD might be part of my problem. I,too, use a squatty potty and sometimes it helps. My situation is just a bit different in that my stool is not usually hard but I must still strain so much. Even if I think I might be constipated and take a laxative which usually gives me watery stools I still have to strain . i feel that I never fully empty my bowel and always feel like I need a BM. i also get severe lower abdominal pain at times. Again, I'm not sure I'm doing this properly as this is not really a reply to the original post. I apologize if I'm breaking the rules.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Hi Henrie and welcome to the board









oh no--you're not breaking any rules here--you're fine... i'm glad my post was helpful--thanks.

and yes, that's really good that you are going to be evaluated for pfd. biofeedback and physical therapy can help retrain the pelvic floor muscles so that they work properly.

like i mentioned earlier, i was diagnosed with pfd etc. i took a lot of laxatives which gave me mostly liquid stool and, like you, i still had problems getting that out although using the squatty potty helped. and to some extent so did biofeedback. it taught me how to relax my pelvic floor muscles so the it was easier to go.

good luck with everything. keep us posted. take care.


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## Suffering Bad (Aug 2, 2004)

I would recommend trying a bottle of Magnesium Citrate. You can get a 10oz bottle of it at Walmart for less than $2.00. Comes in different flavors. Walmart has grape which is the easiest to drink for me anyway. Drink the entire bottle in less than 15 minutes. You should have results fairly rapidly. My experience was 1 hour.

One thing to note... I say "my experience" because nothing works exactly the same for different people. No matter what the drug is the experience and results are never the same for 2 people.

I know you said the only medication you are taking is birth control. I always failed to account for pain medication. Are you taking anything for pain or body aches?

I know what you mean about "I am sick of people telling me to try things have you tried prune juice, do you drink enough water". I felt like I was drinking so much water I was land drowning. Be advised doctors do say 200oz of water is what is recommended daily. Thats 10 - 20oz bottles of water. Thats alot of water. I typically was drinking 5 - 20oz bottles of water per day and felt like I had enough. Water is a key to some of this though.

Keep us posted. So many come here looking for help and then never report back. Believe it or not, your feedback and your story can help someone.


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## kiko khan (Mar 23, 2016)

i had a 12 year nightmare that consumed the life out of me. nothing worked. sometimes even taking high concentration macrogol with a few litres of water didn't had an effect. a couple of years ago i was prescribed the antidepressant argofan which worked instantly from the first day in regulating my bowel movement (even tho it was prescribed for something else and the doctor warned me that it will take a couple of weeks before it has any visible effects). it seemed to me like i was given a magical potion! unfortunately it gave me other side effects and had to try cipralex which did not seem to work that well, and after that went on remeron which i'm taking now. it's been 2 years and i'm at a constant 80% from what it would be normal bowel movement, which is perfect and a blessing for me. the down side is that i tried for 5 times to half the medication and the constipation came back with a vengeance (altho i did not have absolutely any psychological downside). the musculature of the intestines that produce their movement is controlled by serotoninergic nerve cells (most antidepressants work by modulating serotonin)... altho my psychiatrist did not understand how it might work it resumed to say that my constipation was a result of depression (which i'm sure that it wast the other way round) hence treating my state of mind cured my bowel problem. i'm writing these lines because i know how desperate you might be and i hope you might get some relief. i also recommend reading about "micro-biome and bowel movement" and the miracles of fecal transplant (which sound bad but it's cutting edge medicine). and also guided meditations and hypnosis sessions are absolutely necessary in my opinion. some of the best you can now get free on youtube - search for "michael sealey IBS hypnosis", also "thereachapproach meditations". i wish you all the best


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