# enemas: help or hindrance?



## 17190 (Apr 1, 2006)

When I am in my C phase of IBS, I use enemas. Even though they solve my immediate problem, they leave me with abdominal pain and gas. I usually take my enemas late in the evening before bed. I then have pain most of the night afterwards that keeps me awake. I have tried laxatives, but they take so long to work with me, I seldom have relief until late the next day, but have to stay home all that day because of abdominal discomfort. I think that I prefer having the D phase of my IBS better. at least I can stop it with Imodium.Does anyone else have this problem with enemas?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

hi Nerfmom yeah, i usually have the same problem with enemas--a crampy gassy feeling afterwards and sometimes feel like there's water still trapped high up there in the colon. i do my enemas in the am before going to work as a last resort if my other options don't work for me and i'm still backed up and having that awful IE feeling that goes with it. i just can't stand having to work with the public all day feeling all plugged up with that pain and discomfort. so even though i have some discomfort from the enema, for me it's better than all that IE pain. pick your poison, i guess.have you tried using heat to relieve the pain? like a hot water bottle or one of those microwavable heating pads? sometimes that helps me if i have the time to do it before i go to work. wish they'd let me wear one on the job.


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## 17190 (Apr 1, 2006)

I have my heating pad plugged in and I use it during the cooler months. Right now, I can't stand anything hot on me. Still having hot flashes at my old age of almost 63, I guess. Thanks for the feedback.


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## lorilou (May 9, 2003)

nerfmom,are you using the fleet or a bag of water? i use water- a large bag and it cleans me out and I feel great after- I know with me I need to get high up there and need ther large amoubnt of water- a fleet would dop very little for me plus it contains stuff that makes you cramp up. I only use them once in a while but I have no issues with gas etc after... sorry youre having problems. praying for youLori


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## 17190 (Apr 1, 2006)

I use saved fleets bottles (4) with warm water. I do this a least twice. It usually does a good job, but if I wait more than 2 days, it sometimes takes several times. I wish I could get an enema bag, but I haven't seen any. Prepared fleets don't do much for me either and they are irritating.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

right, i don't use the prepared fleets either because of the irritation. and yes, i also use the empty fleets bottles for my enemas--just fill them with warm water. the bottles say they hold 4 fluid oz and i use two to four of them depending on what i feel i need. i do have the regular quart size bag type enema bag too which i use occasionally when i have more time for the procedure and feel i'm really backed up and need more water but i still get cramping and that watery feeling afterwards even with that--just like i do with the fleets bottles. . but we're all different in our reactions to things, so the bag type enema might be worth a try for you, Nerfmom--maybe you'll feel better with it. i've found them for sale in the feminine hygiene section of the drugstore (cvs) and other drug stores and places like walmart have them too. the one i bought came in a rather smallish box so i overlooked it the first time--i was expecting bigger packaging. good luck! hope you feel better.oh and you might want to search on this board for poundingpat's postings earlier this year--i think it was during the winter and spring mostly--on enemas. he had a lot of really helpful advice--how to make them more comfortable---go slow, stop the procedure briefly when you cramp, use warm water-- etc.


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## RightSide (Aug 20, 2007)

What is the most effective type of enema for severe constipation including possible impacted stool blocking the rectum?Is it a bag filled with water, a mineral oil enema, or what?(I'm sure you have guessed this isn't an academic question for me)-- Right Side


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Rightside i finally had time to read your other thread and definitely yes, i have to agree with the others, you really need to go to the ER now so they can help you. i'm not an expert and have never personally had a situation like yours so i don't feel at all qualified to answer your question about enemas and blockages but Kathleen is right--the ER can give you a much more effective enema than you can do yourself at home--they will be able to deal with your situation plus they can refer you to a good gastro doc. please let the hospital help you--you will be in good hands with them-- you are in my prayers. please keep us posted.


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## 22395 (Apr 16, 2007)

Unfortunately, this is becoming my main method of evacuation.I've previously posted elsewhere my difficulties with laxatives and incomplete evacuation problems, regardless of stool consistency.I'm also having difficulty with enemas. I alternate between using Fleets and warm water enemas using empty Fleets bottles. I always do this in the morning. And, regardless of which method I use, I have continued spasms, cramping and aftershocks well into the evening. Too much so to leave the house.I always hope the next day that I will be comfortable and not stuck in the bathroom. But, find myself uncomfortable once again with ‘stuck’ stool.Annie7 and Nerfmom, how often do you use enemas? Also, what position and where do you administer these? Lorilou has shared in previous threads that she lays on the bathroom floor, as does Sean in the same thread. I find this too uncomfortable, and place specially plastic backed pads on the bed, lay on my side and do the enemas there. And, then run to the master bathroom. Not the best arrangement, but I find lying on the floor too difficult.Main IBS problem is Incomplete EvacuationAlternating C & DHypothyroidismOveractive BladderMSEvelyn


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

hi Evelyni put a towel on the bathroom floor for my knees and kneel on that in the classic butt up position--the knee-chest position that they show on the fleet box instructions although i'm thinking that lying down might be more comfortable. i use enemas on an as needed basis--if i'm lucky maybe only once a month--other times once or twice a week. as a disclaimer i feel i have to say that i'm not necessarily advocating this kind of frequency to others but after suffering for over 40 years with constipation and incomplete evacuation, i have decided to take a more aggressive approach to trying to find relief. i do what i have to do.last summer i had a lot of questions about enemas and found the optimal health network website and message boards: http://www.optimalhealthnetwork.comi realize of course that it is a website for selling enema and colonic equipment etc but i did find it to be a very caring and informative board and i found a lot of answers there. i did not purchase any of their products but the information and support was very helpful. i read the enema safety, enema how to, enema how often topics as well as the message boards--read them extensively at the time--and you can post questions on the message boards also which is helpful.hope this helps. i have been keeping you--and all of us-- in my prayers.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Evelyn ps--here are some other threads on this board that have had helpful enema info--and there are others as well of course http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?s...oundinpat+enema http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?s...oundinpat+enema


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## 22395 (Apr 16, 2007)

Annie7,How do you routinely deal with the incomplete evacuation. This is my main problem. I looked at your profile and you had referenced a couple of links about incomplete evacuation that have evidently been archived. I could not click on them and call them up.And, if you've shared this previously, forgive me. I am so damn uncomfortable most of the time that I do not think as clearly as I should.Evelyn


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## Iwillcuremyibs (May 17, 2007)

thanks for the links.Lying sideways on the bathroom floor is very uncomfortable for me.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

ok, here goes. i tend to ramble, sorry:although, Evelyn, first i have to say, with your particular situation being complicated with MS, everything is even more difficult for you so i'm not sure how much of this will help you although i hope it does at least a little. my heart and prayers go out to you in your struggle...i rarely have problems with incomplete evacuation when i take zelnorm or senna (i don't take them together of course) i seem to develop a resistance to zelnorm rather quickly and it won't work for me if i take it daily so i take it three times a week (mon, wed, fri) and also go off it periodically for week (which i'm doing this week) and that kind of intermitant treatment regimen keeps it working for me.i also take milk of magnesia daily, even with the zelnorm--the full capful. i find it helps me go more completely when i have a more liquid stool (thanks to Lori for this suggestion)however even with the mom, i find that frequently on my non-zelnorm days i have problems with incomplete evacuation and am have been trying to deal with that. it seems i need that peristalic push that zelnorm and senna provide to propel all the stool out completely. once a week i take senna and that works just fine. on the other days(no zelnorm, no senna) when i fell incomplete like there's still stool stuck in there, i use a plain glycerin suppository and usually that gets the rest out or most of it so i feel more comfortable and don't have all that IE pain and discomfort. if a suppository doesn't work or if i feel that there's a whole lot of stool still up there or stool up higher than the rectum--in the lower colon-- which is making me uncomfortable--b/c sometimes even with the mom i don't go much even though i basically eat the same amount of food every day--then i use the small enema --2 to 3 empty fleets bottles filled with warm water and that usually gets more stool out although i usually feel crampy and sloshy like there's water still way up in there afterwards but for me feeling that way is still better than that awful IE feeling. and then on the days that i'm really really bad and nothing comes out and i have lots of time i use the bag-type enema--can't usually take the whole quart--and that works but it takes a while--i'll go a few times for about an hour or so. still the crampy sloshy feeling afterwards but as i said, it's an improvement.here's what i feel is the best IE link. you can do a search on the board for incomplete evacuation and come up with more links too of course. this one is a long three page discussion from last february but i found it to be the most helpful discussion i've ever read on IE thanks especially to Kathleen and to Eric for their posts and Eric's very helpful links. it's definitely worth reading to the very end and looking up all the links. even on the days when nothing seems to help me, it still helps to have more understanding of IE. http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?s...lete+evacuation


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

and here's some more info about a different medical procedure --the MACE procedure which Babender told us about a while ago on this board. all i know about it is what i've read here and i'll post some links. i'm kinda thinking about trying this route myself when all else fails and i get desperate providing of course i can find a dr who'll do it and my insurance will pay for it. it doesn't sound like it's quite as radical as a colectomy would be. i hope these links are clickable. if not or if you want more posts on this search this board for "babender" and "mace procedure" http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?s...ief+please+readhttp://www.health.qld.gov.au/cchs/congenit...E_procedure.pdfhttp://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?s...ief+please+read


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## 22395 (Apr 16, 2007)

Annie7,Thanks for the information. I will look at all of it this evening.Does anyone else continue to cramp, have spasms, and remain generally uncomfortable hours after an enema?I did one this morning around 8 AM, it's no just after 4 PM, and I continue to cramp and have spasms. I used a Fleets enema, followed by to bottles of just plain warm water. I believe I'm completely emptied out, but continue to be most uncomfortable. This may simply be from MS, but would like to know if others continue to have these problems.Evelyn


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## 17190 (Apr 1, 2006)

I certainly have the same problem. I always take my enemas at night, because that is the time of day I am most uncomfortable with constipation. I don't like going to be with the bloated feeling, I can't sleep. My IBS does alternate back and forth between C and D. I can go days, weeks, or even months with mostly C and then mostly D. I could never figure out why. During my D phase, I usually start cramping either late afternoon or evening. I usually don't have IBS problems early in the day except for early morning. When I am in my C phase, I usually don't feel bloated until later in the day. Eating gets it all going.I think that the stimulation of an enema increases the action in the colon to cause cramping etc. even though the colon has been emptied. Isn't that what IBS is, an overabundance of colon activity? It certainly isn't much fun to have IBS, no matter whether it is D or C.


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## RightSide (Aug 20, 2007)

Medical supply stores stock enema bags (most drugstore chains don't). I'm lucky enough to live within short driving distance of a medical supply store.-- RightSide


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## 22395 (Apr 16, 2007)

Nerfmom:Once again I had to do the enema thing this morning for relief. But, once again I am stuck with extreme gas and pain. Did you, or anyone else on this thread, ever figure out what to do for the gas and pain?? I have prescriptions for both bentyl and levbid, but that simply starts the constipation and IE cycle all over again. Geez, what a life.I'm even afraid to take the enteric peppermint as I am not sure if it causes more constipation or diarrhea. (I am alternating C & D, but IE regardless.)Thanks for any information anyone can share.Evelyn


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## 22395 (Apr 16, 2007)

P.S. Sorry to keep adding stuff, but I am suffering here.If I keep expelling gas (some of it very 'messy') well after the enema, does that mean I should have used more solution?My new gastroenterologist is not much help on any of this.Evelyn


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## 17190 (Apr 1, 2006)

It usually takes me more than one enema to make me feel clean. I use the fleets bottles, 3-4 the first time and then repeat with 2-3 bottles once or even twice. I still have cramping pain afterwards for awhile. I always take my enemas at night, sometimes 9pm or later depending. If I am in my C phase, I can do this every other night if I feel a need. I don't think that enemas are especially healthy, but then neither is going sleepless when I have that bloated, heavy feeling. With me, I will sometimes have cramps without having a BM, so I use an enema just to get relief if I can't go on my own. I will cramp and run to the bathroom several times but no BM, just cramps.It is so odd, having the alternating form of IBS. I will have long periods of time that I am mainly C and then for no reason I will have the D form of IBS for days or even weeks. So strange. I wish I knew why.


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## 22395 (Apr 16, 2007)

Nerfmomo you use 3-4 empty fleets bottles all at once? I have difficulty holding in more than one at a time. And, when you follow up with 1-3 more, how long do you wait after the initial enema bottles? I know each of us is different, but I'm just trying to figure this out since my docs are proving to be quite useless with any practical advice.Annie7:I looked at the links you had posted. I had my appendix removed years ago, so the MACE thing couldn't work for me.Evelyn


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

all i know about mace is what i've read on this board and online by googling it but i think it was on that second link i listed --the pdf file "living life with dignity The Mace Procedure" says: "the operation uses the appendix, or if it has been removed, a similar sized tube fashioned out of bowel." and i've read that elsewhere too--i think in a discussion earlier this year on this board when we were discussing mace. there were several threads on it. you can do a search on the board to find them. i'm sorry i can't look them up for you but i don't have the time--i'm out in the country without high-speed internet--just dial-up--and this board is way way slow. plus today i keep loosing my connection......


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## 17190 (Apr 1, 2006)

I try to use the 3-4 bottles at one time and then I lay on the bathroom floor on my left side as long as I can to hold it. Sometimes I can't hold it long and then after I go and feel that I am finished I repeat with 2-3 bottles. I sometimes repeat again if the results aren't too good. I have found that during my C phase, it is better not to wait until I am really stopped up, as an enema may not help much, so it is usually every other day. Enemas are the only thing that help me when I get really C. Laxatives just take too long to work and aren't enough for me.


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## 22395 (Apr 16, 2007)

I'm back with the enemas this morning, and still have questions that my gastro doc is useless to answer.Again, if I keep having 'messy gas' and more loose stool problems throughout the day after an enema, does that mean I should have used more water/enema solution?Also, do you find that after doing an enema it gets you through the next day without having constipated bowel problems? I never know if the next day will be a good day that will allow me to live a few hours of a normal life.Thanks in advance for any advice on this.Evelyn


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## sparrow873 (Feb 24, 2007)

Has anyone had the experience of evacuating nothing more than the enema water/solution after taking an enema?For me, enemas don't help move out any of the "bulk" that builds up after not going for days.The enema water comes out, and that's it. I'm still plugged upThey don't work for me at all.


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## Sean (Feb 8, 1999)

What kind are you using? For me, the disposable Fleet products don't get high enough into the colon to provide much relief. Frequently, only the solution will come back out. Using a quart or more of water with an enema bag works much better in terms of getting a result.


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## sparrow873 (Feb 24, 2007)

Ah- thanks Sean, that makes a lot of sense. i was using just one fleet enema at a time.Until I can purchase a bag, would it be equivalent to use 3-4 fleets filled w/ warm water as some have suggested?


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## Sean (Feb 8, 1999)

I don't think three or four fleets bottles of water would be equivalent to an enema with an enema bag. A fleet bottle holds about 4 ounces and there are 32 ounces in a quart. So you would need to do 8 fleet bottles to administer a quart. An enema bag holds two quarts. That is what I usually take when I have an enema. To get that much, you would have to do 16 Fleet bottles. No way I would insert something that many times. Once is enough.


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## IBSCinGeorgia (Oct 6, 2007)

For me, enemas vary. If I'm severely constipated like I was last week, it takes a while for them to work. If I'm mildly to moderately constipated, they work within a few minutes. Enemas and suppositories are generally all I use for my constipation.


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## fordgirl96f250 (May 17, 2007)

1 Cup of coffee to 1 quart of warm water. The coffee acts as a stimulant and it will clean you out.Hope this helps fordgirl.


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