# benefits of enema



## Guest (Oct 14, 2001)

Does anybody here have a long experience using enemas? I works to me, but I'm scared to get used to it and lose a natural motility. I looked all around the net trying to find a good argumant agains regular use of it, but didn't find many professional opinions. And again: most of those folks haven't heard of IBS and use it rather for entertainment or some part of freakish therapy or sexual arousal.


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## Victoria01 (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi. The key is how often you take an enema. My doctor says occasional use is OK. For me that's an average of once, maybe twice a month if I'm stressed out, usually one of the causes when my system slows into its C mode.I was diagnosed with a very mild form when I was 28, and that was 8 years ago. I can go weeks without symptoms and then it hits. It tends to be worse just before my period. I do use Metamucil and Colace as preventives, and they work the vast majority of the time.I used to take the Fleet enemas, but they started to nauseated me, and the salt solution burned coming out. Also, they weren't always effective. My GI doc's nurse recommended that I get an enema bag and mix warm water with a little baking soda, which I have been doing. I try to hold the solution in 5 to 10 minutes, and then it's very effective.I think you'll find that the medicalestablishment generally does not support long-term enema use. Most would rather put you on meds.Based on my own doctor's advice, more than a couple of enemas a month, unless there are special circumstances, are not recommended. Hope this helps.


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## amy22 (Mar 6, 2001)

I was just curious, how does the water bottle thing work? I've never done it before... how do you get it up there and get it to stay?


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## gottogo (Aug 14, 2000)

the solution is put up your but. You hold it in as long as you can maybe 5 to 10 minutes. When the urge to evacuate is really strong you head for the loo. There is a long tube attached to the enema bottle and it is inserted in your but. Press on the bottle to let the fluid go up and hold it in.


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## Guest (Oct 19, 2001)

Yes, i noticed some ambivalence in medical comunity about enemas. In old times it was considered a normal procedure, now it's all medication. I can hardly believe that being on pills all the time is better. For those of you who didn't try it, there is a great deal of information on the net, but basic ideas are:a. Don't use disposable ones, especially with some medical formulas. Get yourself a good sturdy water bottle with the clamp and plug.b. Use 103F water. If it's not hard, use boiled or distilled water to avoit chlorine.c. Don't add any medication into the water. You can use a couple of table spoons of pure olive or mineral oil to make it easier.e. The best place to do it is the bath tub (especially if you can't hold it). Anywhere else, you would have to make certain preparation. Stay close to the bowel. If you can hold it for 5-10 minutes laying down on your left side, it's great, if not - not a big deal either.f. Clean all parts each time with warm water and soap (and not cleaners or detergents!!!) and air dry it before storing.g. And don't use it unless absolutely need! Best time is before the bedtime.This is the only IBS-C solution that deals with the problem where it occurs without poisoning your entire system with giant doses of unnecessary medications. And combined with soluble fiber (metamucil), it may make your life much easier. No, it's not habit forming. Once I had it for 5 days each day, and after that I had natural stool without any fiber or laxatives. IBS is mostly nerve/stress related disorder, and comes and goes almost regardless of what you eat and drink.


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## Guest (Oct 19, 2001)

BTW: http://www.colema-boards.com Check it out.


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## amy22 (Mar 6, 2001)

What the... ??I went to the colema board site and don't get how it works. I kinda get it, I looked at the diagrams and such, but how in the heck can you go when the tube is still in you? How does that work? Basically, what is the whole process?-Amy


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## Gswanson (Aug 23, 2001)

Hi, I agree that IBS-C may be more stress oriented as opposed to based solely on what one eats, but I must be "stressed" all the time because I have it all the time for the last 30 years or so. And I don't consider myself a Nervous Nelly because I have to be tough to work in the corporate world of law firms around and with lawyers all the time. I'm a get-it done person, and don't consider myself full of anxiety. So everyone is different but IBS-C is a REAL, REAL disease that we can speculate on the causes, but nevertheless the suffering is real. As for the enemas, I just posted under another topic related to the IBS-C and stated that I only do enemas about twice a year when my symptoms are so severe that I can hardly walk or move due to constipation, gas and bloating, almost complete back up. The over the counter enemas are a joke for me. They don't work. So I use my red hot water bottle (2 quarts) and fill it with warm soapy water (ivory bar soap shaken in a glass). I seem to remember something about soapy water enemas years ago in the hospitals when I worked in one briefly for a few months in the late '60's. Anyway, even if enemas seem safer than pills, I'd rather the pill and preferably a Zelnorm. The enemas I take no more than twice a year as a last resort work for the elimination and seem to pull everything that may be backed further up into my system, BUT AFTER THAT, I get more constipated in the coming weeks and days because my anal area is so "dry" from the "washing" that nothing passes at all and all the lubrication in that area seems gone. I usually have to use a glycerin suppository (with stearate acid) (the regular glycerins don't work) all the time after the enema to get anything to move. It seems to take another 6 months for me to have a small bowel movement that comes out naturally without being aggitated by a laxative or suppository. So I would not advise the enemas except in severe constipation and only "occasionally". Someone in another post mentioned the baking soda and maybe I'll try that the next time the severe need arises, but again I only resort to the enema as opposed to ending up in the emergency room (if I couldn't get something to move) which has happened 2 or 3 times in my life of 30 years of dealing with this IBS-C. I continue to pray for the FDA approval of Zelnorm which was the first "natural" movement I experienced in over 30 years. Yes, give me a "pill" any day if it'll make my system function as normally as people without IBS and, at least for me, with no side effects.


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