# Can't get off of laxatives- need help



## storm896 (Sep 6, 2014)

Hi Everyone,

I am really having trouble getting off laxatives, I'm not sure when I last went without laxatives or magnesium. I am at the point now where I am having D 5-10 times a day with the laxatives, but without them I don't go at all and then I get worried and wind up taking them because I'd rather have the D than C. I am taking magnesium every day and then milk of magnesia a few times a week, and I know it is contributing to my feeling bad so I want to get off of it. I started taking enough to cause D in the first place because before that I was having the feeling of incomplete evacuation.

I've recently started the low fodmaps diet and have seem some improvement but I know I'll never see full improvement until I can ditch laxatives and their side effects altogether. Has anyone been through this before? Please let me know if you have any advice, and thanks in advance.


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## Snail (Mar 28, 2011)

Hey, You helped me, now I hope I can help you.

Your story is exactly the same as me. For five years I was taking a huge amount of Movicol, enough to give me D- if I even slightly lowered the dose everything stopped.

I did a juice fast for three weeks- first with fruit in, and then just green juice. It was a great cleanse and immediately I stopped with the laxatives because I wasn't eating anything. I also did colonics. So by the end of the three weeks I knew my body was clean. I then began my FODMAP exclusion diet, gradually introducing foods. I'm taking it very slowly. Now I take Milk of Magnesia every few days- which is nothing compared to what I was taking.

The fast was tiring though and I wouldn't reccommend it while working. Try a health retreat- they can guide you properly through it- but they are pricey. I think even a week of juice fasting is beneficial.

It's not for everyone but I can reccommend it if you really want to see if the FODMAP diet is working.

Good luck


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## Mklinefelter (Sep 5, 2014)

Drink Aloe Juice, It lubes your digestive tract. You can find a huge amount of flavors!! It has Aloe Pulp to help make things glide.


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## Dreamcatcher32 (Nov 12, 2013)

I can relate! I was on Miralax and Citrucel (sometimes combined) for years and I could not get an 'urge' to go without giving myself severe D. For awhile there, I had to take quite a bit of MOM to the point of getting D all day long in order to get anything out. It seems like I would go 5-10 times before actually feeling 'emptied.' Even then though - laxatives (any kind) upset my GI tract so much that I just end up feeling as bad as if I were constipated. Lifetime Magnesium Citrate (liquid kind) has been the most gentle on my stomach. It doesn't give me D, though. I take liquid Magnesium Bluebonnet (extra dose) when I really need to get a bulky stool out. Even then, it makes me feel gross. Then again, I feel gross even if I drink water at times... ugh.

To get yourself off of laxatives I would pull out everything you have noted down mentally for yourself. I started with a bowel retraining regimen I found online. It was all about trying to get yourself to go at the same time every morning. Mayo Clinic also has this information online. You have a fiber snack before bed, wake up to a large warm caffeinated beverage and a fairly large breakfast. If nothing happens, do some walking for 20-30 min and have another warm beverage. I also used glycerin suppositories during this time to get myself into a 'routine' of going every morning. This worked for awhile but eventually things got bad again and I had to visit Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. I ended up with a pelvic floor dyssynergia (tension) diagnosis and did their two week bowel retraining program. This has helped me more than anything. I never knew a tight pelvic floor could cause constipation!! It sure does for me though. I've realized that if my relaxed state isn't about 10x as relaxed as where my body 'naturally' wants to be, I can't go for anything. I also have thyroid problems but my main issue was the pelvic floor. I will say it took me about 7 months of doing the same therapy at home as I did at Mayo for most of it to really 'click' in my brain. I still get terribly frustrated by it, as I don't know how to relax my pelvic floor when sitting flat on my butt or when walking. It all just wants to tense back up again!! Took me years to get this way though, it will take me years to get better.

This may not be your problem but I want you to keep it in mind, in case you suspect that it may be. I have chronic stomach pain that causes the pelvic floor issues to be far worse so I imagine that is an issue with IBS. Pelvic floor dysfunction is incredibly common. But some can overcome it without the biofeedback and make diet changes. I would remove ALL carbs from your diet - every last one. Add in proteins and fats every day along with veggies and fruits. Get enough soluable and insoluble fiber. Cutting out processed foods is important, though you still want some insoluble to 'bulk' your stool.

Mayo Clinic also says it is perfectly acceptable to go every 2-3 days. Now you may need to take a stool softener but this will not harm you and bowel functioning varies here and there. A lot of people think that they absolutely have to go everyday, which is not the case. It may be uncomfortable but it's not harmful. I would say if you haven't gone by day 2, take a little magnesium (400mg) and make sure it's high quality. That should 'soften' things for the next day. If by 3 you haven't gone, take a laxative or whatever you have to. Mayo recommended that I take something every 2-3 days but NOT every day. Take as few laxatives as possible. Your body can learn to go on it's own. Having incomplete bowel movements is not all that uncommon. Sometimes people will go later in the day if they don't get it all out the first time. If you still can't seem to get an urge or you have incomplete bowel movements with thin stool, I'd look into pelvic floor dysfunction. Though all the testing docs did on me didn't turn it up - only Mayo Clinic's biofeedback nurses diagnosed me.

I would also recommend Aloe Vera Inner Filler, though not Aloe Vera Whole Leaf - which can be tough. I'd also add in Coconut oil and olive oil in between or before meals to 'lube' things up. Remember to not starve yourself either and to eat 3 large meals a day - try not to do the snacking thing. When you eat a large meals, that should send out a peristaltic wave to have a bowel movement. So if you don't go in the morning, try that big meal at lunch. Also remember how vital water is! You should be getting at least 64oz a day to flush things through your system! Good luck!


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