# Medical mystery!



## Charliesmama52 (Mar 13, 2016)

I've creeped on this forum for years but finally am posting.

I'm 27 and have dealt with constipation issues since I was about 14. 
At 19, I went to the doctor and they said take more fiber, exercise, and drink water. That didn't help much, but my constipation would come and go at random. It would be 4-10 months before I would have another "episode". This went on until last October when my body completely shut down. I went 2 weeks without going and finally went to the doctor. I saw my GP 4 times in 3 weeks while waiting to get into the GI Doctor. X-ray showed I was full of poop and was given Linzess. It was a miracle drug! I was going every day!!! I lost the 6 pounds I had gained in 2 months, but then the drug quit working. My GI doctor had me try amitiza and that was going great, until I realized it wasn't working as well and made me gain 9 pounds! I quit amitiza February 1st and the weight still hasn't gone away, despite all my exercising and improved eating.

My doctors are stumped as to why my body just won't go - hence the idiopathic chronic constipation diagnosis. I've had a sitzmarker test which showed almost zero movement. Also I have incomplete evacuation

I drink about 160 oz of water per day, take magnesium supplements, probiotics, bone broth, gluten and dairy free. I've been allergy tested, thyroid checked, but I'm not getting any relief. 
The only way I can go even a little, is if I take 4 stimulant type laxatives, but that doesn't give me much relief and I still feel insanely bloated.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle


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## flossy (Dec 8, 2012)

Hi Charliesmama52 -

I would say stop taking the probiotics if you think they're not helping, and it sounds like they are not. I've tried them twice and both times? More constipation. Also, about 70% of us here feel that any additional fiber = more constipation. Fiber may not be your friend.

This has worked pretty well for me (click on below link to read):

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/239065-finally-a-product-i-can-recommend/


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Hi so sorry you're having so many problems.

if you've been reading the board for a while, you've probably already seen me say this before but--about incomplete evacuation--if you are having trouble with incomplete bowel movements, you could have pelvic floor dysfunction. have you been tested for that? with pfd, the pelvic floor muscles do not 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. so you can't get it all out (incomplete) and keep having that "have to go " feeling all day.

a defecatory proctogram test will show if you have pfd as well as reveal if you have any other outlet problems like a rectocele, vaginal prolapse, rectal prolapse, etc. an anal manometry also helps diagnose pelvic floor problems.

biofeedback and physical therapy can be effective in correcting pfd. it is definitely worth a try.

also 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. sometimes it takes some experimentiation to find the right height.

i was dx'd with colonic inertia, pfd , rectal hyposensitivity and megarectum.. biofeedback did help me some by teaching me to relax my pelvic floor muscles. but i for some reason, i never got the hang of coordinating them properly. i took a combination of stimulant laxatives --senna or dulcolax-- and osmotic laxatives--milk of mag or sometimes miralax. if you try milk of mag and dulcolax, take them at least an hour apart or you'll get cramping. anyway--that was the only way i could go. and my gastro told me to do a colonoscopy cleanout every so often to keep things from getting too backed up.

good luck with everything. hope you can find some relief.


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## Charliesmama52 (Mar 13, 2016)

Thanks for the reply! I'll read more about that when I get the chance. I take the probiotics to help my immune system- I'm a teacher and need the immune system.boost to keep the germs of my kids away 

I don't take fiber supplements anymore because they wouldn't come out, and made me even more bloated! I've even tried eating Taco Bell to see if that would give any relied, but it didn't haha


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## Charliesmama52 (Mar 13, 2016)

Yes! I have a great foot rest for elevation- I have one because I would hang out in the bathroom for so long, hoping for another wave of relief, and my legs would go numb... I've been using it for years now!

The GI Doctors I've seen don't think the incomplete evacuation is from a pelvic floor issue because my issues randomly come and go, they think it's more related to a switch inside of me that randomly goes off. I will suggest it the next time I go in and see what my new doctor suggests!


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

yes, that is puzzling if it's random like that.... good luck with your new doctor. hopefully he/she will be knowledgeable and proactive and can figure out a treatment plan that works for you.

oh and about linzess. you might want to try it again but this time take it closer to eating and see if that makes it work better for you. linzess acts on the same receptors that food does so the closer to you take it to eating , the more diarrhea (or action) you get. try taking it 20 minutes before breakfast or ten or even with breakfast and see if that helps any.


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## Charliesmama52 (Mar 13, 2016)

I tried taking it at various times. It stopped working no matter when I took it.

I should also add that miralax does nothing for me. Even when taking 4 capfuls at a time. Mag citrate doesn't do anything. I even drank 2 bottles within 24 hours without relief.


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## Nuffa (Sep 12, 2014)

Try the stuff flossy suggested. Also, have u tried stimulating the vagus nerve?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Charliesmama52 said:


> I tried taking it at various times. It stopped working no matter when I took it.
> 
> I should also add that miralax does nothing for me. Even when taking 4 capfuls at a time. Mag citrate doesn't do anything. I even drank 2 bottles within 24 hours without relief.


oh dear--so sorry.... none of the osmotics alone ever did anything for me either--i had to add a stimulant to get things moving...

you could see if your new doc will give you a script for resolor (prucalopride). some people find it works well for them. it's a drug that is a lot like zelnorm was but with a better safety profile. it's available in canada and europe and elsewhere but not in the usa. if you have a script for it and you don't mind buying from an online pharmacy, you can buy it from canadadrugs.com . they need a script.


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## flossy (Dec 8, 2012)

Nuffa said:


> Try the stuff flossy suggested. Also, have u tried stimulating the vagus nerve?


And if you take that much Miralax and it still doesn't help you might want to go with the Intestinal Formula # 1 Max Strength right off the bat.


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## Mary9874 (Mar 7, 2018)

Charliesmama52, I feel like you're telling my story. I know this is an old post, but have you found any solution to flipping the switch on? I have tried everything. I can only go somewhat in the morning if I take stimulant laxatives the night before. I take it daily because something is better than nothing. But the bowel movements are so small that I'm still uncomfortable the whole day. Two odd things have helped over the last year - once getting a chiropractic adjustment and the second getting a massage. The 'switch' turned back and within a few hours all my ailments were gone. I could poop normally, no heartburn, no fatigue, mental clarity. Of course it was short-lived and I subsequently went for adjustments and massages, which didn't do the same (or anything). I'm convinced some connection between my brain and gut is simply just off. How is it possible to not have anything work? I can feel the fullness, I need to go, but I just can't. People pray for good jobs, promotions, money. All I pray and hope for is to poop so I can feel like a normal human being. I feel like I am carrying rocks in my gut. What a problem!


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## dac122 (Feb 13, 2012)

Mary9874 your problem caught my eye because I have a daughter with Spina Bifida. Almost all SB folks have bladder and bowel issues because of a lesion in their lower spine (or above) that damages the nerves coming from brain and going to their bladder and bowels. Think of it like a cut wire. With few exceptions almost all SB folks are afflicted with poor functioning bladders and bowels so much so they must use catheters and do a daily enema. I also know of someone without SB that had back surgery and must now use catheters. Clearly some damage was done during the surgery.

What caught my eye is you said a chiropractic adjustment helped. I am wondering why you saw a chiropractor in the first place. Do you have back lower back problems? Have you ever consulted with a neurologist or neurosurgeon? Have you ever had an MRI of your lower spine, or an electromyography (EMG)?


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## Mary9874 (Mar 7, 2018)

dac122, I had come across an article on the vagus nerve and how it controls much of digestion and bowel activity and one of the suggestions was to see a chiropractor. I only knew one chiropractor at that time and he understood how the two were connected but didn't know if it was going to help. I gave it a try regardless and it worked too well. Within twenty minutes, I had a bowel movement, and the good times lasted all of two weeks. I felt so good for that short time. He adjusted my neck (where the vagus nerve starts) and my back. I don't know which one did the trick. I went again to him and to another chiro after that with mild to no results. Since then I have done a lot of research to see the connection between chiropracty (sp?) and digestion and many chiropractors have written articles on it. If I had better insurance, I would go to those doctors, but it's hard to spend out of pocket not knowing it will work for sure. I have had an x-ray done of my back that showed no significant abnormalities of the spine. I haven't had any back problems in the past either.


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