# What do I do? IBS-C ruining my life



## WantingNormal (Jan 21, 2011)

Hello,I feel at my wits end with chronic constipation. I am 30 yrs old and have had issues with IBS-C for 20 years. I have tried many many things:- Aloe Vera - worked for 1 year (no longer working)- Licorice - worked twice- Magnesium (x5 tablets) - worked for 4 years (no longer working)- Coloxyl with senna - worked once and other times have taken up to 8 tablets with no effect- Glycerin suppositories - Microlax enemas - work sometimes but not always- Yukult - not sure if this does anything- Ducolax supps and laxatives - does not work- Parachoc - does not work- Increased water intake - im sure this helps but all the water in my tummy feels sickening- Exercise - im sure this helps- Slow release vit C - not sure if this helps- Fibre - makes it worse- Diet modifications - feel very lost with this one- Dietician - did not helpI am at a point now where somtimes I dont open my bowels for 7 odd days, I feel toxic and in a lot of pain. At this point I use picoprep, now picoprep is used to clear the bowel for a colonoscopy, this is serious stuff so I try not to use it to much. I have a fear that I will become dependent on it and also that one day it will stop working like everything else. I dont know what else to do. I dont know what else to try. I would love to have regular bowel habits. The other issue is when I fight so hard to fix the constipation sometimes it goes in the opposite direction for a few days, now D alone I wouldnt mind, in fact I would love. It is the cramps, nausea and vomiting that I struggle with.I have heard of apple cider vinegar, not sure what your suppose to do with that. I bought some today and will google dosages tonight.Anyone else have any great ideas? Anything else work for anyone, I am on my hands and knees begging for help and information. I begged god to kill me tonight, I do not wish for suicide so dont worry, but I did wish for an end to my suffering. I wish there were some answers and Drs that would take us seriously and care. My thoughts are with everyone here as IBS-C is torture.


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## Blockedup (Apr 30, 2011)

Did you try food combining? It's basically where you don't eat starches and proteins together. It did't cure my IBS but it helped a bit for a while. It has worked wonders for some people with IBS. Google Great taste No Pain by Sherry Bresia or google the Hay diet for basics. It's worth a go.


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## nowandthen (Jun 17, 2010)

I went to a great doctor at a major hospital and she convinced me that the best thing for me to take is the Miralax.I now take 2 doses every morning and 2 doses every evening. The only other thing that ever worked for me was taking 28 tablets of senna every single day, but she warned me that was too much to take on a daily basis.


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## KBMELB (Apr 4, 2011)

Have you tried the FODMAP diet? I too had tried everything and finally found something that helps, along with Movicol and Normafibe I am relatively normal


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## proudJu (Oct 17, 2010)

KBMELB said:


> Have you tried the FODMAP diet? I too had tried everything and finally found something that helps, along with Movicol and Normafibe I am relatively normal


What you in UK call Movicol (or Miralax in US) is the ONLY thing which has worked for me (in addition to taking 2 tsp of EVOO every night.


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## em_t (Jun 8, 2010)

Have you ever tried sodium picosulphate? Its a stimulant laxative like senna and is the active ingredient of PicoPrep but in much lower quantities than the colonoscopy preparation. The reason I suggest it is that PicoPrep obviously works for you so maybe taking 10 - 15 mL of this a night would prevent you from having to use the bowel preparatino when things get too backed up. Sometimes its a combination of things that works for some people such as a softener (docusate, lactulose, Movicol) plus a stimulant (Senna, bisacodyl or sodium picosulphate)You say fibre makes it worse and that you often feel nauseous and in pain. Have you ever been tested for slow transit constipation? It involves taking pills which contain radioactive markers for 3 days, on the sixth day of the test you go for a X ray to see if you have excreted any of the markers and their position in the bowel. They are all different shapes so they can tell from the shape of the marker what day it was ingested and how long it takes for the bowel to move contents though the bowel. The one downside is you cannot take any laxatives during the test, which can be pretty hard but I've done two of them and survived it ok! For slow transit constipation an excess of fibre actually makes the problem worse so you are better not eating too much fibre, but obviously you do still need a certain amount to add bulk to the stool. My gastroenterologist recommended taking soluble fibre as opposed to insoluble fibre for it as it causes less bloating. Soluble fibre is found in things like fruit and vegetables as well as oats. You all say that suppositories and enemas often don't work with you. Do you ever have problems when you go to the bathroom with feeling like you haven't fully gone? Sometimes people with bad constipation have a problem where they cannot evacuate stools properly. It could be another thing to consider and maybe talk to your doctor about.I have both problems and completely understand feeling so low with the pain! I've had to give up my job due to the constant pain and nausea. Doctors are very unsympathetic, I think they think I'm lazy (I'm certainly not) but when you're not sleeping at night due to pain and running to the loo because you think you are going to be sick or have diarrhoea after taking laxatives then carrying out any job becomes particularly difficult, especially being a teacher as I could not leave a class on their own in the classroom. Hopefully you find something that at least improves your symptoms soon!Em


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## Buffers75 (May 31, 2011)

I feel your pain, I too have tried many things that work at first and then stop after a while... I recently started the Fodmap diet and I have gone every day this week, no bloat, no cramps, just regular! I at times have gone over twenty days with no BM .... So I really, really understand how you feel... You can order the book, IBS free at last, or the FoDmap book written by Shepherd. I recommend researching it and giving it a try. You are correct about our bowels losing their ability to do their job if we overuse the laxatives, so please give this a try, good luck!


WantingNormal said:


> Hello,I feel at my wits end with chronic constipation. I am 30 yrs old and have had issues with IBS-C for 20 years. I have tried many many things:- Aloe Vera - worked for 1 year (no longer working)- Licorice - worked twice- Magnesium (x5 tablets) - worked for 4 years (no longer working)- Coloxyl with senna - worked once and other times have taken up to 8 tablets with no effect- Glycerin suppositories - Microlax enemas - work sometimes but not always- Yukult - not sure if this does anything- Ducolax supps and laxatives - does not work- Parachoc - does not work- Increased water intake - im sure this helps but all the water in my tummy feels sickening- Exercise - im sure this helps- Slow release vit C - not sure if this helps- Fibre - makes it worse- Diet modifications - feel very lost with this one- Dietician - did not helpI am at a point now where somtimes I dont open my bowels for 7 odd days, I feel toxic and in a lot of pain. At this point I use picoprep, now picoprep is used to clear the bowel for a colonoscopy, this is serious stuff so I try not to use it to much. I have a fear that I will become dependent on it and also that one day it will stop working like everything else. I dont know what else to do. I dont know what else to try. I would love to have regular bowel habits. The other issue is when I fight so hard to fix the constipation sometimes it goes in the opposite direction for a few days, now D alone I wouldnt mind, in fact I would love. It is the cramps, nausea and vomiting that I struggle with.I have heard of apple cider vinegar, not sure what your suppose to do with that. I bought some today and will google dosages tonight.Anyone else have any great ideas? Anything else work for anyone, I am on my hands and knees begging for help and information. I begged god to kill me tonight, I do not wish for suicide so dont worry, but I did wish for an end to my suffering. I wish there were some answers and Drs that would take us seriously and care. My thoughts are with everyone here as IBS-C is torture.


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