# colon cleanse



## lorilou (May 9, 2003)

i've been taking colon cleanse pill once a week- it contains cascara sagrada which I know you should stay away from, but the pill really really makes my life better- I go and don't have diarrea and I go more completely. so is this a bad thing if I keep it down to once a week????? I'm so tired of feeling bad- as it is I take a load of fiber and magnesium too on top of my prescrip meds to help the ibs. uhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Wildrose (Aug 10, 2003)

Hi lorilou,Is taking cascara once weekly according to the instructions? As I understand the proper usage of cascara it's to cleanse and tone (or strengthen) the bowel. What I've read is that it should be used daily for one week while the cleansing takes place.It's very useful in its place but one can get addicted to it if used for longer than one week.Best Regards,Wildrose


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## lorilou (May 9, 2003)

wildrose,the directions say to take for a week I think- I just statred using it as another aid during the week. I figure I'm addicted to fiber and all my meds in order to go anyhow- I guess I'm wondering whats the deal if I get addicted to one more thing if it works?


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## dlt647 (Jul 30, 2003)

Hi. I took Colon Cleanse twice a day for 8 months! Eventually I started to get a burning sensation in my lower abdomen and couldn't go to the bathroom without it (which still wasn't much). When I told my new doctor about it, she told me to stop taking it because it is not good for you. I was really afraid to stop because I didn't want that constipated feeling again, but I did. My doctor also gave me Zelnorm and told me to stop all caffeine and dairy. Well, I feel so much better now and haven't had a problem with constipation since. I still take the Zelnorm at least once a day, but am cutting down on that now. My advice is not to even get started on the colon cleanse. It makes you feel better at first, but it is certainly not a long term cure.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

The problem with cascara (and senna and the other stimulatory laxatives) is that when you are dependant on them it isn't that your colon does the normal thing it does (like when you stop fiber or osmotics or other things that alter stool consistancy so it is easier to go) but that the colon when you stop becomes a lot worse than it was. Some people get in a very bad cycle of needing more and more stimulatory laxatives over time to the point where the colon seems to stop being able to function at all. Which you do not see with fiber and osmotics. It may not go like you want it to, but it doesn't get worse over time and threaten to never work again. (The laxative abuse can be broken sometimes by some people but it is extremely unpleasant based on the posts here by people who went that route).Now the question becomes how much is too much for what period of time.Daily for a week, probably not a problem as long as you do that infrequently.One a month seems to be OK for one-off use of most stimulatory laxatives.Once a week seems to be in that edge between what is typically safe for everyone, and what causes problems for some people.Now some people may never get addicted (like anything else your mileage may vary) but what you need to watch out for it you decide to do it once a week (I'd vote for every other week to be safer, but that is me) is how often you want to start moving to twice a week because it didn't work so well this week, so I'll do another dose.That sort of thing. If you can keep it at one dose once a week and that works, my guess is you will be OK at least for several months if not years. But as soon as that stops working so well you need to break it off completly for awhile and get your colon "detoxed" from the laxatives. It is probably much easier to do when you first start getting dependant than when you try to wean off a several doses a day habit (which is where the people who get "addicted" to it end up)In conclusion, once a week is probably pushing the edges of dangerous terratory, and you need to be careful of using it any more frequently than that, and when it stops working well, STOP using it, do not up the dose on the same schedule, or start using it more frequently to get the same results.Or we may see you in a year or two going (how do I go ever again/they want to take my colon out).Which I do not want to see.Fiber and osmotics can be taken indefinately without worry(after all everyone has fiber and water in their stool every day of their lives anyway).K.


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## tova194 (Jan 14, 2008)

Hi Kathleen .I think your answer is right on the money. Do you know if rubarb is in the category of stimulant. From what i read it sugests that it is, but is it as bad as seana and cascara. In one of my "altarnate solutions" there is rubarb although it doesnt specify dosage.The name of the product is organic bowel cleanse.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

If I may clarify since 2003 there has been some new information that makes me believe that the stimulatory laxatives are less problematic than I did back then.As long as you don't fall in the trap of abusing them (by taking excessive amounts) I think they are safer than the conventional wisdom led us to believe.As is often the case in medicine some part of the conventional wisdom is based on a few clinical observations and end up not being in line with the data when someone finally collects it.From the Sloan-Kettering About Herbs site it looks like rhubarb has some of the same chemicals in it that Cascara does, so I'd have the same level of caution, which at this time is low. I do think you can overdose yourself on it, like you can anything. Safe at one dose doesn't mean safe at all doses, even when something is classified as "natural". As long as what seems to be the usual dose works for you and you go to the doctor should your constipation become worse I think you'll be OK.K.


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## poor_kiwi (Jan 21, 2008)

It's the thing I was trying to take recently-colax colon cleanse, that contains cascara, senna, buckthorn, aloe vera etc. Was taking it for 5 days, brilliant results, but..I'm somehow cautious. If I take stimulant laxative I better choose dulcolax(bysacodil) or something like _sodium picosulphate(Kathleen, what opinion do you have about it?_) as I've learned arificially created laxatives are less harmful than plants like senna, cascara etc.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I don' t know if we have evidence that that is true.After all the stimulatory laxative that was pulled off the market awhile ago (when a lot of the laxatives went to senna) was synthetic rather than natural.Now there may be some that work better for you, or that you tolerate better. I just don't know if there is any evidence that one is always better than the other for most people.K.


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