# Enema not working :(



## bluecircle (Aug 15, 2015)

Hi, first time poster here.

I had quite a bad problem with very mushy loose stools 2-3 months ago for about 4 weeks (which is unusual for me as I am usually constipated), since then nothing has been normal..I am much more constipated and seems no matter how much I strain nothing comes out except small bits of mush, every few days I will have a somewhat normal movement.

The doctor thinks I am way stopped up and am having overflow diarrhea (I kind of disagree with him though). He is basing this not on my symptoms but because an abdominal xray showed my colon has a "large amount of retained stool." He gave me some linzess to try, but I read one should not take it if they are way stopped up so tonight I gave myself a mineral oil enema hoping that would clean me out a bit.

IT DID NOT WORK AT ALL!!!! After one hour I still had no urge to go at all so I sat myself on the toilet hoping something would happen. All that came out was the oil, nothing else except about a half teaspoon of poop!

What the heck is this all about? Has anyone had an enema not work at all? This is scary to me as I am now afraid I have a blockage and there is nothing in the rectum to come out because things are blocked up higher. I am a basket case over this. What would cause an enema to have no effect whatsoever? Can anyone give me any hope that I might not be seriously ill?

Blue


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

so sorry you are so constipated right now.

please try not to panic. that never helps.

the best thing to do is to call your doctor's office and ask their advice. your doctor saw the x-rays and he/she can best advise you and offer you alternatives to try if you don't want to take linzess. also tell your doc about all your worries and concerns so he/she can address them.

it very well could be the enema didn't work because those little bottled enemas you buy in the store (fleets etc) aren't big enough and don't go up high enough or have enough volume.

you could try one of those big bag enemas you buy in the drug store or you could try drinking a bottle of magnesium citrate and maybe also taking a stimulant laxative like dulcolax with it or you could drink lots of miralax (movicol)--follow the instructions on the bottle-- and take a stimulant to help clear all this out.

but i really think --and i cannot stress this enough--that calling the doc's office--and leaving a message if they're not open today--is best. we have a lot of threads like this and i always tell people in this situation to consult with their doctor. if your doctor's office does not call you back real soon or does not have an emergency phone number you can contact, you can go to a walk in clinic and have them advise you or go to the ER.

here are the symptoms of an obstruction and of an impaction:

symptoms of impaction include abdominal cramping and bloating, leakage of liquid or sudden episodes of watery D, small, semi formed stools, rectal bleeding, low back pain...an impaction is when you go for a while, like a week or so, with no bm at and then all of a sudden you get watery diarrhea which is the body doing a sort of "self enema" by using the watery D to unblock things...

if you totally stop passing any kind of stool at all and stop passing gas, then you may have develop an obstruction. symptoms of obstruction also can include nausea and vomiting and fever. this is an ER situation. an obstruction means the stool cannot move, has completely filled that part of the colon, nothing can get by, not even gas and eventually you will begin to vomit up stool when it needs to get out but it can't due to the obstruction. the symptoms of an obstruction are unmistakable. i've had one, so believe me , i know.

and if you have any concerns or questions about this, by all means contact your doctor's office. their advice is always the best.

good luck. hope you can find some relief soon.


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## bluecircle (Aug 15, 2015)

Thank you for your advice Annie. Later last night I could feel a lot of "movement and grugling in my intestines" and felt like things might be progressing but only passed about a teaspoon of stool, and nothing this am.

I can't find any cases at all where an enema has no effect whatsoever. Has anyone else ever had this happen to them?


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## bluecircle (Aug 15, 2015)

So the enema didn't work (at all!). I took 145 of linzess yesterday AM before breakfast. From all I read I planned to stay home, near the toilet, all day long. But I never felt any sense of urgency at all. nothing! After about 2 hours I went to the bathroom, tried to go and had some loose stools, not a lot though. And that's it except for a smaller amount later in the day. I never once felt like I "had to go."

This morning I decided to try the 290 capsule instead. It's been a little over 2 hours and I still feel nothing at all.

I'm worried, do I have a blockage somewhere? The only discomfort I have is some achiness under my left ribs in both the front and back (I've had this for about 4-5 days and and hoping it's muscular as it hurts more whenever I turn). I do feel some abdominal rumblings but nothing real strong, I have no abdomen bloating or distension as I sometimes do, no pain, no tenderness, just a lot of fear and depression that there is something wrong with me.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

sorry you still are having problems.

at least you did move some stool out, so that's good. .

sorry--i really don't have anything to add beyond what i've already said. the best thing to do is call your doctor and leave a message . definitely call back tomorrow if you're still having problems. a doctor's advice is always best. plus the doc can order another x-ray if he/she thinks it's necessary. the x-ray will show how much stool is still in there, how dense it is, if there's a blockage etc.

like i said, you could try taking a stimulant laxative--ex lax, dulcolax-- to see if that will move some more stool out.

if you're really worried, you could go to a walk in clinic today...

good luck with everything. hope you feel better soon.


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## Stevect06 (Jun 20, 2014)

I've had several episodes of impaction - the 3 times I went to the ER they first thought it was an obstruction. Like you, I first tried fleet enemas before going to the ER. They did not work (that's after taking Magnesium Citrate). As Annie said, it's likely they didn't work due to the impaction (assuming it's that) is up high. In my case it was probably in the transverse colon. The first time I was sent home with a gallon on what they called Go-Lytley, or something like that. It took 9 1/2 hours to work. The 2nd time the remedy was somewhat of a fluke - I was given a contrast solution (not orally...) that was pushed up by some kind of pump I believe. That was just so they could see the MRI better, but several minutes later things started 'moving along' after being impacted for a week! I asked - could the contrast have freed up the impaction? I was told yes. The 3rd time, last September I suggested the same procedure. However, no one was available on staff at the time to do it - so I was given an gravity fed basic bag enema. I wonder where those can be obtained - didn't see any last time in CVS when I checked.

After a while that did the trick. Just my luck, soon after I was told there weren't any beds available for me to stay, so I had to be transported to another hospital in the next town! I explained to the EMT driver he may need to step on it! They wheeled me quite quickly through the ER where I arrived, the staff wondered why so fast out of the ER. I said there's a good reason for that. Fortunately they got me to the room to use the bathroom in time.

I'm on Miralax daily - and always get concerned when things slow down. Good advice given previously not to panic. Going forward - it would be essential to try to determine why your latest condition happened. In my case it may be diet. Ironically - eating less fiber has helped me. Thanks to Annie for that suggestion.

When I was impacted in June of last year - per my doctor's suggestion I stopped Miralax and went on LInzess. I couldn't go for a week! Everyone is different, it's not totally unusual for Linzess not to work.

Best of luck with your situation. I sure hope you get relief soon. As mentioned, if things don't move along soon you should consider an ER or walk-in clinic.


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## bluecircle (Aug 15, 2015)

Let me give a little time table of the last 3 months -

I had a upper gi barium test at the beginning of July. In this the xray showed the stool in colon. I didn't see the doctor for a follow up until just over a month later (beg/mid Aug) and it was at this appt he told me the reason for my diarrhea was because of "overflow." So he is basing this on an x-ray a month old. Whether or not an xray would have shown the same thing on the day I saw him for a follow-up is anyone's guess.

But my diarrhea problems started at the beginning of June. Which was 5 weeks after I saw an "alternative" doctor who put me on a very restrictive diet - high fiber, no grains, no nightshades, no sugar, no dairy, no bananas, etc. For 5 weeks I did fine on this diet, then bam, I was hit with terribly loose stools. Up until this point my problem was always the opposite. Since the di problem didn't start until after 5 weeks of the diet I don't know if there is a relationship or not. But I do know nothing has been the same since. I've had stool studies and they have all come out normal.

My diet has always been high on the fiber side, but especally so with the new diet I tried, particulary when looking at the ratio of high fiber to low fiber on a daily basis. I was eating a gigantic salad every day with plenty of raw kale and spinach, but like I said for 5 weeks I had no problem, then the di it me fast. I have since given up the diet. I do continue to eat the high fiber though and have kept the sugar intake low.

Steve, thanks for sharing your story, it's somewhat reassuring to know that someone else didn't have much luck with linzess. Sounds like you have had more than your share of problems with this. I feel for you.


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## Stevect06 (Jun 20, 2014)

You're welcome Bluecircle, any progress? I sure hope so. I wonder if the high fiber content in your diet is causing the constipation as I believe it did with me. I have a question, what are nightshades? I see that's something that was eliminated from your diet. I do believe those with the conditions we have, especially constipation, are affected significantly with our diet. That's why I started keeping a food log. To reference that though, is sometimes challenging as a typical reaction to a food can vary greatly from one person to another. I believe I have slow colonic transit, so we could be talking about at 48 or 50+ hour result from a given food.

I'm glad it made you feel a bit better knowing you're not alone re: Linzess's effectiveness. That's what it great about these forums. Although we should consult and follow professional advice, we can certainly learn a lot here - this has to be a challenging specialty of the medical profession. In fact the last gastrointestinal doctor I saw supported doing my own research, as with forums within reason. I think we'll be told that when they really don't know why you've got such a situation and what the remedy is. I respect those in the profession - everyone is different and I don't expect a one time sure cure.


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## bluecircle (Aug 15, 2015)

Hey Steve - Potatos, tomoatoes, peppers - they are all members of the nightshade family. Some people have sensitivity or allergies to these foods. I think the goal of the alternative doctor I saw was to find out what foods I am sensitive to. And to do that he had me eat a real basic, boring diet and after a few weeks I was to bring things back one by one. But then work got really busy and I got bad diarrhea and my insurance didn't cover his visits so I stopped going.

Still, not much progress here . I go a little bit, nothing to brag about, lol.


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## Stevect06 (Jun 20, 2014)

Thanks Blue for the nightshade clarification. I do believe diet is quite significant to those of us who have these troubles. In my case, unfortunately I found whenever I've had a big time C incident beans and rice were on the menu within a few days prior. I say unfortunately because those are foods I love. Did you have something like that - or something in excess that could have caused your current constipation?

With my first episode in December 2013 it was after several meals of vegetarian chili I made on the woodstove, of course with beans and rice. Last September when I was given large amounts of native corn things really slowed down. I believe I must (unfortunately again) put that on the restricted list.

I hope things progress for you - it may be a case where everything starts to move along for a while. If that's the case I hope it will be a good time / place! Lately that's kind of what I'm experiencing. Hardly anything, then a couple days of going 4 - 5 times a day. But hey - I'll take it, anything is better than when you can't at all.


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## dlind70 (Aug 7, 2015)

do you eat melted cheese? that with back you up


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