Constipation misery

[SpideyMom]

I cant believe how much i miss doing my regular poo!

What an opener!

To cut a long story short (though I suspect I could waffle on so I apologise) I am miserable beyond belief.

I noticed at the start of this year my bowel movements changed. I used to go every day without fail. Now I am going upto 5 days of not being able to get anything out though I am feeling very uncomfortable and like I desperately want to go. It's like the muscles have stopped working I just can't get anything out. I could cry.

Last night I was constantly weeing because I am so bloated and windy. I couldn't sleep as my head started going over every possibility of why this is happening. My health anxiety is taking a hit.

At first I put the change down to a change in diet, well cutting out the binges. That's didn't last long to be honest and though I don't binge I do tend to overeat at times so my food intake is not really any different. I have seen my GP a few times. Bloods all OK. Put on laxido. Very little help. I was referred for a sigmoidoscopy which found no obvious reasons so I am back with the consultant in a few weeks for what next.

In the meantime I am absolutely miserable over not going. I don't only feel uncomfortable, my brain can't relax and switch off from worrying. I am drinking loads of water and eating fruits and vegetables etc. I am today considering some form of assistance to help me go. Senna has no effect on me and as desperate as I am I refuse to take any laxative that gives me the god awful cramps and an arse like a tap. Will suppositories help?

I'd also welcome anyone with constipation stories and if you found there was an underlying medical reason for it. I tend to read only about the other way than not being able to go

Thank you

[bossyboo]

My husband is on a lot of medication with one of the many side effects being chronic constipation- he's tried everything! What does work for him is to eat prunes every day! About 12 a day and it is working and has down for a few months now! Amazing really! Hope this helps you I know how miserable it can make you feel !

[AnnaMagnani]

[Flowers] Firstly it is good you are seeing a consultant and having further investigations. If you have a change in bowel habit, this is absolutely the right thing to do.

Secondly what laxatives have you tried? Generally laxido is very popular. How much did you take and how often?

With laxatives you need to take them everyday without fail, even if you have gone - don't just think you have had a clear out so can miss them for a couple of days - as you need to keep moving the poo along. If you skip the laxatives it gives your bowel a chance to slow down and everything sets like concrete.

With laxido you need to up and down the dose to find what is right for you - might be a sachet every other day, might be 2 sachets twice a day, it varies for everyone.

When everything has set like rock, suppositories can be good to get the really hard stuff out the bottom end - but you still need a laxative to keep things going at the top, suppositories won't do the job by themselves.

So I'd go suppositories now to get you started, and back on the laxido to follow up and keep things going.

And good luck with the consultant.

[LarkDescending]

Sympathies! I have had half my colon removed and my new plumbing is severely lacking in motility. I can rarely go spontaneously. I am bleary-eyed from the sleeplessness of weeing every 90 mins or so every night, together with the discomfort of bloating, abdo/flank/back pain etc. Laxido & Movicol don’t seem to help me, but I take the Movicol 3x daily anyway.

The only thing which works for me is to take one or two Dulcolax on a weekend night (weekend because no work the next day). This tends to lead to an especially wakeful night due to multiple loo visits, but I am not sleeping well anyway and at least there is some relief once a week.

Caveat: I am not an HCP and have all sorts of things you probably don’t have (including dense adhesions and possibly an incisional hernia) so what helps me may not help you. Hope you can get sorted.

[bossyboo]

Sorry meant to say he's tried all different laxatives and stool softeners too but still maintains prunes work better than anything. Obviously we know the cause of his constipation so as pp said good your being investigated but you have nothing to lose by trying prunes daily

[SpideyMom]

I'm on 2 x laxido at a time. Admittedly I don't take it regular enough. Every other day so I will increase.

I really just want to find out why, buy I am so scared to be honest

[CalvinJohn]

Try dulceSoft. It's pretty new. It's not cheap. It works very well though

[LarkDescending]

Dulcosoft is a macrogol-based laxative - as are Laxido and Movicol.

[NaomifromMilkshake]

We have two sayings in this house.

Laxido not rapido...

Movicol moves f*ck all.

You need to double up on the reccomended dose.

Also have you tried kiwis ?

[Dontforgetyourbrolly]

Different things work for different people . I'm a life long sufferer and movicol works for me. And having a baby but that's a little drastic! Must be the hormones.
During pregnancy and for a while after I had the luxury of going every day , it made me so happy haha it sounds weird but you guys will know what I mean.
I'm now back to my usual once a week misery and I'm trying sennacot with some success

[Thatsnotmyname4291]

So much sympathy. After having my first child I really struggled and it had a debilitating effect on my day to day life, relationship etc. I hope you find your solution soon.

[AnnaMagnani]

If you don't take any laxative regular enough - it won't work!

Each day off is a chance for your bowels to slow down and the slower they are, the more water is removed from your poo, the harder it is then to move the poo - even if you eat lots of fibre it can then just set it like glue as depending on the type of fibre it can actually make it worse by just making it more solid... and so you end up with a bowel full of cement that is going nowhere.

To work, unless you are super lucky, you need to take your laxative every day.

[SpideyMom]

I will defo start taking it every say.

But in the nicest possible way its been lovely to hear from people who have trouble too. We all know how miserable it is

[Hortz]

After a lifetime of regularatory I started taking a drug which causes constipation. I can't not take it.
I changed my diet, any normal person would be confined to the toilet on what I eat.
I had to give in and the GP prescribed lactulose. I take it every morning along with a big glass of prune juice (bleugh) and a bowl of all bran. I don't like it but it works.

[Buddywoo]

When I became coeliac a few years ago the first symptom was constipation, which over time became acute. I ended up not going at all for 2l days and in agony. I was taken into hospital and my condition was diagnosed. As soon as I cut out gluten I reverted to normal. Might be worth a try.

Also I now have an Activia yoghourt every day and find that keeps things moving.

[Borntobeamum]

I've suffered with Constipation for many years and could only go using either Stool softers which I bought in USA or Dulcolax.
I was then diagnosed with Colon cancer in February and had half my colon removed.
I'm no better now. I too have Laxido from the GP but only Dulcolax really works. My Colorectal nurse advised drinking 2 litres of water a day. So Ive tried that along with prune juice. Zilch. Nada. Nothing.
It's crap. Isn't it. (Pardon the pun!)

[SpideyMom]

@Borntobeamum how was your colon cancer diagnosed? Did you have more symptoms. That's worried me now.

I am hoping the consultant will have some idea where we go next. I was hoping my sigmoidoscopy was going to give me an answer. It didn't and I left gutted that it didn't mean everything was OK, which is obviously what I was hoping

[Borntobeamum]

It was diagnosed when we moved house and I had to register with new doctors. They did a health check and I was anaemic so they asked for a stool sample and this came back positive for blood so I was fast tracked on the 14 day pathway.
I had an endoscopy and colonoscopy and they were unable to complete the colonoscopy due to severe Diverticulitis so I ended up having to go for a CT Colonography and that showed I had a tumour in my colon, close to my liver.
The NHS are at their very best in this situation and they operated 4 weeks later.
They got it early, thank God, and although I have to have 5 years of surveillance, I am in remission. X x x

[Wheresmywandharry]

I hope this doesn't sound dismissive or stupid but, having suffered my whole life with constipation, the only thing which sorted it out was regular exercise.

I now run 5-10k 3-4 times a week and I am regular as clockwork.

[Wheresmywandharry]

Unfortunately you do need a colonoscopy to pick up colon cancer.

[YukoandHiro]

A glass of warmed prune juice before bed, every night. I was born with hirshprungs disease - trust me it works. I'm not very good at taking my own advice though and have suffered with chronic fissures for decades, far worse since going through childbirth. Fun times.

[Thesunrising]

In addition to the regular laxatives, make sure you’re taking time to sit on the toilet at times when your bowels are mostly likely to move - 20 mins after eating. And get a small stool or step so that your knees are above your hips when you sit - this will unbend the kink in your colon and help the poo to come out more easily.

[SpideyMom]

All great advice. Thank you. I go for long walks and runs but it hasn't seemed to help.
I assume a colonoscopy is different from a sigmoidoscopy? I really hated the sigmoidoscopy when the gas they pumped in me. I panicked

[Hortz]

20 mins after eating
^^ This. Don't skip breakfast, have a hot drink and leave plenty of time to go.That's why people have magazines in the bathroom.......

[Footle]

I thought movicol and laxido were the same thing.
They work by helping your bowel absorb fluid to soften the contents If you don't drink LOTS of fluid, they won't work.

[Hortz]

I thought movicol and laxido were the same thing.
They are. They are brand names for the same osmotic laxative.
Lactulose is a different kind of osmotic laxative and works better and more predictably for me.
Both require you to drink a lot of water. Lactulose is much cheaper.