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What helps you with constipation?

77 replies

itsthemenopausenotme · 13/11/2018 23:58

I've got bad constipation at the moment. i think it may be due to my underactive thyroid. I have a fissure and also a prolapse which is complicating matters and the fissure means I'm in so much pain. I do go every day, but it's always hard and extremely painful. Due to the prolapse I can't go easily.

I'm trying to drink more water, I usually drink just decaff black coffee and tea.

What can I do for quick relief? I can't take lactulose due to an intolerance and fibrogel and bran aggravate my IBS. I have a gluten free diet.

Any suggestions welcome! I can't stand another day like this!

OP posts:
itsthemenopausenotme · 14/11/2018 00:43

Does a stool softener give you diarrhoea?

OP posts:
AntiHop · 14/11/2018 00:43

I've got a prolapse and I've had fissures. Movicol works for me. You can buy it over the counter.

itsthemenopausenotme · 14/11/2018 12:32

Thanks for all the suggestions. I don't know why this has become a problem again, nothing in my diet changed apart from I mostly stopped eating chocolate really. I am extremely stressed at the moment, maybe that's not helping.

OP posts:
WanKey · 14/11/2018 12:36

Dr Stuart's Lax Plus tea. A cup before bed at night keeps everything moving next day.

SallyWD · 14/11/2018 12:43

A bowl of all bran every day

goldinthemtherestars · 14/11/2018 13:02

I had this for years, also due to underactive thyroid. I ended up having surgery for an internal rectal prolapse caused by long term slow transit constipation. It was hard (sorry!) to get it taken seriously but eventually it was after several hospital admissions. Things that will help ( this is one area in life where I am an expert!):

Exercise - just a daily walk will help.
Drink lots of water.
Take a spoonful of linseeds every day with a glass of water and always add them to porridge, casseroles, soups.
Gluten free porridge with linseeds and prunes.
Magnesium Citrate - 800mg daily.
Probiotics and Prebiotics daily.
Movicol or Laxido - same thing, can be bought over the counter and is safe to take regularly if you need to.
Glycerin suppositories - safe to use as and when needed.
Dulcoease stool softeners - I take one every day.
Senokot if necessary.
Licorice - though not too much if you have high blood pressure.
Some chewing gum has a laxative effect, and some chewy sweets which can help though I wouldn't recommend that as a first option.

Going gluten free can make a real difference. I rarely eat bread now, and only gluten-free oats which help a lot.

Have you seen a bowel or pelvic floor consultant? There is often an undiagnosed connective tissue weakness to explain this problem, could that be part of the picture?

Haworthia · 14/11/2018 13:16

Does a stool softener give you diarrhoea?

Only if you take too much!

It can be a case of trial and error to get the dose right initially. If you’re very backed up then you can find yourself taking a dose every day to no effect, and that’s because the softener is having to make its way through the digestive tract slowly. When you eventually go it can be like removing a cork and then the rest follows - which might be a bit like diahorrea. I expect that does sting a fissure but it will have a better chance of healing if the stools are on the loose side, compared with hard stools that just keep opening it up.

itsthemenopausenotme · 14/11/2018 13:26

Thanks.

Gold aside from the obvious things which of those would you start with?

I try to walk every day although it's more difficult at this time of year to motivate myself.

I struggle with linseeds, they make me gag. I don't eat gluten but have been eating gluten free bread daily which maybe I should cut out. I've started taking probiotics again.

Do you take all those daily?

OP posts:
itsthemenopausenotme · 14/11/2018 13:31

tbh I feel like just not eating anymore, it's getting me down so much Sad

OP posts:
goldinthemtherestars · 14/11/2018 14:13

I feel for you, it can really get you down. Constipation alone can make you feel so sluggish and generally miserable. It is an ongoing situation for me that I have learned to manage, it is not cured iyswim.

It might be worth getting your TSH levels checked. Whenever my TSH level slips to the higher end of the normal range the first thing I notice is sluggish digestion and when it's nearer to 1 or below it speeds up and my insides work much better.

For immediate relief I would take a glycerine suppository (available off the shelf at any chemist or even Tesco). Moisten the suppository with warm water then insert as high up as you can then lie down on your back on the floor with knees up (sorry if TMI) near the loo and read a book for 15 minutes or so. These were recommended to me by my consultant so fine to use when required.

I suggest you start taking pre and pro biotics daily, along with the Magnesium Citrate. Linseeds really do help. I just throw a teaspoonful in my mouth and immediately drink a glass of water to get them down. It really is worth it. You can see them come out the other end and they have lubricated everything all the way through.

Do buy some Movicol though go easy on that as it probably will give you the runs. I don't use it any more as can manage without but was prescribed it when I was under the Consultant and it did help when I was blocked.

Daily every evening after my meal I now take:
2 x 400mg Magnesium Citrate
1 high strength pro & Prebiotic (sometimes 2).
1 or 2 Quest Digestive Enzymes.
1 DulcoEase - you can take more but 1 seems to be enough when things are under control.

Gluten free porridge with linseeds and dried prunes every morning. I am sick of it but soon suffer if I stop taking it. I make it with boiling water from the kettle, not milk.

Generous helpings of fresh vegetables and also apples.

I still take a suppository from time to time when needed - maybe every 3 or 4 weeks, sometimes longer. Rarely now 2 Senokot if things seem to have slowed down. The main goal is to avoid a blockage and I will do anything to keep things going. I don't want repeat surgery! The stuff you read about constipation not being serious was not true for me. Unresolved constipation can have serious consequences. They say that to stop people taking things like Senokot in too high doses (laxative abuse, like in an eating disorder) as they say it causes dependency. I researched that In depth and actually, it doesn't cause dependency so used in moderation it is fine.

The usual recommendation of Allbran and similar don't work for slow transit constipation. They just bulk things up but don't move them along so can cause more problems than they solve. Fibogel can help as long as you are also using something to speed digestion, like Magnesium Citrate and also exercise.

Sorry for all the detail but I do feel for you.

Ollivander84 · 14/11/2018 14:15

Tinned pears in juice (drink the juice too) has helped me
Lactulose which is a softener

itsthemenopausenotme · 14/11/2018 14:41

Thanks. I've just been to my local boots- only one i can get to today - and all i could get was Dulcoease. I've had an apple, 3 grapes (all that were left!) and a satsuma plus a probiotic and a dulcoease capsule. My stomach is rumbling Confused

OP posts:
itsthemenopausenotme · 14/11/2018 14:42

What are TSH levels? I had a blood test recently for my thyroid, not sure what else they checked.

OP posts:
Arkengarthdale · 14/11/2018 14:44

I'm a maths teacher and I work it out with a pencil Grin

goldinthemtherestars · 14/11/2018 14:45

DulcoEase will help though not immediately. Maybe take another one later. Tomorrow you might feel the benefit. Can you order some suppositories for next day delivery from somewhere?

An apple and probiotic are a good start. I think you're on the right track. Good luck!

itsthemenopausenotme · 14/11/2018 14:45

I'm scared to try the suppositories because i have an irrational fear of going to the toilet urgently - possibly linked to the enema i had with my first labour, fairly traumatic, and a phobia of illness and emetaphobia.

OP posts:
itsthemenopausenotme · 14/11/2018 14:49

Thanks gold I'll see if i can find an online chemist to order some stuff frim.

my gp prescribed a cream with hc and i think you're only supposed to use for a short while but I've been using it every day due to the fissure bleeding so wonder if that has made it worse.

OP posts:
Thesuzle · 14/11/2018 14:50

Hello
Ive used Inulin powder (health shops). It softens you up, feeds the good bacteria in the gut so things move along better
It’s vegan, gluten free soya, fat free and no added sugar
Dry brush your stomach in circular directions clockwise every morning too

NeurotrashWarrior · 14/11/2018 14:56

Before I read your op - my answer was getting thyroid levels right!

Definitely always a sign I need an adjustment. You can ask to tweak by 25 every other day if needed. (Eg 125/150 alternate days)

Laxido is great, I was once given something that was like tiny chocolate grains and faintly peppermint by the Gp in exactly this situation. Pears v good too.

itsthemenopausenotme · 14/11/2018 14:58

Neuro I've only just been diagnosed with underactive thyroid so am currently on only 25 and have to go back for a blood test in two months with a view to increasing the dose if necessary. I've heard it can be a long process ... Sad

OP posts:
NeurotrashWarrior · 14/11/2018 15:01

Right, read thread now.

Phone drs. Ask for latest blood tests. Report back here. You need to know the tsh level and if any T4 level done (might not be)

Chocolate can be laxitive for some. Binding for others.

I'd also ask for gp appt for something to help the fissure. I had some pile cream and suppositories with mild steroids in once that were life savers. Glycerine suppositories also very helpful from boots to actually get a poo out.

Can you tell I'm an expert?!

xRoyalty · 14/11/2018 15:01

I have IBS the constipstion type ive found over the years these help me go

Prune juice
Andrews

NeurotrashWarrior · 14/11/2018 15:02

Ah crows post. Yes, though finding out your last tsh is helpful.

How long on the thyroxine?

NeurotrashWarrior · 14/11/2018 15:02

Cross post!

goldinthemtherestars · 14/11/2018 15:03

TSH stands for Thyroid stimulating hormone. That's what they measure when they do your annual thyroid blood test. Normal reference range is usually between 0.27 - 3.00 though they can differ between laboratories. I'm 60 and for my age group my GP said between 0.28 up to 2.5 max is where mine should be. Certainly when mine goes above that, like close to 3.00 I get sluggish. If my tsh slips to 0.2 or under I get a bit hyper and my digestion speeds up which is great for my insides but I feel anxious and jittery so that's no good.

www.btf-thyroid.org/information/quick-guides/97-thyroid-function-tests

Thyroid stimulating hormone is what your body produces when it is trying to make thyroxine. When you have an underactive thyroid your TSH goes up as the body produces more tsh trying in vain to produce thyroxine.

So a low tsh like 0.3 means your replacement thyroxine is doing its job and the body is not frantically trying to produce more (that it can't make).

A high tsh (above 4 or 5 - it can go a lot higher) means your replacement thyroxine is not enough and your body is trying to make more.

If I were you I would ring the surgery and ask what your latest tsh blood test was. They should tell you over the phone. That will help you to work out if you are running slightly low on thyroxine which would account for your present sluggishness. It might be that you need a slight increase to your thyroxine dose.