Severe constipation slow bowel?

[Notthecorner]

I am going through one of the worst episodes of constipation I’ve had in years and I am struggling with it day to day. Any advice to get back on track after a bad bout?

I have seen a GP and they told me to ‘eat more oranges’. They did give me medication and a vague routine for 2 weeks but I feel on my own with this and unsure where to begin. I am keen to prevent this happening again once I can get through this episode.

I eat well and exercise, healthy weight but recently had a very stressful month where I wasn’t in my usual routines at all (wasn’t at home for much of it and travelling) and my body has reacted to change in food/eating times and I think I got a bit dehydrated. This led to some constipation that then got worse and worse, to the point where nothing I did to go to the loo was working so I was severely and painfully impacted.

The GP was considering sending me to A&E for a manual disimpaction if I had not had a bowel movement in the next 24 hours but finally I did go a bit but I am so sore and mentally fed up.

I am doing a movicol routine with prune juice (which is rank!). I tried glycerol suppositories but they didn’t do much. I’ve now got the enema syringes to try. I don’t want to do the spasmodic laxatives as they cause so much stress on your body and are only short term, aka chain you to the loo for the whole day and I have a job to go to!

I have been told by a doctor once I have ‘slow bowel motility’ but nothing was given to me to help with this and I don’t know what plan to follow I am making up my own plan! I also haven’t seen a gastro for their opinion. Helpfully the GP told me my bowel and rectum will all be stretched now so it will probably happen again. Does anyone else have slow bowel motility?

Fresh pineapple, whole prunes and dried figs plus 15 ml of lactulose daily was a miracle for me. I have a wonky transverse colon and am prone to stasis, but the above keeps everything moving. Drink plenty of liquids. You don't need to eat all those things every day. Just choose a cereal bowl full. Maybe 4 prunes and 3 slices of pineapple for example. Avoid bran/ granola. It is far too bulky and dry.

2 kiwi fruit per day (whole, with skin on) has been proven to help constipation, it can take a couple of weeks to get things completely regular though.
Chia seeds -one-two tablespoons in a glass of warm water at night (drink down quickly before they swell in the glass) also helps.
You can take fybogel daily along with the above, or take dulcoEASE (NOT dulcoLAX) in the evening for a couple of weeks along with the kiwi & chia. It’s a softener rather than laxative.
5 Dates a day are also good to add with the chia & kiwi.

I can’t go unless I have around 30g chia seeds, my kiwi fruit and some dates each day. It’s hell! (It’s also very common in peri/menopause apparently)

Obviously if there is a medical problem then that will need to be investigated but otherwise if you know you stepped out of your normal routine then when you get back on track, hopefully you will be better.
keep up the hydration and eat high fibre foods fruit etc
try the enema's that what always sorts it out for me

Also, have 2 mugs of tea or coffee every morning and allow time to go to the loo. Get up early enough. Same routine every day.

Try lactulose, or fybogel but plenty of Water daily.

This has happened to me. Caused myself problems and developed skin tags which now need to be removed so I am now ultra careful with my diet. Plenty fluids, avoid caffeine except one strong black coffee in the morning. Combination of prunes and apricots on bran flakes for breakfast, no white bread or pastries. I take Magnesium OK everyday which I think helps a great deal and helps with other peri symptoms. It is quite an ongoing battle with my bowels but I am mostly winning now.

Got a bit carried away eating fresh medjool dates the other day. Maybe ate a cereal bowl sized portion, within 10 minutes they had worked their magic. But I hadn't been constipated - I was surprised by how powerful the urge to go was. I won't be repeating it but may be just what you need.

Thanks some helpful advice. I get bad acid reflux from acidic fruit which is helpful 😂

I don’t know if my issue is too much or too less fibre. It seems to be very slow transit and then it gets really dry and no water is getting in. I had a bad experience of fybogel so not doing that again, really profuse upset stomach that lasted 4 weeks!

I hate laxatives but the osmotic ones that draw in water seem to work best, they aren’t the ones that chain you on the loo with the runs all day and give you bad cramps.

However the results from movicol are very slow. The last time I had what I deem as proper BM’s was last Sunday, and it’s only yesterday and day before that I had the main blocked BM’s exit me, but nothing else so I am still constipated because it’s been 6 days and there is no way that what did pass was 6 days worth 😂

Dulcoease also causes me a lot of pain and upset stomach to the extreme other end. This is what I mean when I say I don’t know what plan to take, because my bowels are either over reacting or under reacting all the time

I am worried about fissures at this stage as I have had multiple haematomas before and these are absolutely agonising. I am still in pain from the impacted situation and healing which makes me less encouraged to try to go. I get the urge to go every couple of hours but nothing is happening

Sympathies OP. Doctors are rubbish with issues of constipation.

You can use movicol to do a disimpaction regime, though you will need to be at home snd near a toilet for this. You increase the movicol over a week or two to very high levels, like 14 or more a day. This is to clear you out. You then take a maintenance dose to keep you going regularly.

If chronic constipation is an issue for you, you can use an anal irrigation system such as persisteen or aqua flush. These were game changers for me. They are really designed for people with things like MS or other conditions that mean the bowel does not work, and you will likely to argue hard for it. But it’s the only thing that helped me ( and glycerin suppositories). I really don’t understand why they don’t prescribe it regularly for people with chronic constipation. Like you say, there are horrible side effects from laxatives and enemas.

Ps. If you go for the anal irrigation option you will need to be given it by a specialist nurse at hospital who will explain it to you. You use it yourself at home though, obviously.

If its not better soon return to the doctors please. All these meds really should work big time

Get on the ERIC website.

Its aimed at children’s issues, but we’ve all got the same digestive systems. It’s got really good info on appropriately treating and properly clearing the backlog. Hope you like movicol as there’s a lot coming but it’s worth it.

(adult sachets are twice the size of child ones, so you can generally follow the sachet count).

And try cutting out dairy while you recover.

I am doing gradual increase of movicol so that I don’t go too far the other way and give myself endless diarrhoea again (the last one lasted 4 weeks). I can hear a lot more bowel sounds now, before it was completely silent and still. I also have some gas now which I didn’t before. I think things are moving as I keep getting urges. If you rush the disimpaction all that seems to happen is 2 days of horrible diarrhoea followed by going straight back to constipation. I don’t have an obstruction (I’ve been checked) and I don’t think I have an impaction now, just I need to clear the constipation and this could take 2 weeks?

I can handle drinking movicol but it’s expensive when I have to buy it. I’ve never tried laxido, is there much difference?

They seem to be pretty much exactly the same from a functional perspective. A Pepsi / Coca-Cola type difference.

I have similar issues and here to read the advice later!

I thinks it's wise to consider a referral for a colonoscopy at this stage, and also consider testing for Helicobacter Pylori (H. Pylori), given your history and recent symptoms. There could be lots of reasons this is happening, diverticulosis, bowel obstruction, infection etc. Rule those out medically first.

I don’t have hpylori and I had all the stool tests 2 months ago for everything testable in that way - all normal!

It’s functional iyswim rather than an underlying issue like a disease, it’s either structural like a kink/bend or something awry with my colon-brain messaging/nerve related BUT partly this episode was avoidable as I knew I wasn’t drinking enough liquid and I was eating at weird times and probably too many carbs as I didn’t have access to my normal foods.

We went on holiday and I had diarrhoea the entire time and was miserable. Now I am home I am constipated

It is like my bowel is either doing absolutely nothing or everything at once and I don’t know what version I will get sometimes. IBS on steroids 😂

That's good that those issues are ruled out.
If you think its structural, could it be diverticulosis? Food/waste getting stuck in pockets in the colon and slow processing of bowels? Thats what mine ended up being, afrer years of those symptoms.

I found yoga exercises followed by self massage made a big difference to me. I can explain them if you would like.

There are medications to speed up gut motility, but I don't know the names, sorry. I'm surprised the doctor who said you have slow gut motility didn't suggest one.

But I agree with PP who suggested further investigation, colonoscopy etc. Also Hashimotos and underactive thyroid cause constipation so maybe get your thyroid function tested if you haven't already.

Daily walking, fibre (psyllium husk bits in water), and lot of water helps me.

Hi, my bloods are fine.

So I am on day 4 of no BM’s again after the horrible weekend and I am bloated and gassy like crazy. Have switched to laxido as it’s cheaper than movicol. Have taken what the GP told me to. Nothing is happening! I don’t think I am at the stage of doing the enema but it must all literally just be stuck in my bowel and hanging out there, it’s gross! I’ve eaten well, kept active and hydrated so feeling frustrated and down about it.

Sounds awful OP.
Have you tried a few kiwi with skins on? Rhubarb? Watermelon? Dates?

Really hope something happens soon for you 🤞

TMI here but could be helpful

Have you tried putting a finger in your vagina and seeing if you can feel the blockage through the vaginal wall?

If so you may be able to get some movement by massaging it downwards. Once a big blockage has passed then usually (for me) the rest will follow.

I also drink senna tea from Holland & Barrett start with 1 cup heavily brewed (stewed) and work up to maybe 4 cups a day over a few days if it doesn't work.

Ive had similar issues to you, and i make it worse by having a shy bowel so i clog up until im comfortable....have been on a 2 week holiday and not gone as it wasnt my toilet iykwim.

Hope you get to go soon. Its miserable. Im having the same issues now and look 6 months pregnant and feel ughhhh

The only thing I have not tried is stimulant laxatives this time, because I am afraid of coming to rely on them so I try to avoid them unless I have no other options. They really aren’t good for you and they do not solve the problem long term. I don’t take senna it makes me violently unwell for hours and hours

I did a micralax enema this morning it worked within 5 mins so I am going to try these the next few days along with my laxido.

I am not having enough stimulation in my bowels (which I know the laxative would help but it wouldn’t fix it) so if I am at the stage I can’t go to the toilet without manual help I am going to book a GP appt next week. The laxido isn’t doing enough I might have to try fibogel again as well (although that also made me unwell!)

Fibrogel doesn't work for me so I'm on 3 Laxido a day.