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Magnesium Oxide for severe Constipation?

EMilo

Elizabethmilo.com
Messages
223
Location
Seattle, WA
Hello,

I am suffering some major prolonged constipation. I usually take 400-600mg of magnesium glycinate chelate. I tried increasing it up to 1200mg and it wasn't helping. I tried Reacted magnesium. I tried high doses of magnesium citrate and vitamin C. So, now I have magnesium oxide powder, but NIH has freaked me out by saying it should only be used short-term and not repeatedly and "Do not take a dose late in the day on an empty stomach, " which is exactly how I want to take it -- before bed. It also says it is used as an antacid and I'm in need of MORE stomach acid and not LESS. I need to take 1200mg+ to move things along, but now I'm scared to.
Does anyone have more info on magnesium oxide? Thank you!
 

Gondwanaland

Senior Member
Messages
5,092
I took magnesium oxide for a couple of months, at first slowly increased to bowel tolerance (started with 150mg daily at bedtime), which in my case was 600mg daily divided in 3x 200mg on empty stomach, apart from meals and at bedtime. It helped me with lots of symptoms (especially high uric acid, salicylate intolerance and insomnia) EXCEPT with constipation :rolleyes: If I took more than 600mg I would go straight from constipation to loose stools.
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
Here's an idea from a 'left - fielder', who has had a lifetime of constipation.

In recent years, potassium supplementation has been my top remedy. Before that, it was magnesium. ( It stopped working....tried many types.)

Then, even the potassium stopped working.

In some cases of SIBO, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, there can also be an overgrowth of other microbes--methanogens.

The overgrowth of methanogens in the gut can cause constipation.

There are some herbs that have shown to decrease methanogens in cows. There was a study using oregano.
I tried many herbs and their essential oils remedy this potential cause for my constipation, but they only worked marginally.

I finally resorted to trying an antibiotic that improves constipation. ( I think it also reduces methanogens.)
It is Neomycin. It's very powerful...caution...doctor's care.

It worked. I no longer have constipation.

I have also reduced starches and FODMAPS in my diet.
 

EMilo

Elizabethmilo.com
Messages
223
Location
Seattle, WA
Thanks so much for all your input. I'm now up to 1200mg of mag oxide + 3 grams of vitamin C and nothing is really moving properly. It just feels like a swollen, inflamed bowel 24/7. I wish I knew what I should eat or not eat. This is rough.
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
It is rough! One possibility is a low FODMAPS diet. It's another type of elimination diet.
http://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list

It may be that some food groups won't trouble you, I hope. This diet may be used temporarily, to find out which types of carbohydrates are inflammatory to an individual. ( I'm sensitive to polyols, for instance. I can eat onions without trouble.)

Most people get diarrhea from FODMAPS, but I get constipated from some of them, even the high fiber ones that are supposed to help.
 

SwanRonson

Senior Member
Messages
300
Location
Alabama
Thanks so much for all your input. I'm now up to 1200mg of mag oxide + 3 grams of vitamin C and nothing is really moving properly. It just feels like a swollen, inflamed bowel 24/7. I wish I knew what I should eat or not eat. This is rough.

@EMilo Any update on your condition?
 

SwanRonson

Senior Member
Messages
300
Location
Alabama
I finally resorted to trying an antibiotic that improves constipation. ( I think it also reduces methanogens.)

It is Neomycin. It's very powerful...caution...doctor's care.

It worked. I no longer have constipation.

I did a round of rifaxamin back in january and it worked really well too. I was regular for about 6 weeks. Now I've relapsed back to severe constipation. Has your success with Neomycin lasted?
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
I did a round of rifaxamin back in january and it worked really well too. I was regular for about 6 weeks. Now I've relapsed back to severe constipation. Has your success with Neomycin lasted?

It mostly lasted, except when I began to have more starches and fermentable fibers. ( Here's a bummer; chocolate is high in fermentable fibers.)

I decided that I probably still have too many bacteria in the intestines, so I tried some erithromycin for 5 days. ( I've read that it may knock out some streptococcus and some lactobacillus. Since I also have trouble with dental infections, I've suspected that there could be overgrowth of these throughout the gut. These bacteria are usually found in dental infections, but they can spread.)

The erythromycin really has me going again. Actually, these past two days have been hyperdefecation style, not diarrhea.

So, I believe that there are many types of microbes that can cause constipation, if they're overgrown. ( I'm sure there are many causes for constipation, neurological is another.)

I contracted giardia years ago...was severely constipated from it....

I've decided to eat mostly paleo, and only occasionally have starches. ( But I'm curious now because the erythromycin seemed to 'take out' alot of microbes. In my case, this is good.)
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
I began taking probiotics and making sauerkraut about 30 years ago.
Sometimes they helped flatulence, but not constipation, for me.
Other people have had diarrhea from them,

We are only beginning to learn of their effects. It's so much more complex than I've ever thought. Studies of specific strains are showing a variety of effects. Stool tests haven't been altogether accurate.

The Lactobacillus Acidophilus that is so prevalent in foods and probiotics can be difficult to rid if overgrown, and immunocompromised people can be susceptible to its overgrowth. It can produce D-lactic acid, causing neurological damage.

People with SIBO can have an overgrowth of commensal bacteria, and it's estimated that about 15% of them become constipated because of it.

Nowadays, I'm having to avoid anything considered to be probiotic. The side effects are pretty brutal. ( neuropathy, shingles outbreaks, constipation, etc.) Certain prebiotics are ok, now that I've reduced the microbe count.

I've ordered som E. coli nissle, Mutaflor, because it's reputed to help constipation. It also produces vitamin K2. folate, etc., along with serotonin and other neurotransmitters. ( we'll see)

For now, though, I'm as close to having normal stool production as I've ever had. ( bristol chart # 4-5)
 

SwanRonson

Senior Member
Messages
300
Location
Alabama
Agree with @Crux . Probiotics can do more harm than good if you don't know what you're doing. And, let's be honest, we don't. The gut microbiome is incredibly complex. Tinkering with it can be a really bad idea. I have found that out the hard way. My health really went down hill after starting probiotics. As @Crux mentioned, I got shingles out of the blue back in October '14.
 

EMilo

Elizabethmilo.com
Messages
223
Location
Seattle, WA
@EMilo Any update on your condition?

I'm still in severe constipation hell. I was having terrible reactions to magnesium sometimes, but not always. I tried different kinds. I tried Miralax, nothing, gentian, wormwood, aloe, high-dose vitamin C, digestive enzymes, probiotics, fish oil... Nothing! A glycerine suppository gave me an anaphylactic-type reaction. Enemas have worked twice, but they are difficult and, every other time, haven't helped. I'm now eating low-FODMAP and doing castor oil packs. Nothing! The fancy GI specialist at the University of Washington Medical Center that I waited three months to see told me to eat prunes and papaya! Are you KIDDING ME? I'm not sure how to remedy my situation. I didn't know constipation could be this bad.
I have a colon MRI scheduled in a few weeks.
 

CantThink

Senior Member
Messages
800
Location
England, UK
If you can tolerate olive oil, then when I would get impactions, I'd drink 1 to 2 tablespoons of it followed by a hot drink (e.g. tea or herbal tea... even hot water would be fine) and then massage pelvis/lower abdomen in the right direction (can't remember which way it is off top of my head). If that didn't produce a movement, I'd wait and do some more when I felt I could tolerate it without being sick/nauseous. You could probably use another oil - whatever is tolerable.

As SwanRonson said, the dose of Miralax that's not working would be useful to know. Latterly I use that instead of oil for impaction, but I would use the impaction regime of dosing -

  • For the treatment of faecal impaction the dose is eight sachets a day, all of which should be taken within a six hour period. You can make up this dose all at once (dissolve eight sachets in one litre of water) and keep it covered in the fridge. Drink the total amount over six hours. (If you have a heart condition you should divide the dose so that you don't take more than two sachets (one quarter of the litre of made-up solution) in any one hour.) A course of treatment for faecal impaction does not normally exceed three days. From: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/digestive-health/medicines/movicol.html
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
That's painful news,EMilo;

I hope you can find something that works, and that the MRI is normal.

Just as an update, I haven't been constipated at all since I took the erythromycin. ( I think a lower dose would have worked too.) It's also used as a prokinetic to stimulate peristalsis, in very low doses.

I thought I would post a link to the 'Bristol Stool Scale', to help you figure this out. ( If the stool is narrow, or ribbon shaped, there could be an obstruction, or polyp.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_stool_scale
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
I thought you said you took Neomycin.

I did, small amount, short stint. It is recommended so often for SIBO for folks with IBS-C.
I found erythromycin to be more effective, in my case.

Dr.s Pimentel and Siebecker recommend low dose erythromycin as a prokinetic, along with the rifaximin and neomycin.
 
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